LITERACY GROUPS/CENTE RS

Most of us know that a literacy center is a small area within a classroom where students work alone or together to explore literacy activities independently. During this time, a teacher could be providing small-group guided reading instruction or completing other things. Literacy centers are great tools but a teacher has to have great management skills. A teacher must be aware of what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times and be able to communicate with students both verbally and nonverbally, in other words, one must exhibit withitness. There are several guidelines for managing and organizing literacy groups:
Begin the school year with a positive emphasis on management. Establishing classroom routines at the beginning will pay off later and save you valuable time. Introduce a rotation system that sequences the order of required centers. Arrange the classroom space so it is helpful to effective student management. For instance, set up centers that accommodate only a small group of students. Ive seen this in every class that Ive observed; usually there are four to five centers. Create rules that are easy to follow and keep them to a minimum. Provide ongoing activities for students to turn to as they finish assigned work. As students perform the practice independently, encourage and praise their self-managed behavior. Observe students until they consistently follow the procedure independently and are considerate of others and of the materials. Source: http://www.esc4.net/docs/120-501-1106%20kinder%20delc%20book.pdf

Source: http://www.esc4.net/docs/120-501-1106%20kinder%20delc%20book.pdf