Independent Learning with Literacy Centers

Dear Educator,

Just in time for back to school planning, here are some links and ideas for using literacy centers in your classroom. I was impressed once again, as I surfed for articles, by the creativity and resourcefulness of teachers--and by their ability to stretch a dollar to create a wonderful activity for their students. I hope you too find something inspiring here to get your new school year off to a great start.

Best wishes,

Rosalind Iiams, Editor
editor@primaryconcepts.com

Why Use Literacy Centers? Literacy centers serve two purposes: they give students a chance to practice core skills independently or in small groups; and they allow teachers uninterrupted time to focus their attention on small reading groups. Research shows that students who work in literacy centers gain problem-solving skills, learn to monitor their own behavior, and improve reading scores and enjoyment as they practice core skills in varied, non-threatening ways. Meanwhile, teachers can work with their Guided Reading groups with fewer interruptions, benefiting both students and teacher. Literacy centers help teachers meet state standards for core skill instruction, while meeting the needs of all their students.

Literacy Centers and the Brain. In his book, Teaching with the Brain in Mind (Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 1998), Eric Jensen applies research on the brain to classroom teaching techniques. According to Jensen, teachers can increase students' motivation and attention by providing choices, making learning relevant to students' personal experiences, and engaging students on an emotional and physical level. Jensen suggests literacy centers as one way to achieve these goals. First, the centers allow the students to move between locations, which activates the brain to learn. At the centers, students engage in multisensory activities (visual, auditory, and tactile) that allow for different ability levels and learning styles.

What Makes a Good Literacy Center? Young students have often had little practice at being independent learners. Teachers report that they model literacy center use for the children at the beginning of the school year, and give students clear guidelines on use of the centers. Successful centers include organization, containment, and structure to help students work independently, with minimal management time. Centers also need to be open-ended enough to meet the needs of students with different learning styles and ability levels. At a writing center, for example, students working from a prompt could do anything from writing a few words or a sentence and illustrating it, to writing a story. An assessment or accountability system will help keep students on task in their centers and will help teachers evaluate progress. Finally, centers should not only be engaging for students, but should also be closely aligned to the literacy curriculum to ensure that students are practicing core skills.

For more detailed ideas about setting up and managing your literacy centers, refer to the links below.

Make these little books for your word building center. Children stamp or write in missing letters to make three-letter words, then illustrate each page.

[Source: Primary Concepts' "Word Building with Letter Stamps"]

Alphabet stamps also available.

August specials, online only!
Phonemic Awareness Centers (3755)	Fluency Centers (3773)
Includes Words That Rhyme, Beginning Sounds, and Sound Segmentation Centers Regularly $71.00; Special $63.00	Includes High Frequency Words, Syllable, and Build-A-Sentence Centers Regularly $109.00; Special $98.00

Do you have a special Literacy Center idea? Send your idea (and a photo, if you have it) to editor@primaryconcepts.com, and we'll share it with our readers.

In our September newsletter: Research, ideas, and many online resources for using graphic organizers in the primary classroom to teach reading comprehension.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson