Chapter 1: What is a Literacy Work Station?
Literacy work station is an area in your classroom where students work and learn together. Two students are usually in a center at a time. I have done work stations this way in the past we just called them Literacy circles. The main difference is that once you have introduced literacy work stations they are not changed all year.
Some of the highlights are that teachers need to model then gradually release responsibility until students can have total independence.
Debbie's Non-Negotiables:
* Focus on practice and purpose not just the stuff of stations.
*Link to your teaching
*Slow down to speed up. Take it slow in the beginning. You won't regret it.
* Balance process and product.
*Less is more
* Use novelty
*Simplify
OK so there are a few I need to work on...
It is so hard in the beginning of the school year to want to introduce it all so that you can get going with guided reading. But really you need to go slow so that when it is time to start guided reading you can focus on guided reading not what the kids are doing. The students need to be independent first!!
I think I need to remember...less is more. As I was cleaning out my classroom I found so many things and asked myself "Why?" I had so many things I that I have bought over the years and have never used. This move will be good for me to rethink how I use my stuff and get rid of the things that I don't need.
Do you use the Literacy Work Stations Model? Do you like it? I'd love some feedback from people that have. I'm excited to use this method. I have use Daily 5 the past four years and love it but my new school uses Literacy Work Stations. Any ideas would be helpful?
Oh ok course I can't leave without sharing my latest and greatest!! I finally figured out how to bundle my writing centers! It took forever to upload it to TPT but it's there! 22 centers to use all year. If you would like any other ones you don't see let me know.
