A 1st-Grade Teacher's Survival Guide to the Implementation and Management of Literacy Centers During Guided Reading

Childhood Education, 2005 by Kieff, Judith

This Idea Sparker was submitted by Pandora Zook, a 1st-grade teacher at Guilford Elementary School in Sterling, Virginia.

Self-guided literacy centers are often touted as productive and creative alternatives to extended seat work while the teacher meets with guided reading groups. Indeed, they can be. But, if she is not careful, those same centers that a teacher lovingly puts together late Friday night also can turn into her greatest distraction early Monday morning. I still cringe at my early attempts at introducing centers in my 1st-grade classroom. "Read Around the Room" and the "Writing Center" could have been more accurately described as "Rush Around the Room" and the "Social Center." Children at the Listening Center spent more time pushing various buttons on the tape recorder than following along with the story, and they completely ignored any pocket chart activity.

Generating center activities is not challenging; making them run smoothly is. I don't claim to have perfected the implementation and management of centers in my classroom, but I have learned some lessons along the way that I would like to share.

Some teachers avoid using centers because they see it as a scheduling nightmare. It doesn't have to be. Here is an example of how centers can be incorporated into the literacy instructional block. (Notes: Our 1st-grade team uses an ocean theme for reading groups-Starfish, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, and Whales. The Starfish and Sea Turtles groups comprise needier readers who should meet more frequently-at least three times a week-for guided reading instruction. Seat work may include individual handwriting practice or writing journal entries.)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

8:15-8:45: Morning meeting (calendar, weather, 100's chart, weekly poem, whole-group handwriting practice, and/or introduction of center activity).

8:45-9:15: Meet with Starfish while Sea Turtles do their centers. Dolphins may read independently or with a partner. Whales may do assigned seat work.

9:15-9:45: Meet with Sea Turtles while Starfish do their centers. Dolphins may do seat work while Whales read independently or with a partner.

9:45-10:15: Whole-group phonics instruction.

10:15-10:45: Whole-group writing instruction.

Tuesday, Thursday

8:15-8:45: Morning meeting (calendar, weather, 100's chart, weekly poem, whole-group handwriting practice and/or introduction of center activity).

8:45-9:15: Meet with Dolphins while Whales do their centers. Starfish may read independently or with a partner. Sea Turtles may do assigned seat work.

9:15-9:45: Meet with Whales while Dolphins do their centers. Sea Turtles may read independently or with a partner. Starfish may do assigned seat work.

9:45-10:15: Whole-group phonics instruction.

10:15-10:45: Whole-group writing instruction.

Putting Centers Into Practice

A teacher who described herself as a "control freak" gave a presentation on the use of centers in her classroom. She wanted all kinds of proof that the students were doing what they were supposed to do during center time. She had timers, sign-in sheets, and baskets for finished work, all of which had to be set, reviewed, and graded. On the one hand, I admired her organizational and managerial skills. On the other hand, I knew I could never operate like that, especially since I didn't have the advantage of having parent volunteers or aides.

Here is the bottom line: Regardless of your approach, you want children to be constructively engaged in learning activities that do not require constant direct supervision (remember, you'll be busy teaching guided reading). You might call center time "purposeful practice."

I personally prefer "clean" centers, ones that don't result in clutter and half-finished projects. The memory of carefully setting up the writing center, complete with pencils, paper, crayons, markers, glue, and scissors, and dealing with the subsequent chatter and mess, is all too fresh in my memory. The old cliché holds true with regard to centers: It's the process, not the product.

So what's an example of a "clean" center? After the paper, pencils, scissors, and glue debacle, I switched to lap-size dry erase boards (eliminating all those floating papers) and single color markers (children are more likely to concentrate on writing if they're not fishing around for green, yellow, and blue markers for the grass, sun, and sky).

When students finish writing, they place their boards on their desks to share with the class later in the day. Sharing is important, as it supports the students' efforts and promotes discussion. Afterwards, the boards are erased and put away.

Concerned that this center-time writing will need to be included go in the students' portfolios? Don't worry. You'll have plenty of samples generated from your writing lessons throughout the year to keep on file.

In addition to using dry erase boards, the writing center also might involve students making entries in a blank book related to your current content area (George Washington, hibernation, planting, etc.). Make sure you staple enough pages together to allow at least one page per student (this keeps down the loose paper problem). These books may be added to your class library when completed.