READING and WRITING OPTIONS: A Bit of History and Info...

If you are used to the way my centers pages used to look, I’ve changed how I run centers and so now my center pages are set up to reflect how they are now.  In the past, I had 10 different “Literacy Corners” in my classroom.  Students were partnered and would start in one of the 10 centers.  They would then work their way through all 10 Literacy Corners in a 10-day cycle.  Then we’d start the cycle rotation over with new partnerships. 

Each of the 10 Literacy Corners were designed to focus on reading and writing skills.  Each of the 10 Literacy Corners housed several activities, all available for students to use at their own choosing. 

 In September, we’d learn the Literacy Corner time routines, set expectations, and practice working independently.  All of this practicing set the tone for the rest of the year – because when students were working in a Literacy Corner, I was working with small groups. 

 Each activity that was placed in a corner was introduced whole group.  Once an activity was introduced it stayed in the Literacy Corner for the rest of the year.  Every once in awhile I’d remove an activity if additional room was needed, or for other reasons, but for the most part, each corner had a plethora of activities.

During our 45-minute Literacy Corner block, students were pulled from their Literacy Corners to meet with me in small groups.  Partnerships were not formed based on small group rosters, and activities were not dependent on 2-players being present.  If a partner had to leave their Literacy Corner, the other partner continued.  When a partner returned to a Literacy Corner, they resumed their work.

 The system worked well.  My only complaint would be that it took 10 days for students to visit each Literacy Corner, and more importantly, I didn’t feel that there was a strong connection between our Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop times and Literacy Corner times. 

Last year I spent time regrouping each of the 10 Literacy Corner activities.  I sorted each activity based on its main focus: reading or writing.  The name Literacy Corners was changed to Reading and Writing Options.  We now have two separate times in our day where students are able to choose reading and writing-related activities:

□       Reading Options

□       Writing Options

Reading Options time follows our Reader’s Workshop minilesson.  During the minilesson, we focus on strategies and behaviors that proficient readers use and exhibit.  You can visit my Reader’s Workshop page for further information (it’s a work in progress!).  Students practice and apply these strategies and behaviors during Reading Options time.  The main objective of Reading Options time is to become better, proficient readers.  Students read to get better at reading, and students read to develop a love and purpose for reading. 

Writing Options time follows our Writer’s Workshop.  During Writer’s Workshop we have time for a minilesson, independent work time, teacher/student conferences, and share time.  We focus on the craft and purpose of writing during Writer’s Workshop.  In addition, we also have Word Work time – a time to focus on spelling strategies, word families, word structure, phonics, and phonemic awareness.  You can visit my Writer’s Workshop and Word Work pages for further information (they are a work in progress!).  Students practice and apply these strategies and behaviors during Writing Options time.  The main objective of Writing Options time is to become better, proficient writers.  Students write to get better at writing, and students write to develop a love and purpose for writing. 

Now that the original 10 Literacy Corner activities have been divided into two categories, students are still reading and writing; however, there is now a very clear connection between them and Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop times. I’m all for seamless transition!  J

So, how did I divvy up the original 10 Literacy Corner activities?  The chart below will hopefully give you a visual picture of how they were sorted (click on the WORLD icon to go directly to that activity's page): 

1. Magnet Corner	Reading	Writing
Sequence a Story, Song, Rhyme, etc.
Create a Story
Build or Spell Sight Words
Build Names and Words
Letter Sounds and Picture Match
Letter Sort
Letter Sequence
ABC Chart #1
ABC Chart #2
ABC Chart #3
Sticker Words

 

2. Pocket Chart Corner	Reading	Writing
Sort Shapes
Sort Colors
Sort Letters
Sort Rhymes
Sort Seasons
10 Category Sort
Begins With, Ends With
Poems
Rhymes
Songs
Chants
Silly Sentences
Sentence Stories
Sequence Letters
Build Words
Build Names
Match Words and Pictures
Match Sentences and Pictures
Match Opposites
Match Rhymes
3-Letter Word Game

 

3. Writing Corner	Reading	Writing
Cards
Letters
Stories
Recipes
Directions
Poetry
Lists
Postcards
Write the Room

 

4. Word Work Corner	Reading	Writing
Word Match Up Puzzles
Word Unscramble
Phonics Windows
Spell it 5x
Itty Bitty Star Word Books
Which Rhyme Is It?
Syllable Card Clap
Scrabble Addition
Roll-Say-Keep
Spin and Write
Parking Lot
Bottled Up
Connect Four
Cube Toss
Salt
Wikki Stix

 

5. Listening Corner	Reading	Writing
Audio Books
Color a Rhyme
Glyphs
Soundtracks Games

 

6. Reading Corner	Reading	Writing
Leveled Readers
Classroom Books
Read Around the Room
Easy Reading Flat and Flip Stories
Familiar Books
Seek and Find Books
Wordless Books
Concept Books
Class-Made Books
Teaching/Anchor Charts
Poetry/Song/Rhyme Charts
Student-Made Books
Newspapers
Magazines
Reader’s Theatre
Poetry
Read the Teacher a Book Fluency Check
Partner Reading
Independent Reading

 

7. Handwriting Corner	Reading	Writing
Assessment Poetry
Textured letter Books
Online Practice
Sentence Strip Word Bank Flip Books
Learning Page Handwriting Sheet Pages
Letter Windows
School Rite Letter Templates
Play Dough or Clay Letters
Gel Pack Letter Tracing
40-Letters Per Minute
Name Tickets
Starfall Handwriting Sheets/Book
Meacham Handwriting Booklet Sheets
Sentence Practice
Salt, Flour, Sugar, Shaving Cream
Dollar Tree Handwriting Cards
Print a Word Cards
Dollar Tree Handwriting Board Books
Aquadoodle Mats
Paddle Erase Boards
MagnaDoodles
Glow Boards
Water Wizards
Gel Boards

 

8. Names Corner	Reading	Writing
Name Sorts
Bingo Dot Names
Rainbow Names
Name Cards
Tactile Name Plates
Classmate Name Book
Name Envelopes or Tins
Spell it 5x
Roll-Say-Keep
Spin and Write
Parking Lot
Bottled Up
Connect Four
Cube Toss
Scrabble Addition

 

9. Felt Board Corner	Reading	Writing
Sequence Stories
Sequence Letters
Build Words
Build Names
Match Pictures to Words
Match Pictures to Letters
Act out Stories

 

10. ABC Corner	Reading	Writing
Alphabet Books Bins
ABC Book Making
Alphabet Charts
ABC Itty Bitty Books
ABC Order and Letter Sound Matching
ABC Pocket Chart Sort
ABC Sound Tubs
Bottled Up ABCs
Clothespin ABCs
Connect Four ABCs
Cube Toss ABCs
Font Sort
Letter Order
Letter Search
Letter and Picture Match
Parking Lot ABCs
Roll-Say-Keep ABCs
Spin and Write ABCs
Tactile Letter Books
Upper/Lowercase Letter, Sound, Picture Match
Which Sound Is It?

 

11. Fine Motor Corner	Reading	Writing
Play Dough or Clay Letters
Geoboard Letters
Lace and Trace
Nuts and Bolts
Perforated Fun
Scribble Art
Traceable Art
Wikki Stick Letters

 Note…I added “Fine Motor” to the original 10 Literacy Corners line up, so that’s why there are 11  corners listed

 You can also visit my Reading and Writing Options pages to find for further information about each activity.