Read About Best Practices in Literacy Workstations/Centers

Introduction

This module explores independent literacy activities as activities for students to complete while the teacher works with small groups or individual students in grades 3–8. Examine many aspects of independent literacy activities, including purposes, organization and management, and assessment.

Students need time to practice and apply the strategies we teach on their independent levels. Independent literacy activities give students this time. These activities involve students in meaningful independent reading and writing tasks that reinforce strategies introduced in whole and small-group settings. While these students continue to extend their literacy skills, the teacher has time to consistently meet with small reading groups or individual students. To make these activities work well, organization and management are crucial.

Middle school teachers often struggle with how and why to use independent literacy activities. Middle school students continue to need the safety net support offered through independent activities. Even though your students have strengths in comprehension and vocabulary, they still need support to grow as readers. Independent literacy activities and reading conferences allow students to expand their strategic reading.

Organize and Manage Independent Literacy Activities

Use these guidelines:

• Before school starts, arrange the classroom in a manner conducive to small-group instruction and independent activities.
• Choose activities based on strategies modeled and practiced during read-aloud, shared reading, and small-group instruction. These activities may include content area (social studies, science, math) correlations.
• Organize and gather all materials that students need to complete the activities.
• Prepare students to work independently.
• Create a schedule.

Classroom Management

When the teacher incorporates independent activities, she means, “ We will learn to work and think to prepare for being adults.” Therefore, independent adult workers do not sit in rows. They work in small groups. They might work independently at a table with other independent workers. They have access to what they need, and they do not ask permission to get materials. To help students think and learn independently, try to:

• Label closets and drawers so that students know where to find scissors, extra paper, etc.
• Organize the classroom library into categories, such as genres, authors, series books, etc. so that students have quick access to the books they want. Also, identify levels on the back of the books so students have a quick reference for books on their independent reading levels.
• Think about ways to arrange or rearrange the classroom so that students have space to work together and independently.

Choose Activities

Because it takes time to model each activity, pick three or four at a time and change to other activities when needed. The list below suggests activities for independent and small group:

Independent Activities

• Independent Reading and Reader Response—Students self-select and read materials at their independent or “just right” level. Students navigate through texts and practice what they have learned about reading and comprehending text. Students control what they read. This act makes them more confident, motivated, and enthusiastic about reading. The teacher should have many different genres available. Books should be presented to students by either the teacher or other students giving a short summary (book review) and recommendation. Students keep reading logs and response journals. The teacher reviews these logs and journals and confers with individual students to monitor progress.
• Reading Logs—Students keep records of what they have read. These logs include the book title, author, illustrator, genre, and date read.
• Response Journals—Students record personal responses about what they read. Students write during and after reading. Responses give students the opportunity to think about and reflect on what they just read. Students record reflections and thoughts. The teacher monitors each student's reading and checks on her comprehension. The teacher also conducts periodic conferences with the student, discusses what the student is reading, makes suggestions for the next book, or determines whether the text is “just right”. Response journals can be organized in many ways. They can be spiral notebooks, loose-leaf binders, pages stapled together, etc. Students need to have input on how it is organized to make it their own. Students must think about their reading (by writing in their response journals) but experience a balance. The purpose for independent reading is to read; therefore, the majority of time needs to be spent reading. Routman, in Reading Essentials (2003, page 54), suggests that a ballpark ratio is 80 percent reading to 20 percent writing.
• Free Read—The purpose is to enjoy the act of reading. Students choose any text, which can be a comic book, magazine, novel, encyclopedia, etc. Students do not respond to this text in written form.
• Listen to a Book—Students listen to a book on tape in a listening center. Students might or might not complete a reader response.
• Complete a Personal Journal Entry—Students write a journal entry about a personal matter. Provide students with several examples of journals from your own life. Include events, feelings, emotions, concerns, etc. so students understand how to reflect on their lives. These entries can be used later to write memoirs.
• Write a Book Review—Students write a book review similar to those seen at Barnes and Noble, Book People, or other bookstores.
• Research—This activity connects well with social studies, science, and math topics. For example, students are learning about space during science. This is a good opportunity to research space, astronauts, astronomers, or other topics connected to the standards being taught. Have students simply gather information. (Writing will be done during writer's workshop.) Use computers for research, if available.
• Pen Pals—Students choose, with teacher guidance, pen pals from areas throughout the United States and the world. They can also have pen pals from other schools in the same city. Students write letters and postcards, mail them, and research their pen pal's hometown, state, or country. This activity might connect with grammar and writers' craft standards.

