Keep the Rest of the Class Reading and Writing ... While You Teach Small Groups: 60 High-Interest Reproducible Activities-Perfect for Learning Centers-That Build Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Writing SkillsMore than 60 meaningful, classroom-developed literature and writing activities to keep your students engaged while you direct instruction in small groups. Activities include story structure webs, character trait clusters, comparing the ways authors write leads, biography investigations, poetry menus, and much more. Includes how-to's for managing literacy centers, partner studies, and easy long-term projects. Reproducible format makes it all ready-to-use in a literacy center. For use with Grades 3-6. |
Contents
Introduction | 5 |
Literacy Centers and Logistics | 7 |
Centers Contract | 12 |
Centers Checklist | 13 |
Choice Menu | 14 |
Partner Centers | 15 |
Musing and Perusing | 16 |
Focusing on Characters | 17 |
A Learning Styles Model | 68 |
Chrysanthemum | 69 |
Fantastic Mr Fox | 70 |
Rubric for Literature Studies | 71 |
More Small Group LiteracyFocused Activities | 72 |
Fables | 73 |
Proverbs From Around the World | 74 |
Proverbial Wisdom | 75 |
Library Lil | 19 |
In White Tie and Tails | 20 |
A River Ran Wild | 21 |
Dandelions | 22 |
Venus | 23 |
Learning From Photographs | 25 |
Finding Information in a Photograph | 26 |
Writing at Centers | 27 |
Who Is Gutzon Borglum? | 29 |
Facts and Commentary About | 30 |
One Hundred Journal Topics | 31 |
King of the Sky | 33 |
Panel Discussion | 34 |
Agree Disagree | 36 |
Mrs PiggleWiggle | 37 |
A Telephone Poem | 39 |
Read All About It | 40 |
General Writing Rubric | 41 |
Noticing What Authors Do | 42 |
Story Structure Web | 43 |
A Focus on Beginnings | 44 |
Take the Lead | 45 |
What a Character 1 | 47 |
What a Character 2 | 48 |
Character Traits Cluster | 49 |
Appetizer Main Course Dessert | 50 |
Word Sorting for Vocabulary Building | 51 |
Abels Island | 52 |
HogEye | 53 |
Setting the Scene | 54 |
Author Studies | 55 |
Author Hall of Fame | 56 |
Group Planning Sheet | 57 |
An Author Profile | 58 |
A Study of an AuthorIllustrator | 60 |
The Picture Books of Kevin Henkes | 61 |
William Steigs Animal Fantasies | 62 |
Seymour Simon | 63 |
A Menu | 65 |
Using the Internet for Author Studies | 66 |
Small Group Literature Studies | 67 |
Challenge Centers and Independent Study Projects | 76 |
Book Report Menu | 78 |
Create Your Own Book Report | 79 |
Reading Response Rubric | 80 |
Comedy Catastrophe and Comeuppance | 81 |
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World | 82 |
Add Adjectives to Your Vocabulary | 84 |
Using Words to Create Pictures | 86 |
PaddletotheSea | 87 |
Amazing Flying Machines | 88 |
Independent Research Project | 89 |
Genre Studies | 91 |
Genre Journey | 93 |
Picture the Possibilities | 94 |
Biography Web | 95 |
A Genre Investigation | 96 |
My GreatAunt Arizona | 97 |
A Brief Biography Bibliography | 99 |
Poetry Menu | 100 |
Futuristic Technology Intergalactic Travel and Alien Civilizations | 101 |
Authors Who Write Mysteries | 103 |
Adventure Activities | 104 |
Authors Autobiographies | 105 |
Rib Ticklers and Funny Bones | 106 |
Funny Books | 107 |
A Different Kind of Journey | 108 |
A Weekly Reading Log | 109 |
Happily Ever After Headlines | 110 |
A Choice Menu | 111 |
Easy LongTerm Projects | 112 |
Newbery Medal Winners and Honor Books | 113 |
Five in a Row | 117 |
Activity Choices | 118 |
Its All in the Cards | 119 |
Alphabetical Fact Sheet | 120 |
Dewey Decimal Nonfiction Book Report | 121 |
Exploring Picture Books to Learn About Literary Devices | 122 |
Some Books to Use for Teaching Literary Devices | 126 |
And the Winners Are | 127 |
Common terms and phrases
adventure answers assignment Author Hall author studies Autobiography Beverly Cleary biography Book Report Book Title Caldecott center activity chapter book character traits Choice Menu choose Chris Van Allsburg Chrysanthemum Class Reading classroom complete sentences create Directions E.B. White eagle Eve Bunting examples Explain fables FALSE TRUE FALSE Favorite feel Find finished five focus focuses folder format funny grade Great-Aunt Arizona Groups Scholastic Professional Hog-Eye Honor Book humorous ideas illustrator important Keep the Rest Kevin Henkes learning Library Lil literacy centers literacy-focused activities Literary Devices literature study groups Lois Lowry main character nonfiction book options Paperback penguin photographs picture book Professional Books Name proverbs quadrant questions readaloud Reading and Writing reading group Roald Dahl rubric scene Scholastic Professional Books science fiction skills Small Groups Scholastic Teach Small Groups teacher tell tion TRUE FALSE TRUE Venus vocabulary building William Steig Word Sort