Q: This month's question comes from Susie, who teaches 3rd Grade in Erie, Pennsylvania:

I teach 1st grade. Next school year I am planning on having four 15-minute guided reading groups. I need ideas of what the other students can do for the 45-minutes that they are not in reading groups. It has to be an independent activity.



A: Your excellent responses:

Taffy from Houston, TX:
I also teach guided reading and have 10 work stations set up I send the students to five and and after about 20 minutes they switch stations. The first couple of weeks, I monitor the centers to make sure they understand what they need to do. It works pretty well

Darlene Sabelhaus from Oviedo, Florida:
I have literacy centers during this time. They are very structured and very repetitive so the students get used to the routine. Some activities I use during this time are having students listen to stories at the listening center with books on tape,reading at the "book nook" center. There are multileveled books in a basket at this center based on whatever theme we are doing in class. Several of the books in the basket have been at least introduced to the children to raise their interest and promote excitement. Another center that I use is the writing center. Students independently complete a handwriting activity or a short writing piece where they respond to a story starter etc. Often I will have the students at the writing center bring their work over to me so that I can monitor whether or not they have completed their assignment to the best of their ability. I praise students who go above and beyond in their writing. This holds them accountable for doing their best work and it only takes a minute betweeen reading groups to check. Another helpful idea is to have a parent volunteer come in during your guided reading groups to help you keep an eye on your students as they rotate through centers. This will help to make your guided reading groups flow much smoother because it allows you to concentrate more on the group that you have at hand. Hope this is helpful.

Kristie Lewis from Bowling Green, KY:
literacy work stations --2 or 3 students in each one, you can do them in rotations like you do the reading groups

Michelle from Plymouth, MI:
I like to have my students do rainbow writing. They use many different colored crayons, and write word wall words or spelling words. Except they continually write over their words, so that each word they wrote is a rainbow when they are done.

Beth from Culpeper, VA:
I meet with one group while my Reading assistant meets with another. The independent kids then work on Reading workbook pages that practice the skills for the day, Journal writing, copying notes from the board on the story they read for the day, finishing work from the previous lesson, word searches or something spelling related, quiet reading centers or computer time. The board gives the order of their independent jobs and what to do with them when they are finished. It is the only time in the day when the kids may use the bathroom with out asking. They just need to take the hall pass.

Mandy from Blue Bell, PA:
Last year I tried 4 groups, but found that two 20 min. groups each day (every other day kids see you) worked well. The kids do D.E.A.R. time, respond to stories we have read in creative ways, play word wall hangman quietly with a partner, work at 'Take it to your seat' centers (they are great books from Beckers with independent centers made for you). Some of my first graders worked on word building games on the classroom computers as well. They could create story maps after reading a book or do art projects that relate to literacy---we made windsocks out of construction paper. The body of the windsock had a sentence starter (The boy played) then the hanging pieces had a possible sentence ender (on the swingset, at the park, with his friends at 2:00). The kids practiced adding details to their sentences and also remained engaged because the art aspect of it made it fun. I hope this helped.

Jill from Greensburg, PA:
I used the concept "free choice" in which after a student got any of his/her work completed they could read, write,draw, or scroll there numbers (we use Everyday Math).

Amanda from Gulfport, MS:
I like the book, "What Are the Other Kids Doing While I Teach Small Groups?". It gives tons of great activities that can be independent or cooperative work and help to end the constant interruptions during Reading instruction.