Pair or Group Activities

• Paired Reading—Partners read and retell sections of text to one another.
• Paired Questions—Partners who read together question each other.
• Peer Conferences—Pairs or small groups discuss how they use good reading strategies to understand text. For example, read-aloud and shared reading lessons focus on making inferences. During peer conferences, students discuss how they make and use inferences to understand and remember what they read.
• Book Studies/Literature Circles—These groups are heterogeneous groups based on interest. Students read and discuss books.

Organize and Gather Materials

Decide what materials students need to complete independent literacy activities. Suggestions are:

• Fiction and nonfiction books (multiple levels) for independent reading, free reading, paired reading, book studies/literature circles
• Self-stick notes
• Reader response journals (folders with paper, spiral notebooks, lined paper stapled together, etc.)
• Tape recorders
• Extension cords for tape recorders
• Books on tape
• Blank tapes for recording familiar readings to check fluency
• Materials to use for research (changes depending on content studied)
• Stationery and envelopes, postcards, stamps for pen pals
• Dictionaries
• Thesaurus
• Extra pens, pencils, markers, spiral notebooks, paper
• Clipboards for peer conferences (optional)
• Computers/printer (optional)

Keep materials out and accessible. Use large plastic tubs and plastic containers that can be easily labeled. Review do’s and don’ts by writing specific guidelines on chart paper. Hang the chart so students can be held accountable for the materials.

Prepare Students to Work Independently

There are many activities that students can complete during literacy workstations. None of these will work if students have not been taught how to be independent thinkers and learners. Students might be used to constant attention from the teacher. With this model, students must work independently and solve their own problems. It can take four to six weeks at the beginning of the year for students to learn to work independently. At the minimum, model and practice for three weeks. Prepare students:

• Establish appropriate behaviors.
• Model activities and establish criteria for quality work.
• Allow time for students to practice activities with teacher's guidance using their workstation contracts.

Each point is described through the following information.

Establish Appropriate Behaviors for Independent Activities

Teachers must conduct lessons on acceptable behaviors because students must learn to work without teachers' guidance. Create a criteria chart like the one below with your students. The goal is for students to take ownership in their behavior. Begin this lesson with a blank chart and have students help complete both sides. Teachers do not have to use the identified ideas but might use them as a way to start the lessons. Review behaviors throughout the year and add behaviors in either column, as needed.

Model Activities and Establish Criteria for Quality Work

The next step is to model what each activity will look like and create an example of an assignment that requires a written response. Then identify criteria for a quality product. Note: Independent literacy activities do not have to be graded using letter or number grades. They should be assessed using the identified criteria to gather information for further instruction. Principals might want letter or number grades assigned to each activity. If so, ask the principal or curriculum specialist about specific criteria for As, Bs, Cs, etc.

Model Lesson

The lesson below is for independent reading/reader response from Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Say: Boys and girls, I’ve just read a chapter from Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. I want to show you how to write a good response by letting you know what I’m thinking. Remember how we made connections during read-aloud and shared reading? Well, that’s the type of response I’m going to write. Let me reread what I read earlier so you know what’s going on. Update students on what has happened so far in the story. Read pages 40–55 aloud. Then say: Wow! I need to think about this for a minute. She’s left all alone on that island with no one else. There is nobody to help her. And she’s only twelve or so. I don’t think I could do that. Watch me as I write a reader response that shows you I’m thinking and how the text connects to my own life.

