Time For Kids

I wanted to design a center that focused on real-life nonfiction text.  I wanted to use something that was in the consumer text genre. I had the menus and the map reading, the diary and the post office...how about magazines or newspapers?

I found some free copies of Time for Kids.  I had thought about getting a subscription for my class, but it was too expensive.  I thought about getting a Donors Choose grant or asking parents for donations, but that idea came and went. I never threw away my free samples though so I decided to laminate them to make them more durable.

I decided to use some of the task cards I found on my favorite website which I call Third Grade Wiki. The section with these activities is called Response Cards 1-4. For this center, I only printed out the ones that related to nonfiction text.

I put the magazines and task cards in a bag and hung them on the wall.  The students really enjoy this center.  Some of them will read the same issue several times and complete a different task each time.  Others will find a task they like and complete it with each of the copies of the magazine.  I was able to go to other teachers at higher and lower grade levels and get their free copies so I have a variety of reading levels for different students to use.



Too Many Activities, Not Enough Space

Earlier this month I shared that I was putting away my word study centers and focusing on more reading response and comprehension. I usually have the activity cards hanging on clothespins that are hotglued on my walls...

My walls were looking a little trashy and crowded though so I needed a new way to organize them.  I headed out to my trusty Dollar Tree to get inspired. I decided that I would put all of the activities about a topic in one clear container together.  Now the students can just take the whole tub to work on which is better because it will be more productive for them to work on several related activities instead of a bunch of different ones.

The activities in the tubs are a variety of homemade things, purchased games, and tasks dowloaded from websites such as Pinterest, FCRR, and The Third Grade wiki.

Dear Diary (revision)

Back in January, I described a literacy center titled Dear Diary. Like any teacher, I revise my centers when I find a way to improve their content and rigor.  I came across a diary response activity when browsing my favorite wiki Third Grade.  The diary response card is found in the Response Cards 1 pdf. The Response Cards have fantastic reading and writing activities which I have added to my Guided Reading toolbox and novel study lessons.

Thinking Clouds

Over the past week I have been phasing out my word study centers and bringing in literacy centers that focus more on reading strategies such as Reading is Valuable and Cootie Catcher Reading. I turned to my current favorite website The Third Grade Wiki to help me find a way to have my students develop their metacognitive skills while using reading strategies. I found a great resource called Thinking Clouds.

I used the Thinking Clouds as a teaching strategy during Literacy and Social Studies for a couple of lessons before I set the students loose to use them independetly in a literacy center. I simply glued the Thinking Clouds onto paint sample cards and laminated them. As students read they place the cards throughout the story whenever they have that certain thought. If they finish reading and have cards left, they go back and read the story again. If it is a specific reading passage that I want them to read and answer questions with, then the students use a sheet of Thinking Clouds, cut them out, and glue them onto the passage at the point where they had that thought.

Figurative Language Fun

Once again I discovered some fun new practice activities for my students on FCRR and The Third Grade Wiki! Each site has a section for figurative language resources. I also found a simile Bingo game on the Collaborative Learning website (which is from England so some of the similes are odd in America).

My students have been working with similes and metaphors, so that is what I focused on in this center for now. I will add in more elements later. One is a matching game, one is sets of scenarios with questions, and the third is the bingo game.

Making Inferences

Making inferences is a skill that I have my students practice all year.  I put together my two favorite resources, FCRR and The Third Grade Wiki, and was able to create a center that gave students multiple ways to practice this skill. If you have not visited either of these websites, do yourself a huge favor and set aside some time to browse...you will not be disappointed!

Some of the activities in this center are simply scenarios with questions glued to construction paper or paint sample cards, laminated, and held together with a binder ring. A couple of them are games that have a board, cards, and chips to cover the spaces. My independent readers work with partners, while my lower readers work with me in a small group setting.

orange-2nd-3rd grade reading level

purple-4th-5th grade reading level

The set of inferencing cards above came from Pinterest. I can't find the blog from which I downloaded it.

hotglued clothespins on the wall to hang the activities

Sharing is Caring

Teaching is a wonderful profession because not only do we get to teach children new skills, but we have THE best network of collaboration between professionals.  I have to give some love to a wonderful wiki that has provided my students with terrific learning activities.

http://thirdgrade.okaloosaschools.wikispaces.net/Reading+Resources

I stumbled across this website while looking for some new comprehension activities for my students. What I discovered was many new literacy center opportunities just waiting to be made! Now that my student teacher has taken over my first block literacy class full-time, I actually have the luxury of spending time creating some new centers for my afternoon literacy block. 

These are easy centers to make and do not require you to buy anything special. Most of the centers are laminated construction paper (or paint sample cards) with questions and answers that are linked together with a binder ring that I hang on the wall with either a pushpin or a clothespin hotglued to the wall. My independent readers work on them with a partner, while my strategic readers work with a small group or they complete the cards with me during Guided Reading.