1. Literacy Work Stations Making Centers Work
Author, Debbie Diller
Presenters:
Charlie Council
Sandra Maisonet
Debbie Davis
Ingrid Anderson

2. Chapter 1 What is a Literacy Work Station?
Dillard’s definition: An area within the classroom where students work alone or interact with others, using instructional materials to explore and expand literacy. It is a place where a variety of activities reinforce, or extend learning, often without assistance of the teacher. It is a time for children to practice reading, writing, listening and working with letters and words.

3. Teacher concerns: is space an issue???
Utilization of existing furniture/equipment negates this issue. Examples:
Big Book easel becomes your Big Book Work Station
Tape recorder becomes your Listening Station
Classroom computers is now your Computer Station
Overhead is now the Overhead Work Station

4. Advantages of LWS
Students can work alone or with partners which will decrease the noise level and reduce the number of students working together.
Students may work in pairs but this will also allow some students to work alone if they chose to do so.
Allows for independent practice
Additional enrichment
Differentiation
All students participate
Equal access to engage
Improved student behavior
Utilizing a variety of materials
Use of manipulatives
Students internalize more

5. Points to Ponder
Literacy Work Stations:
Are not something extra. They are not “fillers of time.”
They should replace worksheets
They provide choices that are relevant, personal and engaging.
Should be set up for student success

6. Within the LWS, students can:
Play a game
Make something
Talk with a partner
Tell a story
Be a recorder
Move
Do something new

7. LWS guarantee independence by:
Modeling appropriate behavior
A gradual release of responsibility
Provide a risk free environment
Proper independent work level
Provides clear, explicit instructions

8. Non-Negotiables for LWS
Focus on practice and purposes
Link to your teaching
Slow down to speed up…..start slowly & build
Balance process & product
Less is more…keep materials to a minimum
Use novelty…try one new thing at a time
Simplify – if it takes longer for you to make it than it does for the children to use it instructionally…..don’t do it!!

9. Classroom Library Highlights and Overview
Teachers must provide quality time and opportunity for children to read during the day.
The classroom library is a place where students are expected to browse books, and read or pretend to read.
Teachers are in the same business as bookstores: we need to be selling books.
Literacy work stations provide an extra chance for reading at school.

10. Classroom Library

11. How to Set Up the Classroom Library Ideas that work
Books should be available in an organize fashion to help students be able to find books for independent reading.
Space is inviting, roomy and well lit.
Comfortable sitting.
Books arranged by topics, authors, fiction/non-fiction, and genre.
Books available by reading levels.
Rotate books in your library to keep the student interest.

12. What Teachers Must Do It will make your life easier.
How to Introduce the Classroom Library
Tour your classroom literacy areas. Explain your classroom organization.
Go over literacy stations, expectations, responsibilities, and consequences.
* Literacy stations are a team effort.
Be a Model
Go over how to choose a book. Model and verbalize the steps you follow. Older students can use “five-finger” test.
Have students explain to each other how they chose a book. This will reinforce that they should “think” before selecting a book.

13. What the Children Do What you should see in your classroom to promote literacy.
Author study
Familiar books
Independent level text
Telling the story
Sharing books with partners - discussions
Writing responses
Reading to stuff animals/partners
Writing book reviews
Recording books in an individual reading log

14. Child Friendly Environment

15. Classroom Library
Points of Disagreement with Debbie Diller, Author
“Classroom libraries are not a silent place”. * It is important to maintain a balance.
We are somewhat restricted with materials, type of furniture, or space available for literacy stations.
It is difficult and time consuming to maintain an organize classroom library.
How this book assisted me in my classroom Instruction.
This book encouraged me to reflect and assess my own environment.
It gave me new ideas to incorporate in my literacy stations.
Reminded me that I am in the business of selling books. So I need have a library that is well organize, inviting and exciting.

16. Drama Work Station

17. Drama Work Station Highlights and Overview
The drama work station is the place to “improve reading comprehension and fluency, as well as to encourage creative expression”. Children enthusiastically visit this station to read plays and retell stories. It is a “space where oral language related to books can flourish. The more the children read, the better they get at reading.” Activities designed to engage and promote student learning at this station include:
Retelling a familiar book.
Using puppets, props, and dramatic pieces to retell a familiar book.
Reading a familiar play, reader’s theater script, or a student authored play.
Writing ads for the play students will enact and/or audio taping a performance.