Colleen Coffman from Estes Park, Colorado:
Hi Sherry! I teach 4th grade right now, but taught 2nd for 3 years. I have two suggestions: centers or menu. I used menu which was a themed (usually monthly) set of activities. All activities were kept in individual folders with a chart stapled to the front so kids could keep track of which ones they had done, completed papers on one side, not completed on the other. I also had pocket cards set up on a lower bulletin board that kids were to move a card into the pocket if they were on that activity (for example at the listening center, I had 2 sets of headphones, so had 2 cards). If kids wanted to do one activity, but the cards were taken, they had to choose something else. Many things were independent, at their desk, and some were small group. Some of the activities were color, cut, paste sheets, word finds and crosswords, making mobiles and puppets, read a certain book and do an activity. All menus had at least 2 activities from each content area. You can add computer activities if possible. I also set up a guessing jar (use counters, macaroni, candies, beads, etc.) Centers can be the same way, with the activities changing each month. You can set up a way for kids to keep track of the ones they have done with simple chart paper. All of these things take a good deal of modeling at first so that kids understand to move on if a center is busy, and they can understand the simple directions. They do get better at it with practice! Do a lot of explanation, and also set up a system so that kids ask 3, then me. That way, they will ask 3 other kids for help before asking you. When you are working with groups, the kids need to know that they can't disturb you! I used to have a once a month "menu party" for the kids who had finished all of their menu (we ate in the room together and I would bring a small treat). If you have a parent helper to help with the finished menus and to set up the next times, it is helpful. Good luck and have fun!! Colleen Coffman :)

Kim Bush from Burlington, Iowa:
Are you a new teacher? Why 4 groups? There are many things you can have the other students do on their own. I taught first grade for 9 years and now teach K level. If you want to talk about ideas, email me. Kim

Angela Carpenter from Marion, Michigan:
Sherry, Make this guided reading time a part of centers time. As a student teacher I worked with an awesome 1st grade teacher and we did centers during guided reading time. I had studnets writing their sight words in the writing center or copying sentences from our big book story. In the science center I had various science books or projects to work on or things to discover. I had a group reading center in which the students read to each other from either the big book story or from any book that they wanted to read from. We had a listening center with stories or music. The opportunities are boundless for centers. I had a timer that let them know it was time to move to the next center. At first they had to follow a strict rotation but as they grew in their abilities and comprehension of directions they could pick a center and put their "time card" in the time card slot for each particular center and if it was full they could go to another that had an open slot. If you want a better detailed description of the activities e-mail me and we can elaborate.

Laura Duncan from Spencer, Tennessee:
You've got to read Literacy Work Stations by Debbie Diller. It has wonderful, practical ideas and great explanations. Good Luck!

Laura Miller from Mt. Sterling, KY:
I teach kindergarten. I meet with 4 guided reading groups during an hour and a half. During the time I meet with each group, the other children participate in literacy centers. Some of the centers in my room include: Library Center - Students read books with partners. Listening Center - Each student has their own headset and listens to a book on tape. They then complete an entry in their journal about their favorite part of the story. Alphabet Match Center - Students match uppercase and lowercase letters. Read and Write the Room - Students search the room for words they know such as "purple" and "dog". They then write these words on a piece of paper and read them to a friend or the teacher later. Rainbow Colored Sight Words - Students write their sight words with markers, each letter of each word is written with a different color marker. They then read the words they wrote to a partner. These are all independent activities, things the students do on their own, however they work in groups or with partners to complete them. They will not need the teachers help though. The centers can get a little noisy, but you have to train the kids to whisper and stay on task. They work well for me.

Christy Hicks from Oliver Springs, Tennessee:
I do the same thing in my classroom because we do Balanced Literacy. While I am meeting with one of my guided reading groups, the other students are doing independent managed learning centers. I have various centers that I use depending on what we are studying. If you would like more information on the types of centers and the types of activities they do in each center feel free to e-mail me :)

Amy Swenson from St. Francis, MN:
Set up station. Some station ideas are as follows... Buddy read, read the room, ABC center, write the room, magnetic letters, listening center, writing station, and spelling station. These are just a few ideas that I do. Good Luck!!

Grainne Rowland from Chinook, Montana:
Make some center activities. The students can easily work with these after you have explained the use of each. Use some good creative Spelling activitites, ex. make Spelling words with macaroni or letter cards. Let students draw the background of a story they have read. Make a new ending for a story. Use some recorded stories for them to listen to with some follow-up activitites. Have some Phonics games to do. The possibilitites are endless.

