Literacy Work Stations

Here’s the first set of notes on my recent professional development with Debbie Diller on Literacy Work Stations.

What a station is…	What a station is not…
Meaningful Independent activities Managed Organized Managed Provides them ownership Engaging Reinforces current learning skills or previously taught skills Paired partner practice Added to weekly Provides writing, oral, reading, vocabulary practice Familiar reading Graphic organizer on clipboard Authentic reading, writing, listening, speaking, and working with words	Off level Messy Store bought Busy work Changed out weekly Small group, 3-4 students Too many choices, Luby’s syndrome Information overload Unfamiliar reading material Worksheet

Station Ideas

1. Fluency station – pocket chart with nursery rhymes or poetry where students put them in order; provide a copy of the rhyme or poem; at the end of the week, summarize the weekly story and use in the fluency station the following week.
2. Readers theater station – provide puppets or stuffed animals for students to practice their reading skills
3. Observation station – can be a hamster, near a window to observe birds on a feeder, sea shells, rocks and minerals, zoo cam, fall leaves; read about it, write about it, talk about it; provide books, field guides, hamster word wall, work with words; observation log; when placing a new book, introduce it whole group and read a page or two to get them excited.
4. Creation station – create something and then write about it
5. Writing station (fiction or non-fiction) – place near word wall and whole group area
6. Poetry station – copy of poem; read and sequence the sentence strips
7. Morning message – incorporate the written morning message
8. Newspaper station – weekly readers, Time for Kids, National Geographic for Kids, community fliers, grocery advertisement; what they do: highlight letters or words they are learning for the week, read news, read pictures, write about the pictures, working with text and graphic features; this heading goes with this article, this article goes with this graphic; read the headline and make a prediction; sequencing comics and write; third graders write an opinion based on facts they’ve read; fruit market advertisement: write about favorite fruit, write a recipe, sort the words alphabetically
9. Listening station (fiction or non-fiction) – provides oral accommodations; large laminated graphic organizer; use digital camera to photograph
10. Word work station – use file cabinet to sort words or letters; see her book page 199-202; check out book, Words Their Way; computer access for PBSkids.org
11. Buddy reading station (fiction or non-fiction) – read to each other; depending on level, they picture read; *recommended first grade classrooms to start with this station first
12. Overhead station – glue index cards to craft stick; they walk up to projected image and take the word they are practicing off the screen and back on the screen; take off letters that match phonemes from the beginning, middle, or end of words; practice with CVCe words
13. Oral language station/talking station – use picture cards; work with vocabulary words; take turns – provide 8 clothespins, 4 colored blue, 4 colored red, when one talks they remove the pin so the other can talk; can provide a tape recorder
14. Science station – connected to instruction; example provided was hurricanes, they read, wrote connections, wrote about it, wrote facts, partners ask each other questions
15. Silent reading station – read and respond 

What a lot of great ideas! Which stations do you see yourself implementing?