A Peek into our Day

Workshop 10:00-11:00 daily (January)

Students rotate through four 14-minute centers every day during workshop time. The centers are situated in a circle format in the classroom, so no matter where the students start they will always move to the next center in the same direction every day. This makes it easy to manage.

There are four centers and they are all important in their own right. One of the centers is with me and I do reading instruction every day. I work with 1 to 3 students while the others in the group read independently not far from me. Another center is with my aide and she often does math activities, but may also do literacy or special projects. She is amazing and like another teacher in the classroom, so the kids get two doses of small-group intense academic instruction every day. The third center is called the independent center and students must work independently of teacher help (to the extent possible). Here, they learn to solve their own problems or get the help of a friend so that they can learn to work on their own. The last center is designed to be somewhat of a cognitive break, as the other three are pretty academically intense. This last center has time on the floor where students can crawl around while they’re working rather than be stuck in a chair the whole time. I only work with students who are currently “at my center.” Because I never pull them from another activity that they are engaged in, they are always happy to come work with me.

Here is a peek at today’s workshop activities.

Students at my center read from their individual book bags of leveled text until I call them to my table for reading instruction.

Reading independently for up to 15 minutes. I encourage students to properly interrupt me if they need help.

Since the students are reading independently fairly close to me, it is easy for me to tell if they are on task and working up to their potential.

Students check out their current reading level (instructional) before having a discussion with the teacher about how to move up to a higher level—attack their words and stay on task during independent reading time.

Each student has three books in their individual book bag. When they come to my reading table, they give me their oldest book and then I give them a new one. We read through most of it so that they’ll be able to read it independently the next day.

Some students got a lesson in attacking words today. Click on the video.

Attack the Word

With my lowest few readers, we are doing this 3x/week instead of reading books. It is working well and improving their basic reading skills.

Today at the aide’s center the students are matching beginning sounds to build snowmen. They are doing this together first so that they can do it on their own at the independent center in a few days.

At the independent center, students match letters to spell pictures. This is an example of phoneme-grapheme mapping.

I like activities that don’t require much prep or copying (after the initial creating and laminating). You’ll see my students writing often, but usually on plain white paper.

Students are encouraged to work together quietly and solve problems. I can usually count on them to help each other learn in situations like this.

I split the “floor” center into two groups because it doesn’t work to have 6-7 kids working on a puzzle together. While some kids do this, others are at a table drawing and labeling.

Students choose whichever pictures they want to copy. Last year I had them trying to spell on their own but they were interrupting me constantly for help so I counteracted that by just having them copy this year. They are learning to spell some words!

Students are confident at this center because we drew together every day for six weeks.

Workshop is intentional and systematic instructional time. Much is accomplished during this hour every day. Students feel confident because they know the routine and most of their energy can go into the intellectual work rather than worrying about what is expected and where they are supposed to be. Since 85 percent of the class is busy doing purposeful work, I am free to teach the other two or three students to read right at their level. My aide and I love this time block every day.

Twenty-seven students this year means 6-7 at each center.

---

To see more posts about kindergarten instruction, sign up. It’s free!