Literacy+Centers+Kindergarten

For 3 1/2 weeks of my field experience, I had the opportunity to create the ABC Word Building Literacy Center. On this page you will find descriptions of the centers I planned and a reflection on how it actually happened and what might need changed.

Click here for descriptions of the ABC Word Building Centers I planned for the kindergartners: Center 1: Center 2: Center 3: Center 4:

Here is a description of how center time was set up during my days in the kindergarten classroom.

20 students were assigned to 4 groups of 5. Each day a group went to one center. In a typical week, each group went to each center once, and possibly one center twice. Occassionally, due to a special activity or schedule change, one day of center time might be missed. The four centers were: Listening/Computers, Word Work, ABC Word Building, and Independent Reading. The center groups are intentionally made up of students identified in various reading levels. This is done so that when the teacher calls a homogeneous leveled reading group to meet with her during center time, there will be some students remaining at each center.


 * Listening/Computers: 2 of the 5 students in this group had clothespins by their names to indicate that they would be listening to a book on cassette tape and completing a writing prompt about the book. The other 3 students were at computers on educational reading sites such as starfall. (The clothespins are moved weekly, to rotate students between computer and books on cassette.)


 * Word Work: This Center was located at the whiteboard and computer games and links were utilized via the smart/mimeo technology. The games utilized word wall words and the new sight words for the week. Student practiced reading the isolated words and words in sentences. The letter/sound of the week or day might be used in a sort.


 * ABC Word Building: Students used phonemic awareness and phoneme blends to create words. The center the week I observed students used 2 dice to create CVC words. One cube had beginning/onset sounds and the other had ending/rimes. The students were to put the letters together to form one word, sound it out and decide whether it was a real or Dr. Suess word. Then write the word in the correct column on a worksheet.


 * Independent Reading. Each student in the classroom has a book box of teacher-selected books. Most of these appeared to be kindergarten and curriculum leveled decodable books. Each box had about 10-15 books. Students took their box to a reading area of their choice. A writing prompt worksheet with an area of illustration was to be completed on one book after students had read several.