A Clemmons from Tinley Park, IL:
I have used stations and a timer. I set a kitchen timer (to help keep myself on time) and a auditry for the kids to change. I had the kids divided into groups that were on a LARGE pocket chart telling them where they needed to go after each bell. It took a few weeks of prepping, but eventually works out great. The stations were: Reading Group, Word Zone (work on Word Wall Words - stamping, writing, language master, magnet letters, . . . ), Seat Work, and Centers (computers, story on tape, quiet read corner). Hope this helps!

Valerie Hess from Centerville, Pennsylvania:
Purchase the book Literacy Work Stations by Debbie Diller. I've been doing workstations for the past 2 years. I also did centers with 4 or 5 students in it. This became too noisy. Workstations only have 2 or 3 students in them. It makes the room a lot calmer. There are tons of ideas in this book. It's like my school bible. After reading this book, you'll have so many ideas and you'll say, "Why didn't I think of that!" You'll also be so creative, it will amaze you. I incorporate science, math, and social studies into these workstations. Just remember: Never give the students something they haven't done yet. They'll have too many questions and won't be able to work independently. Also practive and review the workstations. The students love them and I absolutely love it. The day goes fast and the students are interactive with each other and the learning materials.

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Lynn Cutshaw from Clewiston, Florida:
Set up literacy centers or literacy stations. The other students can be put in groups that will rotate in the other centers while you are working with your reading groups. You can have stations for: phonics, writing center, journal writing, library center, you can add and change centers as needed, you can equip the centers with practice materials of lessons you have taught, there are endless possibilities for centers.

Linda from Red Jacket, WV:
I teach 4th Grade. I use skill centers to practice (make sure skills have been taught) any skill. For example, a card game on or, ir, and er words played like "Go Fish." Most of my students have been in 15-minute centers or groups since P-K. You may also want to invest in some "Take it to Your Seat Center" by Evan-Moor.

Jean Butler from Madison, Alabama:
Literacy Stations work great. A good resource and a quick read it Debbie Diller's Literacy Work Stations Making Centers Work.

Diane Herod from Casselberry, FL:
I teach second grade and also have my students work in reading groups. I break my students up into groups by reading levels. While I am meeting with each group the students are completing work at other centers(stations) around the room. One group will be in library rereading the book we worked on last week or reading through poetry for fluency. I have a group at the listening center listening to a book on tape. They then respond to the book writing about their favorite part or illustrating a part from the story. I will have one group working on a writing prompt at writing center. I will have some at the computer working on software together. The smaller the groups the quieter it is. Then at the end of the week I make a rubic of things from centers due and give them points for having the work done or not. As I switch groups they switch to the next center which is shown on a on a rotation wheel located in the room.

Lynsey Plume from Morehead City, NC:
Don't feel oompelled to have each group for 15 min. some may need more others less. I found four formal reading groups a week worked well. This gives your plan flexiblity. Have you used the site Reading A-Z or RAZ kids. This site gives you great books on or off the computer and activities and quizes students can do independently. They love them and they are still engaged in reading. I use them with groups as well. Reading Rods will work for beginning and advanced readers but are a bit expensive and need to be modeled several times before they can use them independently. During reading center time I typically put in a 15 min. free read in the library in the classroom and then one math game they can choose or a journal entry with pictures which for very beginning writier seems to work well. I have about 20 activities for center time to reinforce skills already introduced or taught and each week I choose 6 or 7 they can do. Some are must do's and some are choice. I hope that helps! I also teach 1st. grade and struggled with this for quite a while. Have a good summer.

Debble from San Angelo, Texas:
Have them practice developing their thinking skills. Have a Thinking center where students respond to an open ended question. Since you have 1st graders find questions they can draw and begin their writing skills. For example: Draw everything you can think of that is white, then the next week have them circle the soft white things. Next have a listening center where you have books, poems, or instructions on tape. Another center could use the computer using the United Streaming videos on science or social studies material. Use science or social studies in your guided reading to connect the subject together. Or,kids love to use the overhead. Make up simple close sentences or paragraphs where they fill in their answers. Last, Have them practice a skill you've taught in class. Counting money, adding manipulatives, practicing their spelling with magnetic letters, or and english skill. Good luck and keep an eye open for fun creative motivational ideas Last

Liz from Pittsford, Vermont:
They can respond to their guided reading book in this way: I provide my students with picture story paper (lined on the bottom, space on top). They choose one page from the book, copy it completely (or specify two or three sentences if it's a longer book.) then they illustrate that part of the book. They are practicing their handwriting, spelling, fine motor and visuzlization skills.

