I love literacy work station time in my classroom. To see my students so engaged in meaningful activities, working together and being problem-solvers.....it warms my heart! This year, I implemented Debbie Diller's style of literacy work stations and I was completely sold in the first few weeks. I LOVE this approach! My students work in groups of 3. I have 24 students so that gives me 8 total groups. Each group has a designated "team leader". This person is in charge of the materials, as well as answering the questions of his or her team members. If someone in a "team" has a question, they first ask the team leader. If the leader doesn't know the answer, they come to ask me. Because the groups are so small, I can arrange them in a way that minimizes distractions for everyone. That is a big LOVE!! Debbie Diller's vision includes the teacher pulling small groups while the rest of the students work. I haven't implemented that this year -- instead, I make myself available to answer questions, and spend some quality time with each student as they bring their completed work to get checked by me.
You can check out the book for yourself by clicking here.
ANYWAY.....here are the stations that my students will be working through for the next two weeks.
"Mitten Rhymes"
See how this little guy has "boat" and "rope" as rhyming words? We took care of that once I noticed it. :)
(This rhyme supply activity can be found in my Snowy Stations pack.)
"Sight Word Stamp and Write"
"Snowman Word Stretchers"
(Sounding out and writing CVC words - Snowy Stations)
"Word Build and Write"
(focus on this week's sight words)
"My Little Penguin"
(Sight words and color words - Snowy Stations)
"What Sound is at the End?"
(Ending sounds - Snowy Stations)
"Winter Write the Room"
(This activity can be found here.)
"Pencil, Marker, Glue - sight word practice"
We also began new math stations this week that I'll post about later. You can grab my Snowy Stations pack for $5.00 until the end of the week!
Have you heard of Debbie Diller or do you use her approach for your literacy or math work stations?
Love these stations! I wish that I had a full day routine to be able to make something like this work! And your snowy day pack looks oh so cute! I'm getting so many great ideas from you...too bad I'm off for most of January, but maybe next year I'll be able to do them when we are traditional! You are one rockin' teacher! Your students are SO blessed to have you!!!! Thanks for being an inspiration! Love you!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love that Debbie Diller book too! Every year I change up how I do literacy centers and whether I am teaching while the kids are at centers or sometimes, like you, I use that time to walk around and help. This year I have 29 students so it's a little more difficult. How long do your teams of 3 have at each station and do you tell them when to rotate to the next? Or is it just one literacy center per day...hence the 2 weeks? As for me- I have done all varieties - one per day, 2 or 3 in one day, rotate when you want (looking at the centers chart to know where to go), or to rotate when I give the signal.... etc etc.... Not sure which version I like best!
ReplyDeleteI like your blog and am your newest follower!
Christy
Crayons and Whimsy
Hi Jill,
ReplyDeleteLiteracy Work Stations is a great book! Do you use the "I Can..." posters at each station? They're so helpful. Your center activities are so cute! We use Daily 5 at our school, prior to that, I always used Debbie Diller's work stations. I'm following you now...can't wait to stop by for another visit!
Take care,
Wendy
Read with Me ABC