Sensational Centers For Small Group Instruction

My Students

Every minute is a new learning experience in a mixed-ability classroom. However, real academic growth can only come from targeted small group instruction. Without intentional activities to support the rest of the class's independent learning, all of my students are wasting valuable learning time.

I teach a class of witty and creative eight-year-olds at an inner-city school in Pennsylvania.

While they struggle with reading and writing, there is an adventurous story-teller within each of them that is bursting to get out! The school is entering its third year of turnaround and it is time to really push the academic rigor for my students through improving their literacy skills.

My Project

These two free-standing literacy centers will allow my students the opportunity to independently push their academic growth. While students are moving throughout the reading and writing centers, I will be better able to work with small groups of students for guided reading and/or more writing help. Small group instruction is where growth really occurs within a mixed-ability classroom, as the students get more individualized attention to address the areas they are struggling with or where they are ready to be pushed! Students will learn to self-motivate and self-select activities. They will need to share with their classmates and redirect themselves if they are unable to do the activity of their choice. Literacy centers provide students opportunities to grow their character and reading/writing ability.

To ensure that I am able to have successful small group instruction, I need to know that the rest of my class is also learning through independent literacy activities.

The activities in the Lakeshore packages are fun, academic, and will allow my students the opportunity to build the basic literacy skills they may have missed in younger grades. Once these skills are in place, they will be ready to read and write with or without direct teacher instruction!