Introduction to Kindergarten Corners

1. Introduction to Kindergarten Corners Corners are activities where students may work alone or with a partner. Activities allow students opportunities to practice learned skills, independently. Corner rotation may be organized in several ways. Below is a picture of how I rotate in my kindergarten classroom. I use a pocket chart. Corner assignment cards Student names Fishing Sam Jane Books Ryan Billy Computers Grace Rebecca Listening Jason Lillie Letters Eric Mary Puzzles Alex Maddie Matching Katie Kelly When it is time to rotate to the next corner, I take the bottom assignment card out and move all other cards down one space, then I put the first card removed, at the top. At the end of the week, I change the student groups so they have an opportunity to work with a different partner. Page 1

2. I use two types of corner cards: corner assignment cards (on chart) and direction cards. My corner assignment cards are mounted on black construction paper. My direction cards are mounted on red construction paper. Modeling, guidance, and feedback are a must to have corners run successfully. I began with students rotating to a corner for just 5 minutes. Holding guided reading groups during corner time did not begin until students could manage corners independently. You should have rules in place so guided reading groups are not interrupted. In my class, emergencies that were allowed: sick, restroom, someone hurt or hurting another student. Students should work quietly, but may talk in low voices with their corner partner. Pencils were sharpened before corner time begins. Students should have at least 2 sharpened pencils in supply boxes at all times. Some of the activities give students an opportunity to record work. Students used plain copy paper or graphic organizers to record their work. By second semester my students were able to put work from each corner in a “Travel Log” (a composition book). This holds students accountable for completing a task at each corner. I have compiled corner activities I have used in my classroom. Some activities can be used all year with changes in difficulty level to allow for differentiation when students are capable of higher level skills. Kindergarten Corner Coordinator, Susan Gentry Lawson School sgentry@hazelwoodschools.org Page 2