Jessica from Pickerington, Ohio:
Debbie Diller has a great book about implementing Literacy Workstations. She does a wonderful job of showing you how it works in the classroom. The students are involved in meaningful activities that don't require a lot of preparation by you (like traditional centers), and allows you the time to meet with guided reading groups and individuals.

Hillary Chenevey from Hartville, OH:
Literacy Centers work great for this. You may have to introduce the centers as a whole class before actually going into the reading groups. There are a lot of resources out there to help you organize and manage this to best suit your classroom needs.

Debbie from Hagerstown, MD:
During guided reading time, I have those not involved with me rotating through literacy centers. There are Word Wall activities, activities using the vocabulary from our HM anthology, a poetry center, independent reading, a writing center, Social Studies activities, etc. I am planning on incorporating a Reading Circle center as well as a newspaper center. A good resource is Fountas/Pinell's Guided Reading book. I'm also looking at purchasing CTPs Complete Guide to Classroom Centers (from RGS site). I bought a magnetic center wheel last year that can be easily used to rotate groups from Really Good Stuff last year. It's great! Hope this helps.

Kim Dybicki from Belleville, MI:
Hi, I teach 1st grade in Belleville, Michigan and also do 15 min. groups. I have 3 groups (red, yellow, and blue group)of 8/9 that are divided by ability (DRA reading levels). While red meets with me, yellow is at seatwork, and blue group will be at centers. Yellow seatwork involves penmanship poem copying off the chalkboard, drawing a picture of the rainforest layers, etc. doing something at their seats that they can finish in 15 min. with no questions of me. The blue group goes to one of the 10 centers I have around the classroom. The centers are NOT overwhelming - 2 computers, a listening center (drawing your favorite part) science observation center (observing plants, shells, whatever we're studying) paint easel, math center, classroom library with beanbag, puzzles, writing center, and sticker story. There is only one child allowed at each center to keep the noise down. Each group switches every 15 min. (3x a week) and I leave the centers all the same for 3 weeks. I have a little check list and students revolve through all 10 centers within the 3 weeks. They do not repeat centers until the rotation begins again. This works very well for me. If you could keep your groups large, and have enough centers, I would try only 3 switches. It has been much more successful for me. Let me know if you need anymore advice.

Kelly Spencer from Pensacola, Florida:
Set up small center areas. I assume that you will be working with groups of 4 or 5 students. I would suggest an audio center where students can listen to books on tape and complete an activity with them, such as drawing a new cover, filling in a graphic organzier or whatever works for you. You can keep the same book all week long and tie it into whatever theme you are teaching or a science or social studies topic. You can also do a journaling center, allow them to draw a picture and write about a given topic. Students could also use the time to read independently and take Accelerated Reader or Reading Counts quizzes. You can also have students use the computer to play reading or spelling games if you have access to a number of computers in the room. This is also a good time to practice sight word flashcards with a partner, work on spelling words, or play file folder games. You will need to work on creating independence the first several weeks of school by guiding the students through the centers and adding a new center every few days or once a week when they seem to have the hang of it, and have procedures for when it is ok to disprupt your group (nosebleed, for example)in place. You might start with several 5 minute rotations, and go to each area twice or three times and gradually increase the time, too in order to build independence. Also, if your school has a volunteer program, or you have an eager parent, ask for help at this time of the day.

Nancy House from Marysville, Michigan:
I also teach first grade and this past year I read Debbie Diller's book Literacy Stations. She has many station ideas for students not in your guided reading group. Some ideas are overhead station, computer, poetry, writing, big book, puppet.... It worked very well. I rang a bell after about 15 minutes and the groups of about three in each switched.

