My colleague, Kimberly Sliva and I presented "LITERACY STATIONS THAT REALLY WORK IN THE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM" at the KToT 23rd Annual State Conference.
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Objectives for Literacy Stations
1. To keep children engaged and on task while the teacher is pulling students for small group reading instruction.
2. To reinforce literacy skills (letter/sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and word study.)
Goals for Literacy Stations
1. For children to make choices.
2. For children to work at their own pace.
3. For children to learn to work independently or with a partner.
4. For children to work hands on with literacy materials.
5. For children to feel successful.
Organization and Management of Literacy Stations
Our students work in Literacy Stations independently for forty-five minutes each day. During this time, we pull students for small group reading instruction. Our instructional aide monitors the students during Literacy Stations. For the first four weeks of school, we introduce our stations and explain the station rotation. After this, each group is given a choice of three stations to work in each day. There can be no more than two children per station. Students may move to another station as long as it is one of their choices.
There are not any worksheets to be graded in our Literacy Stations. We don’t require that our students show us what they have done. Our instructional aide does check on our students while they are working, making sure they are working in their stations correctly. As long as they are on task and busy, we are happy. Our students don’t get tired of our stations or materials in the stations. The contents of our tubs stay the same the entire year. New manipulatives can be added to tubs as skills are mastered throughout the year.
Frequently Asked Questions about Literacy Stations
1. How do I get started? Use the labels provided and begin collecting items for your stations. Make a management chart to manage your stations. Start with only 15 stations and add to those as you have time.
2. When do I start using Literacy Stations? I start my stations the second day of school.
3. How often do I change my Literacy Stations? I use the same 15 stations for about two weeks and then I my change out a few.
4. How do I hold my students accountable? My students are accountable if they are on task and working in their station. My instructional assistant monitors my students while I am pulling small groups.
5. Where do I store my Literacy Stations?
I have 24 tubs (12 quart Sterilite storages boxes from Wal-Mart) that hold some of my Literacy Stations. Other stations are located in the classroom. Examples-Big Books, Pocket Charts, Alphabet Books, Alphabet Big Books, Computer, Book Boxes, Independent Reading, ABC Puzzles, Song and Poetry Cards. My tubs are stored on a wonderful shelf from Lakeshore.
To access the labels that were part of our presentation, click above.
Ideas and Materials for Literacy Stations
· ABC Magnets
Magnetic letters
Word cards with pictures or word wall
(student pictures/names)
Sight words on cards
Magnetic sight words to build sentences
Alphabet books
· Overhead Projector
Letter tiles
High frequency words
Word family tiles
Alphabet transparencies
Alphabet books
· ABC Puzzles
ABC puzzles
Word puzzles-sentence strips cut apart into puzzles
Alphabet books
· Beginning Sound Match
Alphabet tiles
File folder games
Alpha bears
Beginning sound match cards
Alphabet books
· Nursery Rhyme
Pocket chart with nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme words cut apart to match sentence strips
Books of Nursery Rhymes
· Song and Poetry Cards
Enlarged copies of songs and poems
Pointers
· Read the Room
Pointers
Puppets
Funny glasses
Toilet paper binoculars
Masks
Paper towel telescopes
Magnifying glasses
· Write the Room
Clip Boards
Paper
Pencils
· Playdough
Playdough
Alphabet cutters
Sight words
Picture word cards
ABC laminated books
Laminated letters
· Alphabet Big Books
Alphabet big books
Pointers
· Independent Reading
Books
Pointers
· Sorting
Letters
Sorting rings
Sight words
Word cards
Alphabet books
· Letter Match
Alpha bears
File folder games
Letter puzzles
Two sets of letters to match (upper and lower case)
Alphabet books
· Computer
Computers
Computer software
Starfall
· Alphabet Books
Alphabet books
Pointers
· Book Box
Teacher made books
Emergent readers
· Story Telling
Story telling board
Flannel board
Puppets
Story telling kits
Story telling aprons
Story telling easel
