Transcript Literacy Centres for the Early Years Classroom 1 to 3

Literacy Centres for the Early
Years Classroom 1 to 3
Adapted from the book by Caroline
Blakemore and Barbara Ramirez
A. Letter Play Centre
1. Letter Formation Activities
• Purpose : students will form letters using a
variety of materials
• Materials : Magna Doodle, laminated strips
with letter formation and directional arrows,
sand tray, letter shaped cutters with play
dough, pipe cleaners, letter templates, white
boards with markers
• Preparation : organise materials in labelled
containers, provide flat working areas
Letter Play Centre
2. Letter Matching Activities
• Purpose : students will match lower and upper
case letters
• Materials : magnetic letters all sizes and
colours, rubber stamp letters, link letters, felt
letters, ABC puzzles, a small alphabet poster or
strip, upper and lower case letters on cards
• Preparation : organise materials in labelled
containers
Letter Play Centre
3. Letter Recognition Activities
Using Names
• Purpose : students will form names using a
variety of materials
• Materials : same as for Letter Matching
activity but also include each child’s name card
for children to copy
• Preparation : organise materials in labelled
containers
Letter Play Centre
4. Letter Sequencing Activity
• Purpose : students will manipulate letters
and put them into alphabetical order
• Materials : as for previous activity
• Preparation : organise materials into
labelled containers with appropriate
work surface eg paper, felt board etc
Letter Play Centre
5. Letter Sorting Activity
• Purpose : students will sort multi-coloured
letters according to letter, colour, shape and
upper and lower case
• Materials : as for previous activity
• Preparation : organise materials in labelled
containers and provide appropriate work
surfaces eg paper, felt boards, overhead
projectors
Letter Play Centre
6. ABC Book Activity
• Purpose : students will read from a variety of
carefully selected ABC books and /or letter
books with a partner or independently
• Materials : a variety of ABC or letter books
• Preparation : put books in containers that are
easily accessible to your students
Letter Play Centre
7. Letter Collage
• Purpose : students will search for and
locate specific letters
• Materials : magazines, catalogues etc
with large print, scissors, glue, paper
• Preparation : on each page write an
upper and lower case letter
B. Word Play Centre
1. Word Wall Action
•
•
•
Purpose : students will replicate the words on
the walls using a variety of materials
Materials : word walls eg focus words at
children’s eye level , writing materials
Preparation :organise materials in labelled
containers and provide a work surface eg
paper, card etc
Word Play Centre
2. Classifying Words
• Purpose : students will classify word cards
according to some specific attributes
• Materials : words cards, pocket chart and
basket for word cards
• Preparation : commercially produced word
cards or teacher made and written on index
cards and kept in a box
Word Play Centre
3. Alphabetical Words
• Purpose : students will select words from
familiar reading books and arrange them into
alphabetical order
• Materials : familiar reading books from shared
and guided reading , rectangular pieces of
paper , A4 paper cut vertically and a small
alphabet strip
• Preparation : 6 to 8 pieces of rectangular paper
per child and one half piece of paper per child
Word Play Centre
4. High Frequency words
• Purpose : students will practise forming high
frequency words and locating them in a
familiar book
• Materials : levelled readers which children can
read independently, any type of loose letters,
high frequency words on cards, plastic ziplock
bags for holding letters of high frequency
words
• Preparation : word cards and bags of letters in
labelled containers
Word Play Centre
5. Onset and Rime
• Purpose : students will practise assembling
onsets and rimes from familiar books
• Materials : levelled reading books that children
can read independently, sentence strips,
rectangles of two different colours 4x10cm,
word family list
• Preparation : select words, write sentences
from familiar books and write onset and rimes
on coloured papers rectangles
Word Play Centre
6. Picture Word Match
• Purpose : students will match a word card with
an object or a picture card
• Materials : word cards to match pictures or
actual objects
• Preparation : commercially produced or
teacher made word cards and pictures
including words from any area of school life
Word Play Centre
7. Search and Tally
• Purpose : students will search for high
frequency words in printed materials
• Materials : shared, guided reading books,
individual writing, big books, poems etc and
laminated cards with a high frequency word on
it, white board markers
• Preparation : laminated high frequency word
cards (about 5cm X20 cm ), work space for
children to spread out with books
Word Play Centre
8. Overhead Words
• Purpose : students will practise forming
high frequency words and other words on
the overhead projector
• Materials : word cards, lower case letters,
OHP
• Preparation : word cards, letters and
OHP
C. Sentence Play Centre
1. 1. Sentence Collecting
•
•
•