First I want to explain information about what I’m reading. So I’ll write the date, the name of the book, and the author’s name at the top of the page in my journal. Write that information at the top of the chart paper large enough so that everyone can see. Write the following response on the chart paper underneath the book information. I wonder how lonely Karana is on the island. I don’t think I could stand being without my parents. I’m so close to my parents that having them and then my sister and brother taken from me would be hard. I didn’t even like being away from them when I went to camp. Here she is all by herself. Well, that would be just too much. I would say that Karana is a lot stronger and braver than I am. She is going to survive. I know that because she talks about making weapons. She’s not going to let those dogs get her like they got Ramo.

Identify Criteria for Quality Response

After writing the response, have students read it to themselves and then ask: What do you notice about my response? How long is it? Did I worry about spelling or grammar? Have I corrected any of my writing? How many words did I put on a line? Did I skip any lines? Have I gone back and graded it?

The answers will help students identify criteria for a quality response without the teacher directly stating them. Asking students to think about the response requires them to take ownership with their own responses. This criteria has not been completely decided by the teacher. Students have a say in the criteria, too.

From the answers, create a criteria chart:

I have written a good reader response if I …

• Think before I write
• Write my response based the strategy we are learning
• Write at least one-half page
• Didn’t skip lines
• Didn’t worry about the writing too much; this is just a rough draft of my thoughts

If reading conferences are held, talk with each student about his responses. Do the responses show student thinking? Jot down how the student is responding and what this might mean for further instruction for him.

The example and criteria chart should be hung on the wall where all students can see what they are expected to do.

Allow Time for Students to Practice Activities With Teacher's Guidance

Teachers must avoid the mistake of beginning small-group instruction and having the remaining students move on to independent work. Note: Students need to practice independent work with teacher guidance for approximately three weeks. The purpose of this time is to create an environment where students feel comfortable with the activities. They have a chance to ask questions and show their work to the teacher for immediate feedback. They also have the opportunity to practice completing their contracts, which helps students become more responsible for their own work. Teachers have the chance to identify which students need more modeling. They can debrief with the class at the end of the time period and see how the class handles independent work.

NOTE: It is important to stress: if teachers do not teach students to work independently, these activities will not work. There will be constant interruptions during small-group instruction. These interruptions can frustrate teachers and make them want to stop the activities and return to whole-group instruction. Be patient and remember that students can and do work independently.

Schedule

Now that students know what to do, teachers can begin small-group reading. Many teachers create schedules so students know which activity to do during a certain period of time. Before creating a schedule, choose activities for students to complete. Using informal reading inventories and personal observations, create flexible groups. Then work on a grid similar to the one below, which tells each group what they will do at a certain time of the language arts block.

Week 1

Week 2

Key:

Reads=independent reading/reader response

Journal=personal journal

Bold print letter=small group reading

This grid shows a two-week cycle through which all students meet with the teacher for small-group instruction five times in ten days. This grid shows four groups: A, B, C, and D. All bold print letters indicate small-group reading. The remaining letters indicate some sort of independent literacy activity. This grid also shows how independent reading can occur every day for every student.

To better understand this grid, look at Week 1, Monday 9-9:30. Group A is with the teacher for small-group reading. All other groups are working on independent reading/reader response. From 9:30-10, Group C is with the teacher for small-group instruction, Group A is working on independent reading because they have not completed that activity yet. Groups B and D are working on personal journaling. The cycle continues throughout the next two weeks and then repeats itself. Remember that classroom interruptions such as assemblies and fire drills can disrupt the cycle. If interruptions do occur, skip that day's activities and pick up the cycle on the next day.

Note: Most students will not write in their journals for thirty minutes. Make sure students know what their choices are if they finish journal writing early. A simple filler: free read.

As teachers change activities, they should incorporate independent reading as many times as possible throughout a cycle. Cycles do not have to be two weeks long. If a teacher has an hour and a half for small-group instruction, one week is enough time for everyone to meet with the teacher and complete independent literacy activities.