In my literacy centres I use a Station Rotation model in order to personalize learning for all my students. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday students will move through the 4 stations, during our literacy centre period. Students will be at each station for 15-20 minutes and will need to be able to work independently. In order to have this work successfully a few things need to be put into place before we get started:
1. Building a respectful learning community
2. Establishing set routines 3. Direct teaching of the different centres/technology- it is imperative that centres follow the same format so they don't need to be explained each time they change!
#1 Teacher Station:
During this rotation, all students will meet and work with the teacher at the Teacher Station. Groups will be created with like-leveled students so mini lessons and instruction can be targeted and 'just right' for that individual group. The teacher will use the feedback from the learning game the students engage with at the Teacher Station. This feedback will inform the teachers instruction during the teacher rotation.
#2 Technology Station:
The students will be using an app game that provides the teacher with feedback (see Apps for Instruction under Reading for some ideas.) These apps were carefully chosen for their ability to track student's progress and to assist teachers in small group or individual instruction. There are also practice apps that allow students to practice a skill that will also be used during the Technology Rotation but do not provide teacher feedback. I have students choose from these apps in the last 5 minutes of their Technology Rotation.
#3 Partner Work:
During Partner Work it is my intention for students to be more hands on, creative and collaborative. They are able to choose from many different centres that they will engage with- with a partner or partners depending on the centre. Suggestions include: puppet shows being created and later delivered to the whole class; students engaging in different Literacy games; and students re-telling well known stories with a story basket to their classmates.
#4 Individual Work:
During the Individual Work rotation students will be working at their level from a selection of centres. They will be able to choose the centre they want to engage with and change centres when they complete their previous choice. This rotation will consist of centres that change but their format will remain the same so students do not have to be instructed each time a set of new centres are introduced. Example: Write the Room may change by theme or season, have new letters or words to find but the format will not change. When students go to this centre they will know what to do because they were initially instructed on how to proceed.
Gamification
What is Gamification?
Gamification is defined in the Oxford Living Dictionaries as "the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity." Gamification is an engaging way to make the hard stuff- learning to read, fun! I have created game boards for my students using the key elements of the process of learning to read. In my games, students accomplish 4 goals and then are able to choose a prize (motivation) from the prize bin. I really like this because I can customize my students game board to their ability so EVERY student will meet with success.
How I Build a Simple Game Board
The simplest way I have found to create game boards is using PowerPoint. Please refer to the screencasts below to see how I created my simple game boards. Screen Casts to come!
My Reading Game Boards
If you are interested in taking a look at the game boards I have created to use in my classroom click on the link below-you will need to download the file to your computer. These are completely editable so feel free to make them your own! In order to personalize for individual students they may need to be broken into smaller chunks for success. Each student will have their own game board in their game board folder and will work on one or 2 goals at a time. During the Teacher Rotation in our literacy centres I focus on those specific goals with my students. It is my intent that these game boards will engage and motivate students and they will also be key in teaching students to make individual learning goals.
Several teacher colleagues in my school district, Campbell River #72, have created games to support their home reading programs. Generally they choose a theme for their game and then paint a game board onto a large sheet or piece of fabric- usually bulletin board size 8 feet X 4 feet. Students read at home and bring back their signed agenda and this allows them to move along the game board. There are many adventures, pitfalls and rewards as they make their way along the game. The picture below is of the Star Wars home reading game board created by Chris Hatfield, an early primary teacher in SD# 72. Other themes teachers have used are; Pirates, across Canada, Explorers, Circumnavigating Vancouver Island, etc.
References: Gamification | Definition of gamification in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2018, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gamification
Image source: Pixabay, Gina Farrell & Chris Hatfield