How to Teach Meaningful Reading Center Routines
Do you LOVE reading centers?! It is my favorite time of the day and I believe the best way to teach reading. If you are stressed out by the management, planning, and facilitating I am here to help alleviate that for you! I have found that there are two keys to facilitating successful centers, they are the slow and structured teaching of reading center routines and expectations.
First you need to start with knowing exactly what procedures you want to be in place for center time in general and for each station itself. If you are still on this step, head over to this blog that has a free download that helps you to brainstorm that exact reading center routines that you want to use. Now let’s get this well oiled machine running together!
Interactive Modeling
Interactive Modeling is my secret ingredient to teaching my 2nd grade students reading center routines that they understand, remember, and will implement independently. This is a Responsive Classroom technique that I love using whenever possible!
I love this strategy to teach reading center routines because it shows exactly how each center will look, feel, and sound. We all know that when we tell our students to walk calmly and quietly to get the supplies, each students’ interpretation of that can be very different. Interactive modeling defines the expectations so clearly, the students know what they need to do throughout literacy centers.
Reading Center Routines/ Behaviors to Model:
- how to walk to each center
- where/ how to appropriately take necessary supplies
- how you should look/ sound while working
- where/ how to turn in activities
- how to clean up
- how to ask for help or a question during centers
- how to transition
- how to find a partner
- how to take turns doing a partner play with another student
- how to get & put away a tablet
- how to log in to the tablet
Interactive Modeling is successful when you think of each little expectation and practice that! It feels silly and it definitely feels like it takes a lot of time but I PROMISE it is worth it. This strategy truly helps with classroom management of elementary students.
Quality of Work Expectations
A significant part of reading center routines is considering that students are working independently for most of the time, so they need to be set up for success and have their autonomy fostered. I have consistent activities at each of my centers so that students know the directions, how to complete it, and the quality of work expected at each activity.
For example, I use the sight word activities pictured below as my Seek and Find literacy station. Each week focuses on a different word, but the routine of the activity is consistent. This helps to promote independence and ownership of learning because students are comfortable with the task. Of course, I change things up every few months but then I just reteach the activity and expectation.
The activity pictured in the first graphic on the page is what I use for Focus Frog at the beginning of the year. Students use photographs and pictures to apply the focus reading strategy. Then gradually they begin to use text passages on their level. So, the students get comfortable with the routine of using the graphic organizer and pictures to practice their reading skill. This activity is from my Comprehension Crew resource.
Teaching the Reading Center Routines
I take the first two weeks of school really getting the groundwork for reading centers set so that they run smoothly the rest of the year. I have 5 literacy centers, so we spend everyday for a week learning a new center. Each day we:
- do interactive modeling to discuss and practice the expectations of that literacy center
- the entire class completes the activity independently with the teacher walking around the assist as needed **make sure to praise and reinforce appropriate center behavior
- we debrief of any issues, concerns, or questions
- if there was work completed for that center- the class completes a gallery walk to look at each others’ work and we discuss things we notice and admire about others’ work
- we compile a list of expectations for that centers’ activity (write in complete sentences, write your name on your paper, etc.)
- we talk about early finisher options
At the end of each day, students will know how it feels to complete the whole center.
Getting Reading Center Rotations Started
The following week we complete two centers a day, however there is no teacher station. I do this so that I am able to help with students getting used to all working on something different at the same time. I also make the centers 10 minutes instead of 15 to leave more time for practicing transitions and cleaning up. This week is a very beneficial time for me to help students get into the groove of being independent and what they need to be doing at each center station.
Any behavior problems or if students are struggling with an activity, I am able to help them immediately.
By that third week, we are ready to kick reading centers into full gear! Students are so comfortable and confident in their ability to do the centers that working in the guided reading teacher station is no problem!
I know that this sounds like a long process, but it is vital to the success of your reading centers! Take the time, it is worth it! I even do the week without teacher station sometimes after a long break to practice those routines and expectations again. Empower your students with the responsibility to make reading centers run well, they will rise to the occasion!
