Literacy Stations

This year students will be working in literacy stations while I meet with small groups. I wanted to give everyone a heads up as to what the stations are, because many can also be implemented at home. I have taken the structure of the literacy stations from the amazing book, The Daily Five, but have also added some different activities that I feel would interest our students!

Basically, students will be working in five different stations all based on choice. Each day students will CHOOSE from the five different stations- each station having a variety of activities to choose from. Below I have described each station and what students will be able to do in each station.

STATION 1: READ BY YOURSELF
In this station students simply read independently. At the beginning of each week students get to fill their book box with "just right" books (books that are on their reading level). During station time students take their book boxes to a special spot in the classroom and read alone.

In this station students may choose to:

• read with our special reading glasses
• read with a magic wand
• Read with a pirate telescope

Our Special Reading Glasses...they help us focus on words!

Our pirate telescope...helps us see words in a new light!

Our magic wands help us stay on track while we read!

Our book boxes

STATION 2: READ TO SOMEONE ELSE
In this station students get to read to another person or "buddy". This helps students with fluency and overall confidence...plus it's just really cool to read to someone else!

In this station students may choose to

• Read to another person
• Read to a buddy (stuffed animal- which by the way I told the students that the buddies could actually hear what they were reading. It is amazing that they believed this and it has greatly helped with this activity. Haha. Thanks, Mrs. Faulconer for that awesome idea!)

Microphones help us know which partner's turn it is to read!

Our reading "buddies"...they listen to us read!

Our shared readings...students may use the pointer to read things around the room to a partner!

STATION 3: WORK ON WRITING
This station is by far the most popular station thus far. The students LOVE to write! In this station students get to complete a variety of writing pieces. The best part of this station is that students almost always get to choose what they are writing about....and this makes a BIG difference.

In this station students may choose to:

• Write a friendly letter to another classmate, teacher, parent, or friend. (We actually deliver the letters!)
• Write a postcard
• Practice handwriting with dry erase markers
• WRITE IN THEIR DIARIES! (they 100% think this is the coolest thing ever!)
• Write and publish a book (students can make a book about any topic or subject. If they really take their time-the book will be placed in our own classroom library!)

Each student has their own very special diary!

Friendly Letters....we deliver!

STATION 4: LISTEN TO SOMEONE READ
I have not yet introduced this station to students but I know it will soon become a classroom favorite. In this station students will be listening to adults read through many different types of technology!

In this station students may choose to:

• Listen to a book on tape
• Listen to Mrs. Murphy read on a voice recorder
• Listen to the computer read on RAZ-KIDS.com (I will write another blog on this one...it is AWESOME!)
• Read a TAG Book (this is a product from leap frog-each book comes with a magic pen that when pressed to the page of the book actually says the word for the student...another idea taken from Mrs. Faulconer!)

TAG books by LeapFrog...students use the special pen to help them read words they don't know!

Read a book on tape!

Listen to Mrs. Murphy read on voice recorders!

STATION 5: WORK ON WORDS
This station has a lot of fun activities for students to actively manipulate letters to make words. This is SUCH a crucial piece of the puzzle when learning to read!

In this station students may choose to:

• Quiz a partner on sight words
• Create words using magnetic letters (they will be making words that follow our phonics lessons for the week)
• Play popcorn (Sight word game)



Students can make words using magnetic letters and cake pans (assignments go with phonics and spelling)



Popcorn- a fun sight word game



Students can quiz each other on sight words



A fun word making game!

Wow....that about covers it! I hope that some of these ideas you can use at home when reading with your students. I have been so very impressed with the students already this year. They are really working hard in their stations and are VERY enthusiastic!