Literacy centers promote student independence and collaboration as they work through reading, writing, and listening centers on their own. Once you make literacy centers a routine in your classroom, they essentially run themselves. Students should know exactly where to go and what to do at each station. Some teachers provide choices using a choice board and others have a fixed rotation of activities for students to complete at each center. How you do it is up to you but be sure to tailor your activities and small group work to meet the needs and interests of each learner.
Literacy centers also offer a great opportunity for you to target the needs of your emergent readers in focused work that may be different from the rest of the class. However you choose to implement literacy centers, this article is chock full of ideas for different kinds of centers. From phonics work to sentence writing centers, this master list will give you a sense of what kind of activities you can do with your students during literacy block. All elementary grade levels are covered here along with a host of different skills to teach. Enjoy implementing literacy centers in your classroom today!
1. Magnetic Letters
Use a cookie tray and simple magnet letters for endless phonics practice in this early elementary literacy center.
Learn more: ABCs of Literacy
2. Sight Word Typing
These cheap keyboards from Dollar Tree allow students to practice sight words and typing skills at the same time. They will love the tactile, grown-up element of typing on a keyboard, making the learning of sight words pure fun.
Learn more: Tickled Pink in Primary
3. Kaboom
This center for students has them reading words until they get the Kaboom! stick. Adding elements of fun into your literacy centers goes such a long way to making the learning stick.
Learn more: Tickled in Pink Primary
4. Building Blocks Sight Word Box
This low-prep center has students create the words using Legos. Perfect for your hands-on learners and those who are obsessed with Legos!
Learn more: ABCs of Literacy
5. Compound Word Mini-Puzzles
This activity option has students put together tiny puzzles to join compound words. Laminate the puzzle pieces and you have a literacy center that will last for years to come.
Learn more: Playdough to Plato
6. CVC Word Roll
Students will have lots of fun at center time with this activity! Roll the die to form words. Color the CVC word that is formed.
Learn more: Miss Giraffe's Class
7. IceCream Initial Sound MashUps
Ice cream makes everything a little bit easier to teach. Use this exercise for your emergent readers.
Learn more: A Dab of Glue Will Do
8. Ice Cube Sight Word Sort
Students will practice their sight words and fine motor skills by choosing a sight word with a pair of tongs. As they build automaticity with the sight words, you can incorporate words from that week's spelling and vocabulary list.
Learn more: Learning With Mrs. Langley
9. Pool Noodle Word Work
How clever is this pool noodle idea? Students have to generate the words from the flashcards using the blue and green letters. Have them record their creations on a whiteboard.
Learn more: The Happy Teacher
10. Snow Ball Sort
Build confident readers through routine sight word practice. This snowball sort adds a tactile element to the learning. It would be great for a winter-themed literacy center!
Learn more: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten
11. Listening Centers
Go old school for this listening center with personal CD players. Hearing fluent reading is so important for emerging readers. This will take some interactive modeling on how to use the CD player appropriately, but your students will rise to the challenge.
Learn more: My Primary Paradise
12. Sight Words in Sand
Write out common sight words on sticky notes and have students "write" the word in the sand. This tactile activity is great for earlier ability levels.
Learn more: Kindergarten is Crazy
13. Dice Rolling Center
In different-ability partner groups, have students check on their comprehension of a story using this simple dice game. They can choose an answer to write a written response for at the end of this center time. Provide sentence stems to help your English learners with their responses for this activity.
Learn more: Apple For the Teach
14. Themed Dramatic Play Center
Themed dramatic play centers are a great way to teach key literacy skills within collaborative learning settings where students are asked to use their imagination. Math, science, and history can all be woven in as well. This center is weather-themed and has students play-acting like a weather reporter on TV. They will love getting to hold the mic.
Learn more: Early Learning Ideas
15. Erroneous Sentences
Students need to unscramble these sentences in this grammar center activity. This is great for your digital learners as it is already online!
Learn more: Snips and Snails
16. Vocabulary Mats
Use this brilliant strategy to develop students' content area vocabulary. As is evident in the examples, you can do this with any grade level or subject matter. To add an element of competition, have students time themselves to see how long it takes to fill out their vocabulary word sort.
Learn more: Tarheelstate Teacher
17. Letter Beads
Students hunt for the right letter to add to their pipe cleaner bracelet in this independent literacy center activity.