Purpose : students will select a favourite
sentence from a current guided reading book
and copy it onto a sentence strip and then
match it to their illustration of the sentence
Materials : sentence strips, 10x10 cm paper
for pictures, G/R books, envelopes
Preparation : sentence strips (5cm ), 10x10
cm paper for drawing and pencils
Sentence Play Centre
2. Sentence Punctuation
• Purpose : students will reassemble phrases and
words from sentences they have seen in familiar
texts and insert correct punctuation
• Materials : sentence strips, markers, pocket
chart, familiar books
• Preparation : make sentence strips from
familiar books and cut into words and phrases
and punctuation
Sentence Play Centre
3. Sentence Book Match
• Purpose : students will match a selected
sentence with a book that has been read aloud
to them during modelled reading
• Materials : sentence strips, books, a picture or
some representation of the books (photocopy
the cover )
• Preparation : sentence strips, books and cover
photocopies
Sentence Play Centre
4. Sentence Puzzle
• Purpose : students will reassemble phrases and
words from sentences they have seen in familiar
texts to practise self-monitoring
• Materials : sentence strips, pocket charts,
familiar books
• Preparation : make sentence strips from known
books and cut up into phrases or words
Sentence Play Centre
5. Overhead Sentences
• Purpose : students will reassemble phrases and
sentences from familiar books using the OHP
• Materials : OHP transparency of familiar text,
OHP sentence strips cut into phrases or words
on OHP transparencies, envelopes for storage
• Preparation : familiar text on OHP
transparency and cut ups of it as well
D. Oral Language Centre
1. Tell, Listen and Do
•
•
•
Purpose : students will give and receive
specific instructions
Materials : familiar books, counters or
other markers, two manila folders
Preparation : two copies of each book,
two manila folders and about 8 markers
for each child
Oral Language Centre
2. Living Storybook Characters
• Purpose : students will talk about storybook
characters using visual prompts
• Materials : story books, simple line drawings of
characters from familiar books, drawing
materials
• Preparation : simple line drawings of
characters from story books, drawing materials
and storage for finished characters
Oral Language Centre
3. Storytelling Tapes
• Purpose : students will listen to, retell and read
favourite stories and poems
• Materials : selection of books, a cassette tape
recorder with a microphone, blank tapes of 15
minutes, headphones
• Preparation : favourite books for taping,
commercially produced tapes of books with
accompanying books to start off with , books
taped by parents, staff or other familiar people
Oral Language Centre
4. Story Sequencing
• Purpose : students will arrange in correct
sequence a series of pictures from a familiar
piece of literature and retell a story
• Materials : familiar books , sequential visual
representations of the story, envelopes to store
visuals
• Preparation : copies of familiar books and four
to six laminated representations for each book
Oral Language Centre
5. Guess the Title
• Purpose: students will orally retell the
beginning , middle and end of a familiar piece
of literature and try to guess what book it is
• Materials : selection of books, book cover
representations (photocopy the cover), envelope
or box to store
• Preparation : select books and make laminated
representations of each book or have students
make them
E. Writing Centre
1. Writing the Walls
•
•
•
Purpose : students will copy a variety of
words and texts from the classroom walls to
learn to look at and reproduce print carefully
Materials : class rules, poem charts, high
frequency word charts ,Thrass charts,
children’s writing , days of the week, months
of the year, cardinal and ordinal numbers etc
Preparation : as you create writing with your
class , place this at eye level around the room
Writing Centre
2. Independent Writing
• Purpose : students will write independently and
collaboratively for a variety of purposes
• Materials : a wide variety of writing materials
and folders for students to store their work
• Preparation : a list of the kinds of writing that
children can do eg birthday cards, letters,
notes, poems, lists, recipes, descriptions and
examples of each genre
F. Reading Centre
1. Reading the Walls
•
•
•
Purpose : students will read a variety of
materials on the walls of the room with
a pointer to develop early reading
behaviours
Materials : see Writing the Walls
Preparation : see Writing the Walls
Reading Centre
2. Reading with a Friend
• Purpose : students will read a variety of books
with a partner to practise fluency, gather and
share info and foster a love of reading
• Materials : a large variety of books of different
genres and levels of ability, big books, class
books and children’s own books
• Preparation : organise books into baskets
according to subject, theme or level
Reading Centre
3. Independent Reading
• Purpose : students will read a variety of
books independently to practise
strategies, gain fluency and foster a love
of reading
• Materials : see Reading with a Friend
• Preparation : see Reading with a Friend