A Literacy Center Sampler

1
A Literacy Center Sampler
For Middle School
2
Author Study Center

• Invite students to investigate
• Author biographies
• Author websites
• Corpus of an authors work
• Book reviews of the authors works
• Literary criticism
• Materials Needed
• Assorted biographies and author websites such as
  http//teacher.scholastic.com/read/all-about-autho
  rs.htm and http//www.readinglady.com/Author_Studi
  es/index.html

Explore!
3
Graphic Novel Center

• Encourage students to
• Read graphic novels.
• Compare graphic novels and traditional novels.
• Create original graphic novels.
• Research graphic novelists.
• Materials Needed
• --Graphic novels, drawing paper, markers, pens,
  colored pencils

Discover!
4
Around the World Center

• Provide students with access to
• multicultural literature
• Bins of fiction books that depict various
  cultures
• Collected nonfiction books about various
  countries
• Websites about different countries and cultures
• Materials Needed
• --multicultural books, websites such as
• http//www.kidsclick.org/midcoun.html,
• globe (optional)

Learn!
5
Poetry Center

• Give students the opportunity
• to enjoy poetry through
• Exposure to different types of poetry
• Themed poems (examples food poems, color poems,
  etc.)
• Dramatic recordings of various poems
• Special types of poems (haiku, cinquain,
  diamante, limerick)
• Materials Needed
• --poetry books, recordings of poems, tape
• recorder, headphones

6
Listening Center

• In your classroom, promote
• Books on Tape
• Tumblebooks http//www.tumblebooks.com/tumbleread
  able/home.asp
• Materials Needed
• --Internet access, recorded books, tape recorder,
  
• headphones

Listen!
7
Writing Centers

• Have students create response logs
• and journals
• Coming to Know Writing to Learn in the
  Intermediate Grades
• www.carolhurst.com/profsubjects/comingtoknow.
  html
• Teachers Resources for Journal Writing
  http//teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/unit_jou
  rnalwriting_books.htm
• Response Strategies Using Writing
• http//www.literacymatters.org/adlit/response
  /writing.htm
• Materials Needed
• --writing paper, pens or pencils, Internet access
  to above websites

Respond!
8
Beyond Book Reports

• Book report ideas www.webenglishteacher.com/boo
  kreports.html
• Reading Plans from the Teachers Desk
  www.teachersdesk.org/reading_plans.html
• When is a Book Report Not a Book Report? When
  Its Fun! www.gretchenle.com/bkrptsindex.html
• Literature Teacher Activity Bank
  www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/actbank/tliterat.htm

• The Teachers Desk Primarily Reading
  http//www.teachersdesk.org/readprim.html
• The Teachers Desk A Book Report Recipe
  http//www.teachersdesk.org/readreport.html
• Global Book Club A Collaborative Reading
  Experience for Middle School Students
  www.ncsu.edu/globalbookclub/home.html
• Teachers CornerBook Reports that Work
  www.ops.org/reading/insights.html

Think!
Materials Needed Paper, pencils, assorted art
materials, teacher Internet access
9
Grab Bag Book Reports

• Encourage students to
• Select a few objects that relate to the story
  chosen for the book talk.
• Pull out each prop from the bag and use it to
  retell the story.
• Materials Needed
• --Paper bags, student-selected books and
• props

Share!
10
The Newspaper Center

• Invite students to participate in these
• activities
• --identify parts of speech
• --find the main idea
• --create an outline
• --sequence story parts (cut article into
• paragraphs)
• --Identify who, what, why, when, where, how
• --Visualize (draw pictures to retell an
  article)
• --Make inferences based on headlines
• --Find facts and opinions in a given article
• --Make a collage of the weeks important news
  stories
• Materials Needed
• --Newspapers, scissors, paper, pencils, and art
  materials

Be Informed!
11
Drama Center
Act!

• Invite students to
• Practice Readers Theater (allow students to
  practice in pairs or small groups).
• Build fluency by reading aloud into a tape
  recorder and self-evaluating performance
• Create original skits and plays to share with the
  class.
• Materials Needed
• --Readers Theater Scripts, tape recorder,
• headphones, blank tapes, paper, pencils.

12
Broadcast News

• Mentor would-be broadcast
• journalists
• Decide on a regular newscast schedule.
• Assign students to write news stories about
  school activities or local events.
• Encourage students to practice reading their news
  stories to prepare for their broadcast.
• Materials needed
• --writing materials, computer (optional)

13
Newsletter Center

• Have students contribute
• Articles about classroom projects and events.
• Special interest articles.
• Reports on what they are studying in class.
• Materials Needed
• -- computer access (optional), pencils, pens,
  paper, camera (optional)

Publicize!
14
Word Study Center

• Encourage word play by having
• students
• Solve word puzzles
• Work with word tiles to create poems
• Find words within words
• Build compound words
• Play Flip a Chip http//www.readwritethink.org/les
  sons/lesson_view.asp?id253 for interactive
  http//www.readwritethink.org/materials/flip/
• Play word games such as Scrabble
• Analyze roots and affixes
• Create original word games for classroom use
• Analyze analogies
• Materials Needed
• --word puzzles, word tiles, chips, word games