Kristin Meise from Brooklyn, NY:
I first have my students read 3 independent reading books that they already have in their desk, that are on their reading level. Then I have them complete a graphic organizer on one of their independent reading books. The graphic organizer focuses on a strategy or skill taught during the mini lesson. Then the students continue with center work that may include journal writing, the listening center, computers, the reading corner, file folders, reading decodable books, completing puzzles, or the make words station, etc. The main thing I find is they students can do any activity independently provided they are told how, shown how, and have an opportunity to model it over time.

Wendy Stricker from Coventryville, Pennsylvania:
For the students not in guided reading group break them into additional groups for independent Literacy centers, as many as you need for your size group, here are some ideas: 1. Listening center w/ book. 2. Science discovery center (with journal writing) 3. Math center (different manipulatives) students create word problems and (also a variety of "math" books to read, i.e. "How much is a Million by Steven Kellogg, the M&M's books and others with counting) 4. Independent reading center (based on weekly theme 5. Art center (piece of art, students describe what picture is or how artist created it, talk about the colors used, where it is, in or out, far or near...) 6. Word making center (use scrabble letter tiles or create some, use like an anagram -- put out several letters that can be made into many words, the children mix them around to write their new words. You could even have a sheet with starters, for example: _at, then place letters b, c, r, f, s or less – not too many for 1st grade) 7. Computer time (either one of the learning CD’s, create your own activity on PowerPoint or if your school has Compass Odyssey they can work on that 8.Writing center (paper, envelopes, shopping list paper…) 9. If you do spelling there could be a spelling center with the spelling words on a list to have them partner up and quiz each other. 10. How about having them discuss what they learned in guided reading the week before, either about characters, places, author, the story itself… Since they are 1st graders, don’t expect a lot of the writing, but every chance they get to write and be exposed to reading or writing will help them in small groups. If your school allows it, have parent volunteers come in to help with the flow during that time.

Karen Stone from Como, Texas:
I had 22 kids in my class last year. I had read groups of 5 and 6 students. I had the others do seatwork like write their spelling words 5 times each or write each spelling word in a sentence. Sometimes I would like the group I was working with read their story to the rest of the class so everyone could hear. I hope this helps.

Sara Handshear from St. Louis, MO:
I taught second grade this past year but will be teaching first grade this coming school year. I do 3, 20 minute guided reading groups however I see your problem. They have to stay busy all on their own. I have lots of centers that the students have a set schedule they follow each day, that tells them which center they need to be at, at that assigned time. I have the Book Nook, where they read independently. I have a Math Masters center where they play math games. A listening center, where they listen to books on tape. A Wacky Writers centers where they often do book reports (simple worksheet styles--characters, setting, favorite part, etc.). A have a Word Works center where they use magnetic letters to make words, often "chunk" words assigned every week. I have a Sentence Solvers center with words on index cards and they make sentences out of the words and write them in the designated notebook. I also have an Ask Emma center where my students write my dog a letter and she "writes" them back. In addition to the more formal centers I have a puzzle center, coloring center, spelling center and handwriting center. It may seem like a lot but I only change my center work once a week, on Monday. This is necessary to effectivly do guided reading.

marisel mendez from union city, new jersey:
hi can you giviming a informacion what a have do to to be a teacher in new jersey iam a teacher aid thank you

Terri from Lawrenceville, GA:
Sherry, our school has been doing this for years. I make sure to have centers (in a class of 20-23 students I have 16 centers). Each center provides practice for skills already taught, and sometimes I might have one with a preview of a skill we haven't talked about yet. The centers become more difficult as the year progresses, obviously, and each center may have varying degress of difficulty. I group students (5 or 6)according to skill level. For example, I put "high" readers with lower ones in the mix of 5 or 6 so they can support each other. I have rules that go with the centers, of course. We spend a great deal of time on teaching and modeling and practicing the routine before it actually gets full force off the ground, but it's well worth it. Before long the students are working independently and I can address my reading groups. Hang in there and Good luck!

