Debbie Diller : Literacy Work Stations, Making Centers Work

Definition: “A literacy work station is an area within the classroom where students work alone or interact with one another, using instructional materials to explore and expand their literacy. A place where a variety of activities reinforce and/or extend learning. A time for children to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and working with letters and words.”

Debbie Diller : Literacy Work Stations, Making Centers Work

When setting up literacy work stations it is important that the materials used have been a part of their literacy instruction first. You can differentiate the materials for students making the work meaningful and independent.

It is vital that teachers model the appropriate behavior and allow for a gradual release of responsibility. The stations should contain clear, explicit expectations (that have been modeled) and should be linked to your teaching. Don’t put out too much too quickly and use novelty to keep your stations new. Use simple methods in materials and management.

Use anchor charts made by the children of how the work stations should look, sound and how they should feel while working there. Ex:

Look: children are reading; Sound: Quiet voices so others can learn;

Feel: I can do it!

Use mini-lessons to provide focus and purpose for their independent practice. Mini lessons at the beginning of the year can focus on how to use the equipment, how to share, how to take turns, how to use the management board, what can be done at each station, how to solve problems, where to get help, how to put things up, and how to switch to another station.

Later in the year, after breaks, you may need to re-visit some of these beginning lessons. ASSUME NOTHING! Each time you use a new material in instruction, let them know when they have been placed in a station for their independent use.

Start slowly. Use only one to two stations at a time until they know how those stations work. The time spent training, over and over at the beginning will help you to move quicker later in the year. Small group instruction can begin once your stations are being managed properly so your time won’t be interrupted. It is a good idea to have a sharing time at the end of your work station time. At this time you can address any problems or highlight and praise good techniques you saw children using during their work station time. Use those problems that arise as teaching moments to reinforce procedures.

Some problems may become the next day’s mini lessons.

Listed below are several work stations and possible activities you might see in that station for each grade level. During the literacy station block, the children should be reading or writing only!

CLASSROOM LIBRARY

The classroom library could include these activities:

·  Looking at books from your author study.

·  Rereading familiar books

·  Reading a book with pictures

·  Reading magazines to stuffed animals or a buddy

·  Writing a book review

·  Recording book on a reading log

Materials in the classroom library:

·  Sign labeling the station

·  Wide variety of books and other print material organized in baskets

·  Comfortable seating

·  Silk plants (comfort)

·  Rugs and lamps

·  Stuff animals

·  Bookmarks

·  Paper, pencils and clipboards to write responses

·  How to choose a just right book poster

Be sure to model how to choose a book, how to read a book, how to share a book with a buddy, how to put the books away, and how to write in the reading log or a response. Be sure to make and include an anchor chart of what the classroom library looks like and sounds like. You may want to include a small chart of what the students can do in that station as a reminder; I can: read a book.

Differentiate at this station by being sure to have a variety of genres and levels for the students to choose from clearly labeled baskets. To keep this station new, change out the books, add in books from science and social studies topics, highlight different authors each month. To keep kids accountable, have those who use the library, share about their books.

BIG BOOK WORK STATION

Here the children can practice CAPS by reading and re-reading familiar texts you have used in your direct teaching.

Activities you might include:

·  Using pointers as they read

·  Practice reading strategies modeled during shared reading

·  Reading a fiction book using different voices for the characters

·  Using sticky notes to write connections

·  Finding words or letters (use task cards you have introduced in shared reading, one or 2 task cards at a time)

·  Acting out a book with a buddy

Materials needed

·  Have books organized in a big container

·  Easel and pointers

·  Props for acting

·  Task cards

·  Highlighter tape

Teacher needs to model:

·  How to turn the pages

·  How to use a pointer

·  How to use highlighter tape

·  How to read with a buddy

·  How to place book on the easel

·  How to return the book

·  What you might write

·  How to use props

Differentiate at this station by using task cards (using different color cards for different levels) Keep the stations new by changing out the big books monthly, adding a new pointer, or change props. Keep kids accountable by having them occasionally perform the reading of a big book, have them tape record their reading, or have them place their sticky notes with words or connections in their literacy station folders.

WRITING WORK STATION

Place your writing work station near your word wall. Be sure an alphabet chart is near by as well. Activities to do here:

·  Write something – a list, a card, a story

·  Write a description

·  Write a letter

·  Write a message

·  Use the computer for writing

Make a help board for ideas to write about, samples of forms (lists, letter), ideas of where to get help, or anchor charts from mini lesson during writer’s workshop.

Materials:

·  Help board

·  Variety of paper

·  Variety of writing implements

·  Names chart

·  Variety of picture dictionaries

·  Blank cards

·  Variety of pads to make lists on

·  Staplers and tape

·  Real objects to write about

·  Pictures of animals, people, places

·  Theme words on a ring

·  Envelopes

Teacher models:

·  How to get an idea for writing

·  Underlining words you are not sure how to spell

·  How to use materials properly

·  How to put materials away

·  What to do with finished work or work in progress

·  How to use a word book

·  How to use a dictionary

Ideas for Writing Work Station

Kindergarten / First Grade / Second Grade
Practice correct letter formation / Write a message to a friend / Write a thank you note
Find names that begin with a certain letter / Describe an object / Write a book about a science topic
Repetitive text books ex: I see a ______/ Make a book / Try using a strategy from a mini lesson

Letting children choose their activity at this station is the best way to differentiate at this station. To keep it new, change the color of the paper, change the writing tools, add photos of the class, add seasonal word cards, change the author study, or add new dictionaries.