Enjoy Words!
15
Current Events Center

• National Geographic News
• http//news.nationalgeographic.com/news/top15.html
  
• Magazines such as Time and Newsweek
• Local and national newspapers
• Discovery World
• Materials Needed
• --magazines, newspapers, Internet access
  (optional)

Connect!
16
This Day in History

• Ask students to share the significance of the
  date in history.
• http//www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
• Materials Needed Internet access

Reflect!
17
Foster Creativity

• Challenge students with some
• creative pursuits
• Have them work in pairs with one students
  beginning a story, and another completing the
  story.
• Provide more sophisticated coloring book pages
  (from Harry Potter for example) and have students
  write a story about the picture.
• Make available some wordless books and have
  students write a narrative.

Create!
18
Jokes
Laugh!

• Give your students a well-
• deserved chuckle.
• Provide humor books and joke books.
• Have students write their own jokes and funny
  stories.
• Ask a student to provide a joke a day from a safe
  site such as Yahooligans.
• Materials Needed
• --humor books, joke books, paper, pens,
• Internet access (optional)

19
Online Activities

• Challenge students creativity with
• Web Tales
• http//www.eduplace.com/tales/
• Learning Adventures
• http//school.discoveryeducation.com/students/?pID
  learn
• Brain Boosters
• http//school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters
  /?pIDbrain
• Materials Needed
• --Internet Access and computer printer

Create!
20
Living on Your Own

• Allow students to practice with
• life skills
• Complete blank job applications.
• Prepare sample budgets.
• Learn how to save money (open a bank account,
  etc.)
• Materials Needed
• --job applications, budgeting templates, bank
  brochures about opening an account, content area
  books

Practice!
21
Career Corner

• Encourage students to
• Read books about various careers.
• Create reports about different careers to share
  with the class.
• Consult websites about jobs that are in demand.
• Materials Needed
• --career books, writing materials, Internet
  access

Imagine!
22
Volunteer Vistas

• Invite students to
• Investigate the lives of great humanitarians.
• Research different volunteer opportunities.
• Report about the work of a specific volunteer
  organization.
• Find out about volunteer opportunities for teens
  at the library, hospital, and other local sites.
• Materials Needed
• --biographies, information about community
• organizations

Investigate!
23
Middle Schoolers on the Move

• Ask students to
• Create a listing of local places that middle
  school students might like to visit.
• Publicize the meeting times and activities of
  school clubs.
• Promote school events by creating posters,
  fliers, etc.
• Interview school staff about interesting places
  in the community.
• Materials Needed
• --poster boards, writing materials, school
  calendar, computer access (optional)

Participate!
24
Cinema
Enjoy!

• Capitalize on students interest in
• film by having them
• Read and create movie reviews.
• Research famous film makers.
• Read biographies of award-winning entertainers.
• Materials needed
• --newspapers, biographies, Internet access
• (optional)

25
Sports Fan Paradise

• Build on students interest in
• sports
• Make sports biographies available.
• Gather magazines about sports.
• Have students read and report about sporting
  events.
• Materials needed
• --biographies, sports-related reading material

26
Detective

• Capture students interest by
• offering
• Bins of mystery stories.
• Blank pages to compose a class book of mysteries.
• Short mysteries for students to provide an
  ending.
• Materials needed
• --mystery novels, writing materials and art
  materials

Solve!
27
Book talks
Communicate!

• Point students to these sites to find out
  about new books and see sample book talks. Then
  encourage them to write their own to share with
  the class.
• Spaghetti Book club
• http//www.spaghettibookclub.org/title.php
• Nancy Keane Book talks Quick and Simple
• http//nancykeane.com/booktalks/default.htm
• Teacher Scholastic http//teacher.scholastic.c
  om/products/tradebooks/booktalks.htm
• Materials needed
• --Internet access and writing materials.

28
Flashcard Center/Puzzlemaker

• Flashcard Maker http//www.scholastic.com/kids/h
  omework/flashcards.htm
• Puzzlemaker from Discovery School
  http//puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
• Materials needed
• --Internet access, computer printer, paper

Have Fun!
29
Comic Strip Creations

• Ask students to
• find out about the lives of famous cartoonists.
• compare and contrast the styles of two newspaper
  cartoonists
• create an original comic strip to share with
  classmates.
• Materials needed
• --biographies, newspaper comic strips, paper and
• drawing materials.

Research!
30
Text Structures

• Help students comprehend what they read by
  working with text features
• Nonfiction Expository Text Features
• --headings, subheadings, boldface, glossary,
  index, etc.
• http//www.literacymatters.org/content/text/intro.
  htm
• Fiction Text Features
• --plot, characters, setting
• Materials needed
• --examples of nonfiction and fiction

Notice!
31
Test Prep Center

• Help students gain confidence with
• testing by providing
• Sample tests from isbe.net.
• Practice writing prompts (narrative, persuasive,
  and expository).
• Reading passages accompanied by multiple choice
  questions and extended response.
• Materials needed
• --Sample test materials, pens and
• pencils, answer key when appropriate.

Prepare!