Judy Mullen from Enid, Oklahoma:
When I did my reading groups, we used a rotation system. One center was the listening center, where 2-4 students at a time could listen to and follow along to a book with cassette. One group would work on egg carton or file folder games. The other group worked on an activity that went along with a reading, science, or art lesson. We also had a computer program that went along with our reading series and that worked well with the groups also. Have your students that have the activities figured to be able to help others when needed. These activities would need to be practiced until the students are able to work on these independently.

Carol from Palmetto, Florida:
I have 5 CENTERs - the 5th is with me. Writing/Lang. Arts CENTER has puzzles, doodle paper, writng prompts, sewing cards, dictionaries. Listening CENTER has headphone equipment (cassettes, computers, language masters, & Leap Frog stories headphones). Science and Math CENTER is for exploration - flashcards, sequence cards, partner activities. Social Studies CENTER has Storybooks, puppets, story easels, decorative "pointers". I teach Kindergarten. Children do not have assigned seats. They do carry Folders from CENTER to CENTER (that Really Good Stuff has - with ABC's - 123's - name - Phonics clues pre-printed.)that carry work sheets and any incomplete work. When I am finished with My Reading CENTER a timer rings - we clean, stand and switch to the next CENTER. The children know where they are to work/play [for attention spans too] and their Folder reminds them where to sit the following day. Kinda a middle school transistion - it works for me.

Bethany from Monroe Township, NJ:
Can you do literacy-based centers or does it need to be individually independent? I also teach 1st grade & I currently have 5 literacy centers that my kids rotate through (at a special sound) while I hold guided reading groups. One center is my "Book Nook" where kids read independently, silently, & record info about their book. Next I have a computer center where kids either work on Reading, Phonics, or typing programs. Then I have a Writing Center where there are all different writing activities which I relate to other content areas as well. Also, I have a Word Center where the kids build words, work w/ spelling, play games with phonics skills, contractions, compound words, possessives, etc. Last, I have a listening center where the kids listen to a CD & follow w/ the book & then respond to the book. My kids are in groups of 4 & 5 if that helps you. After a couple days of rotation & appropriate center behavior practice they do great on their own!! Oh, the kids in each center group are NOT the same as the kids in each guided reading group. When I announce what group I am seeing next, they come right over--if they get back to that center that day great, if not no big deal.

Kristin from Holbrook, New York:
I teach kindergarten in a K-2 school and we all work our reading time in pretty much the same way. We use guided reading groups in our school and we create centers for the children to work at while reading groups are going on. The other students all work in small groups on art projects, phonics and reading activities, listening to books on tape, math and science exploration activities, computer games to reinforce academics, etc. My kindergarteners tell me it's their favorite time of the day!

Theresa from Wilmington, OH:
I have 5 centers: word study, writing, computer/listening, buddy reading, and guided reading group. The students circle through the centers in 20 minute intervals. There is a product for each activity so I can determine which students are "really working." Remember to spend time teaching them proper behavior expectations for each center.

Linda Watson from Columbia, Missouri:
I have little alphabet letters that the students work in pairs. They ask each other spelling words and then they use the letters to spell them out. They copy them into a journal. Then the roles are switched.

Walker from Cedar Hills, Utah:
Listening Center with books on tape, reading out of a book box with leveled books at their level, writing words around the room, using picture dictionaries to write the words they find and illustrate with pictures, using newspapers to find words they know (cut out and glue to a separate piece of paper), buddy reading, taking a practice spelling test with a buddy or parent for that weeks words, etc.

Julie Frederick from Seattle, WA, Washington:
I reccommend that you add a listening station as a possibility. You will need a tape recorders and earphones and tapes of stories and books which can be purchased inexpensively, Then you can add a literature response booklet for each to answer after listening to the story. My students listen once while reading the story and then color a picture and answer to the story on the second reading of the tape. I use 5 -5 6 centers and this one does not rotate as often because it takes 30 minutes. But it quiets the room and kids are on task. If you have computers you can put on www.starfall.com and you will have an instant computer center as well.

Rebecca Kitchens from Commerce, GA:
I have "book baggies" for my kids. I take large zippy bags and fill them with books for each of the students. I put in some lower level, on-level, and above level books. I switch the books on Friday. After modeling and discussing the rules I let my second graders select their own books, so I don't have to. They all sit and silent read.

