Literacy Work Stations Making Centers Work

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Literacy Work StationsMaking Centers Work

• By
• Debbie Diller
• Stenhouse Publishers
• Portland, Maine

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Presenters

• Donna Tew
• Kim Shaw
• Kay Thornton
• Susan Walters

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Chapters 1 2

• What is a literacy work station?
• 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.

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Work Stations (contd)

• Variety of activities that reinforce and/or
  extend learning, often without the assistance of
  the teacher.
• Existing classroom space and equipment are used
  (overhead, easel, tape recorder)
• Variety of activities for children to choose from
  (controlled choice)

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Literacy Work Stations (contd)

• Emphasis is on practicemeaningful, independent
  practice. It is a time for children to practice
  all that the teacher has been modeling.
  Activities grow out of what the teacher has done
  during read-aloud, shared reading, modeled
  writing, shared writing, small group instruction,
  etc. Things are not put in the work station just
  to keep children busy.

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Traditional Learning Centers

• New materials are often placed in the center
  without first being used in teaching.
• Centers are often changed weekly with units of
  study.
• Centers are often used by students when they
  finish their work.
• All students do the same activities at centers.

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• If the teacher meets with small groups, each
  group often does the same task.

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Literacy Work Stations

• Materials are taught with and used for
  instruction first, then placed in the work
  station for independent use.
• Stations remain set up all year long. Materials
  are changed to reflect childrens reading levels,
  strategies being taught, and topics being
  studied.
• Materials are differentiated for students with
  different needs and reading levels.

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• Stations are used for students meaningful
  independent work and are an integral part of each
  childs instruction. All students go to work
  stations daily.
• The teacher meets with guided reading groups
  during literacy work stations.

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Non-Negotiables for Work Stations

• Focus on practice and purpose, not the stuff of
  stations.
• Link to your teaching.
• Slow down to speed up.
• Balance process and product.
• Less is more.
• Use novelty.
• Simplify.

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Chapter Two

• How Do I Use Literacy Work Stations?
• This chapter gives a detailed description of how
  to set up stations and teach children how to use
  them.

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Mini-Lessons

• Diller says to use mini-lessons to
• First introduce the work station
• Add something new to a work station
• Review a work station activity
• Students may need more than one mini-lesson to
  model expectations.

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Beginning Mini-Lesson

• How to use equipment/materials
• How to share materials
• How to take turns
• How to use management board
• How to use the I can list
• How to solve a problem
• Where can I go for help?
• How to put things away
• How to switch to the next work station

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Daily mini-lessons

• Diller states that a short mini-lesson at the
  beginning of each day is a good time to discuss
  any problems with work stations, to discuss work
  that has been done, or to model any new
  information about the work stations.

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Management Boards

• The key is that students know where they are to
  be, when theyre supposed to be there, and what
  theyre supposed to be doing. Board should tell
  them this so you do not have to be interrupted.

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Folders and Finished Work

• Have a system for collecting, reviewing, and
  storing work station products. It can be a box
  or tray labeled Finished Work Station Work at a
  central location or at each station. It can be a
  folder system where you have a folder for each
  child filed in a place that students can access
  to put finished work in.