Literacy Centers

I've wanted to try literacy centers for a while now, and was having a hard time fitting what I wanted to do in with the expectations at my school.  Luckily, I finally figured out a system that will work, and I am super excited!  I will run centers Tues-Thurs.  Monday will be all of my intro and whole group stuff, and Friday we test and do test prep activities.  Here is a break down of what I will be doing:

Tues-Thurs
15 minute phonics mini lesson- whole group
15 minute phonics/word study center rotation
15 minute Reading Strategies mini lesson- whole group
2- 20 minute vocabulary, comprehension, and reading strategy rotations
5 minute reflection

We have a 90 minute reading block, plus an additional 30 minute self selected reading time later in the day.

My Phonics Stations are:
Fluency Fun
Working with Words- teacher directed
Word Games
I will have 2 of each station with the same activity, but adjusted for reading level.  Groups will do a single station each day.

My Comprehension Stations are:
Guided Reading- teacher directed
Vocabulary
Listening Center
Leveled Readers (twice per week) Para led
Skill Focus

I am scouring teacher blogs, Pinterest, and proteacher for some ideas to put in my centers.  Once I have a list of activities I will try to post them here, as well as how I will manage the materials.  For now, enjoy the literacy center signs I've made.

Literacy Station Signs

Reading Strategies

We all know how important reading strategies are to becoming successful readers.  My students struggle with many of the strategies.  We would focus on one each week, and by the 3rd week, they couldn't remember the first strategy.

I created this poster to post in the classroom as a reminder of the strategies.  Now, this is not a  "post it and ignore it" type of thing.  I used it as I taught each strategy and I would refer back to it daily, until it became ingrained in their heads!

I printed the poster on a small vistaprint banner.  The printing came out fabulous and the vinyl of the banner means it will last for years to come!  This could very easily be printed onto a bookmark for students to keep at their desks.  Enjoy!