Julianna Mann from Florence, Alabama:
My reading program consists of small, direct instruction groups. While I have a group at my reading table, the others first complete a scavenger hunt. Every morning I put one, two, or three letters on the board. The students have to find 10 to 15 words that begin or sometimes end with that letter. I even use digraphs and blends. For example, students might have to find 10 words that begin with "sh", and 10 more that end with "sh". Distinguishing between "b" and "d" also works well with this activity. The students could work with a partner to find the words and then read them to each other. As the year progressed, I would add to the number to be found. Also, I would let the student of the day pick the letters, later in the year. Other activities that I used were literacy work stations and blackline masters that correlated to the reading lesson they were on. The most important thing is to take the time to go over what is expected of the students and how to use the work stations/centers.

Judith Cromer from Trafford, PA:
Set up four learning centers that the reading groups rotate between on a fifteen minute time schedule. Your reading group is, of course, one of the rotations. The other three groups can be activities that are flexible, depending on what you are covering in class. Examples: A spelling center with an activity for practicing the weekly words (rainbow spelling, magnetic letters, spelling fish game, etc.), a penmanship center (copy and illustrate a simple poem), a math center (use some of the activities/games listed in the math manual or set up a flashcard drill routine, etc.), a Science Center/Social Studies Center/Health Center (use an activity based on current content). This all takes a great deal of prep. But, if you get the students used to the routine and make sure that they understand the directions for the activities, it is a method that works quite well and is more interesting than giving them gobs of worksheets that you have to check later.

Cheryl from Danville, Illinois:
Stamp spelling words -- Use letter tiles to make words or spelling words -- Answer a writing prompt -- Read with a partner or a reading buddy (stuffed animal) -- File folder games -- Math fact practice -- Listening center with books on tape -- Create stick puppets for the characters in the story and re-read the story using the puppets -- Make a book -- Tangrams -- Pattern Blocks Those are only a few of the choices that you could use. Most of those are fairly quiet activities that I have used or have had suggested to me. Our building has no walls, so the students have to be very quiet. The other thing that I did at the beginning of the year this year was "train" the students what behaviors were expected during reading time. I explained the rules (no talking, can't bother me, can't be out of your seat, etc.) then started with a 5 minute activity. (I used a coloring sheet the first day.) The students were expected to work on it following all the rules. If a rule was broken, the sheet was taken away and they had to sit with their head down. It took me a couple of weeks to work up to the 45 minutes to an hour that I use for reading time. (As I increased the time, I alternated activities between groups and introduced activities that they would be expected to do) My efforts really paid off! My students were great independent workers and knew that they couldn't bother me unless it was an absolute emergency.

Bonnie from Ellicott City, MD:
When I taught first grade the students had 3 other rotations, other than their guided reading time with me. One was independent seat work, one was a literacy center, and the other was a "fun" center. They had a partner who travelled with them and I rotated the center tags at the top of the chart each morning so they knew right where to go and I didn't need to help, once they were trained! Good Luck!

Sharon Thompson from Candor, NC:
Hi Sherry. I am a Kindergarten teacher but I do guided reading groups all year in groups of 4 students. I run literacy centers with my other students in groups of 2. This cuts down on talking and playing. I have various stations around the room where they do writing activites, listening activites, art, pocket chart activities, etc. This may seem like alot of extra work but it is not. Most of these areas are targeting what I am teaching at the time, sounds, letters, blends, etc. The children need to be exposed to these centers ahead of time so they will now what is expected of them. Preparaion is the key to this along with management strategies such as signals when to change and leaders to know where to go next. Good luck.

P. Peters from Springfield, Ohio:
Why not have centers at this time. You could even tie it into your guided reading subject.

Rosemary White from Houston, Texas:
One group could do a word find using the week's spelling words that you can generate on the computer. Also another group could do a writing activity using some of their vocabulary/spelling words in a greeting card that they make for an elderly person in a nearby rest home (with illustrations).