Learn more: Firstie Favorites
18. Reading Game Board
The gamification of reading always makes for happy teaching and learning! Have students complete this in mixed-ability pairings to enhance the reading experience for your emerging readers.
Learn more: Jennifer Findley
19. Magazine Choice Center
Students love magazines so why not weave them into a literacy center independent choice option? This magazine choice board is the perfect way to add some independence with in structure. It also provides another pass on non-fiction reading standards.
Learn more: Jennifer Findley
20. Emoji Spelling Center
This brilliant idea helps with additional practice of spelling words in a fun and engaging manner! They send coded emoji messages to a classmate using the spelling words from that week's list and it is their classmate's job to decode the message. Students will love drawing the expressive emoji faces and playacting as secret spies cracking an all-important code.
Learn more: The Butterfly Teacher
21. Spin and Write Center
Perfect for a 4th grade classroom, this spin and write exercise squeezes a little more writing into the day.
Learn more: The Butterfly Teacher
22. Book Shopping Day
Possibly the easiest literacy center idea is to have one rotation be a book shopping day where a select group of students gets their chance to find a set of books for their book bags. The book shopping rule is that students can only use the library on their assigned day. This cuts out added traffic, brings appeal to the books, and helps students prioritize their current independent reading texts. Add a section where students can write a book recommendation after they finish reading. Providing many book choices will help develop students' love of reading and having a designated book station will make them excited for their turn at the book shopping center.
Learn more: Book Shopping Schedules Editable
23. Connetix Tiles Alphabet Match
Help students practice their letter recognition of individual letters with this fun matching center. This is helpful as students are learning to distinguish between capital and lower case letters.
Learn more: ABCDee Learning
24. Decodable Sentence Reading
Help students master literacy skills with this simple yet powerful center idea. Using word cards to create sentences, students will be able to practice correct spelling and sentence formation.
Learn more: Mrs. Winter's Bliss
25. Sight Word Splat
This fluency center helps students internalize their sight words with movement and high engagement. Add an element of competition by rewarding the student who gets the most "Splats!
Learn more: You Clever Monkey
26. Story Puzzles Writing Center
Students will get fresh writing ideas with the never-ending combinations possible in this writing center activity. This station provides opportunities for students to come up with a story based on a setting and character that may or may not correspond well. Time to get their creative juices flowing!
Learn more: Miss DeCarbo
27. Syllable Puzzles
These simple syllable puzzles help students split words into their syllable parts and build sound knowledge. Laminate them for a reusable resource year after year! Students can work fairly independently in this center.
Learn more: Education To The Core
28. The Word Maker
Student collaboration will work well as they race to find words using the letters in their word maker. This activity reminds me of the game Spelling Bee from NYT's Crossword app.
Learn more: The Butterfly Teacher
29. I-Phone Listening Center
Recycle old i-phones to make this clever listening center. What a brilliant literacy center idea! You can ask families to donate old, unused iPhones to make this a low-cost yet highly interactive literacy listening center.
Learn more: Lucky To Be In First
30. What Ifs Writing Center
Spark students writing skills with this creative station designed to get their brains activated and their writing juices flowing. These clever what-if scenarios will get their imaginations running wild!
Learn more: Education to the Core
31. Linking Words
Practice linking words with this visual representation of how sentences can be made more complex. These small sentence-building cards connect with simple loops providing students with a tactile sentence combination strategy.
Learn more: Education to the Core
32. Roll a Word
This activity is a stellar way to build content literacy as students practice vocabulary based on the current unit in social studies or science. Each number on the dice represents a different task for students to complete. For example, if they roll a one, they have to provide the definition of the word. This rolling dice activity will keep them on their toes.
Learn more: Southern Fried Teachin'
33. Reading Sorts
Use these handy reading sort resources to help your students build comprehension and fluency. Complex topics like identifying points of view, determining the main idea, and responding to reading are all available in Ms. Findley's incredible resource.
Learn more: Jennifer Findley
34. Sentence Building Center
35. Let's Roll, Guided Reading Comprehension Questions
36. Resource of Digital Literacy Centers
37. Sight Word Mitten Match Up
38. Initial Sounds Board Game
39. Sight Word Jenga with Dolch Sight Words
40. Beginning Blends Smoothie Sort
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