Treasures and Center Time

We all know that centers can be the MOST challenging part of the day, especially with 1st graders, however, in my opinion, it's my FAVORITE (and my students too!) time of the day. I value every minute that I get to work with students in a small group or individually. And the assessment geek that I am, I LOVE assessing, and in 1st it is mostly one-on-one!!! My point... center time is crucial!!! So with my district implementing the new ELA adoption from Macmillan/McGraw-Hill California Treasures, we were "trained" in their idea of homogenius grouping for Literacy Workstations using the Flip Charts. I'm not going to lie, I HATED the idea... and at my first attempt, I HATED them even more...

BUT... with time, I have been able to create center activities that align with the Flip Charts and support the Focus Question for the week, while ensuring my students are engaged and able to produce a valuable product in the end. I take the suggestions from the Flip Charts and then layout the page so they follow step-by-step to produce at each center. My main focus is to get them writing as much as possible during their center time. Also, Treasures states that their Flip Charts should take 20 minutes. I needed my students to stay engaged for the entire 20 minutes so these Center Worksheets help acheive that goal! I have also added icons along the left column to help remind the students what the next step is to keep them focused and constantly working. I have 4 Special Ed students in my class this year and the icons have greatly helped these particular students, along with those students that are struggling with reading.

Please consider checking out these center worksheets in order to better use your Treasures materials in implementing your use of the Flip Charts and Literacy Workstations. I hope that your students are able to produce the same AWESOME and ENGAGING results! I spend A TON of time creating things for our TREASURES reading series so I hope that you will pop back often to check on what I have to share with you next!!

Thanks for visiting!! May your next cup of coffee bring you some relaxation!