· Word Study
Anything to make a word:
Letter tiles
Alpha bears
Three letter word cards
Alphabet books
· Word Families
File folder games
Pocket chart
Flip cards
Alphabet books
· Rhyming
File folder games
Rhyming puzzles
· Lite Brite
Lite Brite
Lite Brite bulbs
Paper and markers
Letter cards
Sight word cards
· Games
Bingo
Dr. Seuss game
Alphabet activity mats
· Sight Words
Sight word cards
Sight word stamps
Sight word bottles
Sight word rings
Alphabet books
· Stamps
Letter, picture, and word stamps
Stamp pads
Paper
· Pocket Charts
Pocket chart
Poem poster
Words written on sentence strips
Pointers
· Alphabet
Flash cards
Letter Arcs
Alpha Bears
Letter blocks
Wikki Stix
Alphabet beads
Pipe Cleaners
Alphabet books
· Build a Sentence
Word tiles
Paper and Pencil
Laminate words that make up a simple sentence in ziplock bags
Alphabet books
· Letter Tiles
Letter tiles
Vocabulary cards with pictures and words
Alphabet books
· Color Books
Color books
· Laptop Computers
File folders
Keyboard blackline master
Sight word cards
Name cards
· Flash Cards
Flash cards
Alphabet books
· Stencils
All different types of stencils
Pencils
Paper
Markers
· Chalk Boards
Chalk Boards
Chalk
Easers
Sight word cards
Alphabet books
· Dictionary
Picture Dictionaries
Pencil and Paper
· Dry-erase Boards
Dry-erase boards
Dry-erase markers
Dry-erase erasers
Alphabet books
· Spelling
Letters
Picture-word cards
Magnetic letters
Cookie sheet
· Buddy Reading
Books
· Word Wall
Flash cards
Bean bag
Paper
Pencil
· Listening
Tape recorder with head sets
Books/tapes
· Handwriting
Pencil
Paper
Markers
Wooden pieces with laminated letters (Handwriting Without Tears)
This is my new storage shelf for my Kinder Readers. I use all of Sandi Reyes' leveled guided reading books in my classroom. I was lucky to get this shelf from another teacher who was giving it away. Each cubby is labeled and organized in the order that I use them throughout the year. I have six books of each leveled reader. They are color coded by level. Each has a laminated front and back cover.
ABC Magnets-There are individual magnet boards for the students to use. They can also use my filing cabinets or the large white board in the classroom. I have various types of magnetic letters to use and magnetic words for building sentences. Students can practice spelling their friend's names using our word wall. Sight word rings are in the station for making sight words. They can match capital to lowercase letters or put the letters in ABC order.
Write the Room-I have clipboards, chalkboards, and white boards for the children to write on. They copy words that are displayed around the room on posters, charts, word wall, and on books. A variety of writing materials (pencils, colored pencils, markers, gel pens, paper, note pads) are available for use in this station.
Alphabet Books-All of my alphabet books are put in a basket for reading.
Book Boxes-Each student has their own book box (cereal box covered with contact paper) that holds their books that we make at school. Book boxes also hold a copy of the shared reading book for the week.
Playdough-Playdough cookie cutters, playdough letter stampers, and laminated letters cards are all used in this fun station. Sight word rings and picture word cards are available for making words. Laminated letter cards are used to form the letters by making snakes with playdough and putting it on the letters.
Big Books-I have a wide selection of big books that the students can read using pointers. They can read with a partner or on their own. Word wands are used to focus on sight words.
ABC Puzzles-Alphabet puzzles, ABC floor puzzles, teacher made word puzzles (sentence strips cut into puzzles).
Storytelling-I have a great storytelling board from Lakeshore. The students love to retell stories using the characters and the storyboard. I also have a flannel board with many pieces. Masks and puppets are good for retelling.
Song & Poetry Cards-I have copies of poems in a basket to be read with pointers. Props are sometimes added to dramatize the poem. Paper, pencils, and crayons are used to illustrate the poems. Some poems are cut in stanzas to be put back together in a pocket chart.
Read the Room-Many types of pointers are used to read print in the room. The students go around the room reading words they know. I also have funny glasses, theme related masks, magnifying glasses, toilet paper binoculars, and paper towel telescopes that can be used while reading the room. Many of my pointers are made with dowel sticks and craft foam cut outs.