18. Set Up and Modeling Drama Work Station
The drama work station can be set up using science, flannel, or magnetic boards. The science board should have a dry-erase surface on one side to provide space for writing ads. A large flannel board or magnetic board may be used to create an area for retelling. Labeled containers are essential for organizing and storing props, puppets, and books and will make these materials easily accessible to students.
Modeling
To facilitate learning and ensure student success at this station, the teacher must model four basic routines over time. The routines focus on how to:
retell a book read a play
use props and puppets write a play

19. Solving Problems and Differentiating Drama Work Station
According to the author “because it is easy for children to make up unrelated activities with props and puppets (such as puppets hitting each other on the head), it is essential that students know exactly what is expected of them at this work station. Clearly defining parameters and teaching expected behaviors will keep this from happening and insure that students will act responsibly in this station.”
Differentiating
The key to differentiating at this station is to make books from many genres at various levels available to students. “Just be sure that the books used for retelling are familiar to all the children.”

20. Keep It Going and Kids Accountable Drama Work Station
Ways to Keep This Station Going Throughout the Year
Variety is the Key!
Remember to leave some of the children’s old favorites in the drama work station while adding “only one new book or script at a time to keep things novel.” The sources of the new material may be texts introduced in read-aloud, shared reading, and/or guided reading.
How to Assess/ Keep Kids Accountable
Teacher observation is a valuable assessment tool at this station. Creating an “I Can” list with students will help them to be more responsible and to utilize their time wisely. Additional means of assessing students may include allowing them to perform or audio tape their retellings and reading of scripts for the class.

21. I Agree with the Author Drama Work Station
In Literacy Work Stations, Debbie Diller recommends to “focus on practice and purposes, not the stuff of stations.” Teachers often begin setting up work stations or centers by searching for a standard list of materials that tell what should be placed in each station, along with a timeline for changing them. According to the author, “if you begin with what it is you’re trying to teach – your purpose – then you can more easily figure out which materials to use.”

22. How Literacy Work Stations Assisted with Classroom Instruction
The author states that “if what you’re doing in your class-room is working effectively for your students, don’t change it just because of this book. Use the parts that work for you and your students.”
Presently, I have eight “literacy centers” in my classroom as opposed to literacy work stations. Although the centers are changed bi-weekly and correlated with units of study, they provide opportunities for practice and extension of skills taught in whole and small group instuction.
I am in the process of developing a drama work station for my students. Their scores on the DRA indicated clear deficiencies in comprehension (retelling a story). This station will be utilized along with other reading strategies to help improve my students’ reading comprehension and fluency.

23. Developing A Drama Work Station For My First Graders

24. How Literacy Work Stations Assisted with Classroom Instruction
The author states that “if what you’re doing in your class-room is working effectively for your students, don’t change it just because of this book. Use the parts that work for you and your students.”
Presently, I have eight “literacy centers” in my classroom as opposed to literacy work stations. Although the centers are changed bi-weekly and correlated with units of study, they provide opportunities for practice and extension of skills taught in whole and small group instuction.
I am in the process of developing a drama work station for my students. Their scores on the DRA indicated clear deficiencies in comprehension (retelling a story). This station will be utilized along with other reading strategies to help improve my students’ reading comprehension and fluency.

25. Memorizing and performing a poem
Poetry Work Station
What the Children Do
Reading a poem
Illustrating a poem
Filling in the blanks
Building a poem
Changing a poem
Copying a poem
Listening to a poem
Writing a poem
Comparing two poems
Memorizing and performing a poem

26. Tub of favorite poetry books Jump rope rhymes and tongue twisters
Materials
Tub of favorite poetry books
Jump rope rhymes and tongue twisters
Songbooks
Paper, pencils, crayons
Magazine pictures
Copies of student written poems
Poems copied onto large chart paper

27. Introduce the Poetry Work Station\ by modeling:
How to read a poem fluently
How to read with good expression
How to find rhyming words
How to make connections
How to create visual images
How to write a poem
How to buddy read a poem
How to illustrate a poem

28. Ways to keep the Station Going Throughout the Year
Change the poems as often as needed
Add new poetry books
Add a new poet study tub
Add a new kind of paper for copying poems
Provide shape paper for copying poems
Add a new medium for illustrating poems

29. Ways to keep the Station Going Throughout the Year
Change the poems as often as needed
Add new poetry books
Add a new poet study tub
Add a new kind of paper for copying poems
Provide shape paper for copying poems
Add a new medium for illustrating poems

30. How to Keep Kids Accountable
Ask students to share favorite poems
Students memorize and perform poems
Collect student poetry in notebooks

31. Listening Work Station Puzzles and Games Work Station
Other Work Stations
Computer Work Station
Listening Work Station
Puzzles and Games Work Station
Buddy Reading Work Station
Overhead Work Station
Pocket Chart Work Station
Creation Work Station
Science/Social Studies Work Station