MON-STAR CENTERS and a GIVEAWAY!!!

MON-STAR CENTERS

I love the way that I operate my Literacy Centers!

It is very simple, hardly no prep, and the kids love it ALL year long!

Here is a peek at all my CENTERS and how each one works!

This picture shows how my centers are organized!
I take photos of my kiddos and group them with partners (2 groups will have 3 students)! I place their picture on the board and pin my "Mon-STAR" center labels underneath their picture. We typically do 1 center a day .... so the next day I just rotate the centers around by moving down the "Mon-STAR" labels.
I find the pictures make it very visual for the students to see what they are doing for Literacy Center time. Plus, they think it is so neat to have their picture displayed for all to see!

BIG BOOK CENTER
The students go to my BIG BOOK area (little storage unit I found specifically for big books) and pull out a book of their choice! While they are reading I have them look for any of our weekly vocabulary words, amazing words, or focused "sounds" that we are working on. For instance, this week we reviewed letters Cc, Nn, Pp, and short /a/. This student is writing down any words that display these skills! To BEEF up the center throughout the year I easily change out pointers that they students can use to help track their reading. Once I decided to staple 5-6 pieces of poster board together and I let a group write and illustrate their own BIG BOOK! I still have their finished product at the center! SO NEAT!

LIBRARY CENTER
My library is my PRIDE and JOY! I organized my library based on book levels. I have a folder with each level and I place students' names under the level that is appropriate for them. When students go to the library they check the folder to see what level they should pull from, and then simply pull a book that looks interesting to them. They read the book silently to themselves while enjoying a comfy chair or rug! Later in the year I may have them read a book and complete a foldable or worksheet that correlates with a recent reading skill we have studied. For instance I may have them reproduce a foldable identifying the characters and setting in the book that they read. This early in the year I just let them read a book, and if they finish prior to the end of centers they just select a new book! 

Listening Center
I have to admit that this center is a class favorite! You can tell the kids are always anxious to get their turn at the Listening Center. I was blessed to be given wireless headphones this past year, which made this center SO much easier! Our library has a large stock of books on CDs that I check out once a week. The children get their book out, put on their headphones, and press play! How EASY is that! Better yet they are engaged the WHOLE time! Check out my kiddos following along with their POINTER fingers ........ Not trying to honk my own horn but .... TOOT TOOT!!

MAGNETIC CENTER
I owe this center to my WONDERFUL husband! When I realized I needed some cubbies for my classroom, we got busy building (much cheaper than buying them already made)! I knew I would place my red cubby so that I would create a "hallway" type entrance into my classroom. So my brain started pondering because I KNEW I wanted to still use that space! So we went and found a sheet of metal, drilled it to the back of the cubby, and BAM you have a magnetic center! The kiddos grab my bucket of magnetic letters and build words. They can build spelling words, vocabulary words, or focused letters/sounds that we are focusing on during the week!

READ TO SELF
Granted this isn't the class favorite, BUT it is SO IMPORTANT!
The students use their reading textbook at this center and simply read to themselves! I have them read the weekly story twice, and then they are allowed to check out a library book to read! I make it engaging by allowing them a variety of tools to help them read! They can use our "Reading Phones," they can wear REALLY big glasses (another Dollar Tree treasure), or a magnifying glass! These little tools make this center fun and engaging for the students!

WORD WORK CENTER
This is the only center that takes a LITTLE bit of prep from me each week! I change this center up each week or every other week depending on what skills we are working with in reading. This week (beginning of the year) we reviewed the letters Cc, Pp, Nn, and short /a/. So I BUSTED out my stamps. The students used the stamps to create words with the sounds/letters we were studying. Sometimes they have a cut/paste type of Word Work activity, sometimes they have a Phonics related board game they can play. This is the only center that really varies from week to week.

Writing Center
Write, Write, Write!
The only thing the students have to do at this center is WRITE! I have a Writing Center wall that offers the students a multitude of ideas of things to write about, or different forms of writing! I provide a little buckets with writing tools. Since this is the beginning of the year I only have some pencils and crayons in the box. Later on I will spice it up by providing funky pencils/pens, markers, fun stationary, and anything else I may find that will engage them and make them excellent authors! First week of school and these babies are writing away ....... and it is so neat to see how PROUD they are of their work!

READY FOR THE GIVEAWAY.....

All you have to do is FOLLOW my blog and then leave a COMMENT with your email address! In the next week you will receive some FREE GOODIES that your children will LOVE to have as a Reading resource!

I can't wait to start sending this FREE Reading Response packet!