[teacher1st]

For those who use SF reading street, what centers do you do?

I would like to incorporate the reading material, phonics poem, building background song, vocab words, and leveled readers into my centers, but am not sure the best schedule and set-up to have. I DO NOT want to have to make everything every week. I would like basic stations/activities that will be re-used each week. I need 4 or 5 centers, and I would be a center for guided reading. I do not have the materials needed for a listening center and our students already get 30 min. of computer time each day, so I can't have a computer center.

Any suggestions or ideas?

Amy

[SDNana]

I am taking a leap and moving away from "centers" as I move toward using The Daily Five structure. (Read to Self, Work on Writing, Word Work, Listen to Reading, and Read to Someone) If you are not familiar with this structure it is by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser/"the sisters."
The Word Work part will be the one that is close to "centers." The children will be practicing the week's spelling words and high frequency (word wall words). The can use magnetic letters, letter stamps, letter tiles, letter cubes on pipe cleaners (ordered cubes from Oriental Trading) and Play Dough. I am going to mold the Play Dough in plastic plates with rims and the children will use a golf tee to "write" the words in the play dough. These plates with play dough will be stored in gallon zipper bags. I already have lists of the spelling words and high frequency words so I will only have to change out the lists each week. For Listen to Reading the children will listen to the basal stories, background building songs, and phonics poems. I have the CD's and a splitter that I bought at Wal-mart so 6 kids can listen at a time. I also have lists of the spelling words that I copied from the Spelling City site-someone had already put the Scott Foresman Reading Street First Grade words in. You can choose the words on paper with lines and/or the words with sign language letters. Are you familiar with the yahoo groups for Reading Street. If not you will want to check it out! Lots of files and some very good links. Hope this helps...

[SDNana]

Amy,
I sent you a private message. Check at the top of the page. If you do not find it please post again and I will give you my email address so I can send you some things I have.

[rasgrade1]

Last year, I used almost everything in Reading Street. I spent way too much time making centers every week. This year, I am going to use parts of the Daily 5 and The Cafe Menu for comprehension. It will be much easier in the long run. I plan on having an Independent reading center, Listening Center, Word Work Center, and Computer/Project Center. When the children finish, they can either independent read or work on things from their reading challenge folders.
I hope this helps you.

[Nana6]

I'm moving away from the centers this year too. Reading Street centers took entirely too much work to keep up with. I feel like the Daily 5/Cafe approach will be much more beneficial to the children and allow me more time to work on teaching instead of making centers.

[Souxiekue]

What is the Daily 5 or the Cafe approach? I have heard of the Daily 5, but don't know what it is, and I've not heard of the Cafe.
Thanks!

[butterscotch]

I also use the daily 5 and added computers. I love the daily 5 and Cafe .Waltke's web is a good place for SF reading. Also, Carl's Corner has SF reading. These workstations practically run themselves. I do not set us any rotations. The students choose where they would like to "work" during our reading block.