DRAMA WORK STATION

Activities:

·  Retelling a familiar story

·  Using puppets to retell a story

·  Using props

·  Reader’s theatre

·  Writing ads for a play

Materials:

·  Familiar books

·  Puppets

·  Flannel board and story pieces

·  Magnetic board

·  Markers

·  Scripts

·  Songs

·  Poems

Teacher models:

·  How to retell a story

·  How to use props

·  How to read a play

To differentiate at this station, choose books with simple story lines, and provide a variety of levels of books and plays. To keep this station new: add a new story, add new props, or add new plays and puppets.

ABC/WORD STUDY WORK STATION

Activities:

·  Sorting letters

·  Making letters

·  Doing ABC puzzles

·  Reading ABC books

·  Writing ABC books

·  Sorting words

·  Making words

·  Word hunts

·  Word games

Materials:

·  Letter formation cards

·  Magnetic letters

·  Wikki stix

·  Play dough

·  Rubber stamp letters

·  ABC puzzles, and books

·  Letter-trace cards

·  Interactive word wall

·  Word cards

·  Dictionaries, thesauri

·  Word books

Teacher models:

·  How to sort letters

·  How to correctly form letters

·  How to read ABC books

·  How to sort pictures or words

·  How to play word games

·  How to use and store materials

·  How to use dictionaries and thesauri

KINDERGARTEN / FIRST GRADE / SECOND GRADE
Sort letters by shape / Stamp and read words / Sort words
Make letter with play dough / Make word wall words with magnetic letters / Find words with endings
Play alphabet bingo / Sort words / Record word sorts

Differentiation is important in the ABC/word study station. Assign specific tasks to groups based on needs. Use a color system or post a chart in the station with names for specific activities. Words Their Way by Bear, Word Works by Fountas and Pinnel are a good resources for word study activities. Here is an example of a possible color-coding system: “green- letter identification, yellow – beginning sounds, blue – ending sounds, red – blends and digraphs, orange – short vowels, purple- long vowels, pink – syllables and brown – prefixes and suffixes.” (Debbie Diller) Students could practice their word study activities in small group and then again at the station.

To keep this station new, change the words on the wall, add new games, and vary the materials for making words.

POETRY WORK STATION

Activities:

·  Read a poem

·  Illustrate a poem

·  Copy a poem

·  Listen to a poem

·  Find special words or letters in a poem

·  Record a poem

·  Perform a poem

Materials:

·  Tubs with poetry books

·  Poems copied on charts

·  Jump-rope rhymes

·  Songbooks

·  Pointers

·  Wikki stix

·  Highlighter tape

·  Paper

·  Pencils, crayons, pens

·  Sticky notes

·  Simple props

Teacher models:

·  How to read a poem fluently

·  How to find rhyming words

·  How to create visual images

·  How to make connections

·  How to illustrate a poem

·  How to write a poem

KINDERGARTEN / FIRST GRADE / SECOND GRADE
Point and read / Find rhyming words / Read poems fluently
Find rhyming words / Point and read / Read a poem, illustrate
Find words I know / Read poems fluently / Write a poem

Differentiate by providing a variety of poems at different levels. Use poems and songs from your teaching to help your students be more successful. To keep this station new change the poems, add new poetry books, highlight a poet, add soft music to read poems with, or change paper to copy poem onto.

Other work stations could include: computer, listening, puzzles and games, overhead, pocket chart, smartboard, science/social studies or handwriting.

Kindergarten teachers can add literacy to their traditional kindergarten centers by including activities such as:

·  Simple recipes, children’s cookbooks, telephone books, order pads, message pads – in housekeeping

·  Changing the housekeeping during the year into – post-office, doctor’s office, restaurant, an office, a grocery, an office

·  Blocks – provide a road map, environmental signs, labels for buildings

·  Sand and water center – search for plastic letters, cookie cutter letters, write on shower board with bathtub soap.

Plan for practice in literacy work stations. Observe your children in work stations and in small group instruction. Use mini lessons to introduce and work on skills and strategies you observe and then add activities to the stations for them to practice these skills and strategies. For example if you see an emergent reader just flipping pages in a book; model how to read like a reader by using the pictures to tell the story and have the child practice at the classroom library and listening work station. If you see an early reader not using meaning while reading; and relying mostly on visual cues while reading, mask some words in shared reading “what would make sense” here; then have them practice in the big book station, library, poetry or listening station. If you see a transitional reader writing longer pieces with and…and…and… Teach how interesting this sounds, look at a favorite book and the number of ands used; model writing then have the child work in the library and writing stations working on author’s craft.

You need to develop a system for collecting data. An assessment notebook such as Sharon Tabersky uses in On Solid Ground is a wonderful tool to collect data on your children. Each child has a plastic folder for reading and writing where they keep a notebook. In each notebook the teacher writes notes about strategies the child is working on and a reminder for them to use when working independently. You may want to make anecdotal notes on a clipboard. These tools will be valuable in parent conferences. You can have activities in the work stations to take grades on but the purpose of stations is for practice not product! Once you have modeled, modeled and modeled procedures in your stations, you should be ready to meet with small groups for specific instruction without having to worry about “what the other kids are doing”. Debbie Diller’s book is a wonderful resource for more information on this topic. The appendix has lots of resources for immediate use as well. The best way for students to become better readers is for them to spend time practicing the skills and strategies in meaningful independent activities.

Debbie Diller’s book Literacy Work Stations Making Centers Work, Stenhouse Publishers, 2003, was the main book used to compile this information.