Workstation Wednesdays :)

I am so excited to team up with Stuckey in Second for a weekly workstation blog post! Checkout this weeks post for an overview of my weekly literacy stations!

First Grade Workstations! 

My favorite subject to teach is reading small groups.  Along with small groups goes workstations.  Developing a workstation plan that works for both me and my students has taken me a few years to perfect.  Workstations I love are the kind you teach once and just change the skill not the game.   In total I have 9 centers with a mix of our district guide lines and Daily 5.  I found these work great for my students.  

Station- Fluency

This station is divided up into three groups 1, 2, & 3 by ability level.  I found this alligator tooth game.  The students take turns reading a word, phrase, or nonsense word (whatever the skill of the week)  and push a tooth.  If the mouth shuts, all the students give their cards back and play again.  The alligator keeps the game exciting while the words change week to week, the game does not.  I also found the same style of game on Amazon as a shark and lion.  I interchange the animal monthly.

Station- Listening Center

We use our iPads at this station.  Our local public library has a membership to Tumble books.  Tumble books is an amazing site that read students books with animation.  The site can we arranged by title, author, and reading level.  Students listen to a book and fill out a graphic organizer for the skill of the week, such as characters, setting, main idea, details, and sequence. 

Station- Buddy Reading

I have three leveled baskets with books based on student TRC levels.  I have them grouped by red/yellow, green, and blue.  This station is my favorite because it requires no WORK!  I just add the small group books in from the week before and change the books out monthly.  

Station- iPads

Students work on Wonders apps, Word Avalanche, and Eggy Words.  My high group of students make book reviews using both Keynote and iMovie.  

Station-Word Building

I love using boggle at word building.  All groups of students excel at the activity.  My low kids find two or three letter words, while my higher kids find 5 and more letter words!  Its a great easy activity.  I also use my phonics puzzles that I make for my Wonders Resources. 

Station- Word Wall

I love using the word wall as a station!  Words are always being added to the wall so the activities you can teach once are endless.  At the word wall students use a word from the wall to create sentences.  They can also play a high frequency roll and read game from by Wonders Resources pack.  I also have high frequency word pages for students to complete at this station.

Station- Comprehension

Most of the activities at the comprehension station are found in my weekly Wonders Resources pack.  We always have the story from the week before with a comprehension board game.  I usually have the skill for the week activity too.  I love using the Animal A-Z nonfiction reads from Meet Miss Parker for my high ability students.  They love these reads!  After reading about X-Ray fish they had to know more, which sparked a research project.  How fun!

Station- Vocabulary

Most of the activities at the vocabulary station are from my weekly Wonders Resource pack.  Every week they have a sentence unscramble to complete.  The students complete the weekly grammar station.  The high students have a vocabulary book they complete over the words for the week. 

Station- Computers

Our district bought a subscription to Starfall this year.  My students love the fairytales and folktale stories.  I use the website abcya.com to help with sight word practice as well.

I hope you found some ideas you can use in your own classroom!  Stay tuned next week, I will be going over the word wall center in more detail!  Be sure to checkout Allison's stations at Stuckey in Second.