Word Study-The word station is filled with many ways to make words. Sight word rings are used to make words. A mini-clothesline can be used to spell out word wall words, names, and sight words. A grab bag of letters is used to pull out a letter and write a word that begins with that letter. Three letter word cards are put together to make a word. I have laminated pictures with the correct number of spaces for the word. The student writes the word with a vis-a-v pen that can be wiped off. Alpha-bears are used to form three letter words. I also have small objects to be matched with word cards.
Letter Match-Match capital and lowercase letters. I have letter puzzles to connect capital and lowercase letters. There are many file folder games for capital and lowercase matching. You could also have two sets of letter cards to match in a pocket chart. Alpha-bears can be used for matching capital to lowercase letters.
Word Families-Laminate a file folder and make a word family pocket chart. Two Ziploc bags hold the letters and stapled to the top of the folder. Put the consonants in one bag and the vowels in the other. Three strips of Velcro are attached to the bottom of the file folder. The students make word family words using a pocket chart in the classroom.
Rhyming-Students can match objects that rhyme, pictures that rhyme, sing nursery rhymes, and brainstorm words that rhyme with a given word. Rhyming puzzles and file folder games are also included in this station.
Overhead Projector-The students love the overhead station. Overhead letter tiles, overhead sight words, overhead word family tiles, letter dot-to-dot transparencies, overhead pictures with the correct spaces for the letter tiles, D'Nealian handwriting transparencies are just some of the things that students can choose from.
Independent Reading-The students go to the Library Center and choose a favorite book to read alone.
Lite Brite-Students practice fine motor skills and proper letter formation using laminated D'Nealian handwriting paper. Etch & Sketch, Light Brite, and letter stencils are also used for making letters and words.
ABC Games-Students love to play Bingo! Alphabet Bingo is a great way to learn the letters of the alphabet. One student can be the caller and the others play the game. Alphabet Sort helps students with visual discrimination by sorts through colored letters and putting them on the correct letter.
Sight Words -Sight word rings can be used as a word deck for calling out the sight words. There are sight word stamps to match with the cards. Sight word bottles (discovery bottles) include color and number words. The students must find a word in the bottle and highlight the word on a ditto sheet.
Stamps-There are alphabet stamps, picture stamps, and sound stamps. The students can stamp out names, sight words, and make stories for the picture stamps. They can stamp the letters in ABC order or stamp a capital letter and the matching lowercase letter.
Pocket Charts-I have many pocket charts in the classroom for the children to use. We use poems, chants, language experience stories, and rhymes in pocket charts. I write the rhyme on sentence strips, cut up the words, and put them in Ziploc bags by lines. The students must put the rhymes back together by matching the words to the rhyme.
Alphabet-Students put flash cards of the alphabet in order. This can be done on the floor or on a pocket chart. Alphabet strips are put in this station for a visual check. Letter arcs are used for putting the alphabet in order. The students can string letter blocks in order. Alpha-bears can be placed in ABC order. You can also find letter arcs and plastic letters from Nixon Education Services. http://www.alphabetmats.com/
Beginning Sounds-Alpha-tiles, file folder games, and sound tubs are all good for learning beginning sounds of the letters.
Build a Sentence-I have laminated words that make a simple sentence in Ziploc bags. The students make the sentence and then record it on paper and then illustrate their sentence.
Letter Tiles-Your students can use vocabulary cards with pictures and words to make words. They can match capital letters to lowercase letters and put the alphabet in order.
Color Books-Every teacher has tons of color books. Your students will love reading these over and over again.
Laptop Computer-This is a laptop computer that the students type their sight words on. I laminated a folder that has a pocket. The sight words are on cards that fit in the pocket. This black line master was part of Dr. Jean's workshop resource book. She has given me permission to share it with all of you. Click here: Laptop Computer
Flash Cards-I went to the Dollar Store and bought alphabet flash cards and color and shapes flash cards.
Stencils-I have collected many stencils throughout the years. Now they are in one tub and my students love them.
Chalkboards-Once again, the Dollar Store came through for me. These fit perfectly into my Literacy Station tubs.
Dictionary-Put old dictionaries into a literacy station. Your students can find pictures that begin with a certain letter and write the word or draw pictures and label them.
