Center Based Activities

EDU 708-1
Summer 2013

Amy Frankforter

I will be using an adapted version of the Daily 5 system for literacy centers in
my classroomI will be doing a Daily 4. I will be piloting this program for my
Kindergarten team this year, in the hopes that we will adopt it at our grade
level.
Purpose
The purpose for adopting this system to provide literacy based activities that my
students can perform independently while I teach small groups for guided
reading.
Classroom Management
I will be adapting the daily 5 program to a daily 4Read to Self, Read to the
Teacher, Listen to Reading and Word Work. I will have my students divided into
4 homogenous reading groups. Each group will rotate among the 4 centers
every day. This will allow me to meet with every small group every day to teach
guided reading. Each center will be timed at 15 minutes with approximately 2-3
minute transitions to allow for clean up and movement through the rotations.
The students will rotate through the four centers in the same order each day. I
will follow the suggested plan for introducing the daily 4, creating and posting Icharts, teaching expectations and building stamina in each center. We will
graph stamina in the Read to Self center.
Accountability
At the end of each week, students will evaluate their effort in each center. At
first, I will meet with them individually and will take notes during the conference
to teach them what expectations I have at each center. Eventually, students
will be expected to self-evaluate and turn in their effort checklists in to me. This
effort checklist will be sent home each week. I will also keep a Daily 4 section in
my grade book to track progress and effort over time.
Each student will keep a Daily 4 folder for work that may need to be completed
from the centers. When students rotate through the centers, they will check
their work folders first for any incomplete work. All work that has been
completed will be turned in at the end of the week. This will be stapled to the
effort checklist and sent home.
Assessment
As students turn in work each week, I will be able to track their progress. I will
also keep daily anecdotal notes in guided reading and will place some work
samples and copies of effort checklists in student portfolios. At the end of each
quarter I will complete district assessments in literacy. However, one of the
greatest benefits to formative assessment is that I can use it immediately to
improve the quality of instruction in my classroom.

Daily 4 Check-in Chart

#1
Letter Sorts
In a letter sort activity, students look at letters
(magnetic letters, letter tiles, letter beads,etc.)
and sort them into groups based on the
features of the letter.
Ways to sort letters:
Short letters*
Tall letters*
Letters with tails*
Letters in your name/not in your name*
Capital letters
Lowercase letters
Letters with circles
Letters with lines
Matching capital and lowercase
When given small beads that are letter shapes,
students can match them to an alphabet
chart*.
*examples of sorting mats provided

#2
Cut and Paste Beginning Sounds
Students are given a block letter (such as a
featured letter of the week). They may
decorate with several choices of media-markers, crayons, colored pencils. They cut
out and glue on objects that begin with the
sound of the featured letter. They may then
cut out the letter if they wish.
Teachers may also choose to provide other
objects that begin with the featured letter
like wagaon wheel pasta for the letter W or
macaroni for the letter M.

#3
Spoon Matching
Students match capital letters, written or
using stickers on a white spoon, to lowercase letters, on a clear spoon.

#4
Sensory Bags
Made with colored hair gel and glitter in a
gallon size ziploc freezer bag sealed with
heavy tape:

#5
Craft Sticks with Velcro
Students can hook craft sticks and velcro
dots together to form letters and shapes:

Other Word Work Activities

Beginning of School year:
Name arttearing paper in small pieces to
cover the letters of your name
Matching letters and words with letter
stamps
Sensory trays (sand or rice)
Rainbow write your letters or names
Rhyming word activities*
Beginning sound activities
Throughout the school year:
Word Wall chants
Word wall writing activities*
Read and write the room
Swat the word
Build it/write it with letters in a pocket chart
(cards) or magnetic board (magnet letters)*
CVC sound boxes*
I Spy with word families*
Highlight words in reproducible books*
Craft stick word practice
*examples provided

Daily 4
Accountability