Ideas for Kindergarten Literacy Centers

I think literacy centers add a lot to your classroom. Currently in my classroom for 30 minutes a day my students take part in 2 different literacy centers. Some that I have right now include...

Library: All different kinds/levels of books, tag readers made by leapster for interactive reading

Computer: starfall, books on cd

Listening: books on cd

Phonics: pipe cleaners and letter beads, create sentences

ABC: letter stamps using our posted alphabet charts

Magnetic Letters: cookie sheets with magnetic letters to create their sight words

Overhead: alphabet letters and sound dots to build words and project it on the board

Writing: create a piece of writing about the picture card they choose

Write the room: find words around the room that contain the letter we are working on for the week and write it down using it in a sentence

Pocket chart: star and heart reading, sight words are on foam stars and letters are on foam hearts...create sentences

Marble work: flat marbles with letters create special words for the week

To hold the students accountable for their center work they have to write down the work they do on the paper at their center.

I usually change the centers about every 3 weeks. These are just the ones I have up right now. What are some different ones that you use???

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on February 16, 2011 at 1:01pm

Wow, Abbie! That covers most of what I've seen in Kinder classrooms. Great ideas! I can offer you a couple ideas for your computer center, if you're interested.

Have you used the TumbleBooks website? It's a great site that reads picture books aloud to students -- somewhat like a book on CD, but it's completely online and there's a little more action in the pictures. The books are available in English and in Spanish, if you're working with English-language learners or bi-lingual students. If you go directly to the TumbleBooks page, it will ask you to pay for membership. BUT you can access the site for FREE through most library websites (the libraries pay for the service). I access it through the Santa Cruz Public Library. Just click on this link, and then choose "TumbleBook Library" from the right sidebar.

I've also seen teachers create videos of site words, with the teacher reading the site word, like this one, for students to watch. (Research shows students respond better when they hear a familiar voice teaching them.) Some teachers even have students create videos like this for each other. If you want to create a video like this, I explain how on this blog post.

Katy Scott

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