Dory Adams from Independence, Kentucky:
Sherry, I taught reading this way for a few years. I set the time up like centers. There was a reading response center where the students responded to the story they were working on using graphic organizers or manipulated story sequence strips into order, etc.(there are books that have literacy center ideas). Another center was Word Wall Words?Sight Words. In this center the students worked on an activity, usually hands on. the computers and books with tapes were also a center. I love the website starfall.com!! I no longer teach my guided reading this way because I use the Four Blocks Literacy Model now. Good luck!

Sarah from Indiana, PA:
Sherry, A wonderful resource for what students do while you are working with guided reading groups is Debbie Diller's book-Literacy Workstations. This book has wonderful and easy to set up ideas for what we call centers. She also goes through how to introduce the center so you won't have someone coming up to you every few minutes asking "Teacher, I don't know what to do?" I have used many of the ideas in my own first grade classroom. To help manage centers I use a workboard which is talked about in the Fountas and Pinnell book "Guided Reading" (another wonderful resource). Good Luck!

Tammy Woods from Columbus, Georgia:
Hi, I also teach first grade. It sounds like we have the same format for Guided Reading. The other students may read in their independent reading bags, listen to taped stories at the listening station, respond to a book they've read or listened to at the listening station, partner read, or complete literacy activities that are hands-on which includes beginning/ending consonants, vowels, spelling, and diagraphs.Good luck!

Carrie from Lilburn, Georgia:
Centers are a great way to occupy other students while you are trying to have a reading group. Of course the procedures need to be established at the beginning of the year; however, here are some that I have used that work: build a sentence, word find, buddy reading, create a word. For the build a sentence pieces of sentences are provided and the student or students has to put each sentence back together [ie, in an envelope you have the words "I" "ran" "up" "the" "hall" jumbled with other words and the students have to put the sentence back together]. For word find, a worksheet is given to the student with the letters listed and they have to find words around the room [allowing them to use a pointer makes it even more fun] that fit with each letter [ie, a - apple, g - globe]; it helps if you have some things labeled like the t.v. or the door. Buddy reading kind of speaks for itself, but having a stronger reader with a struggling reader works [using big books is a great way to ensure they are on the same page]. For create a word, I encourage my students to use their name or a friends name to find other words within the name [this works better if you have already gone over this technique in a mini-lesson]. For example, the name Stephen finding words such as pen, hen, he, step, etc., this allows them to learn to identify small words within large words and helps to improve spelling, also it helps the students to not be overwhelmed when they encounter a large word because they know how to break it down. These are just a few things you might be able to do, I hope it is helpful. Good luck!

Lucy Cooper from Opelousas, Louisiana:
Frist label your groups. I will name them 1,2,3,4 to help explain this to you. During group time as I call it, I have three areas going on at the same time: reading with the teacher, centers, and seat work. For example, group one( the lowest group) is with me, and group 4 is assigned seatwork( skills review, handwriting...something that can be completed independently. Groups 2 and 3 are at assigned centers. A pocket chart tells the students which center to go to. A person from group 3 is paired with a person from group 2. Depending on the number of pairs--that's how many centers I have. After 15 min. switch. Group 2 comes to you , 3 seatwork, and 1 and 4 at centers. I only see two groups a day for 30-45 min. The next day I will teach groups 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 will do seatwork. I only need two seatwork activites for the week, Friday is free within bounds. You don't have to change centers until every child has completed each center 6 days if you have 6 centers. There are lots of ideas out there for centers. In the pocket chart only move the centers signs daily not the students' names. Only move the students' names if they change groups. Remember to train your students first before jumping into this routine. To start, at your reading table, just have them write ABC's so you can walk around to make sure students are on task. Dont't expect to start teaching reading strategies in your groups right away. Remind students to ask their partner for help. Because when you start teaching, they should not come to reading table for you to help. I hope this helps.

Linda Shinkle from Felicity, Ohio:
I rotate my groups from seatwork, computers, free reading and reading group. They have 15 minutes at each activity. It works great!

Sylvia Parker from Chula Vista, CA:
How about incorporating independent centers that incorporate reading or language arts such as listening center (students could retell), independent reading from their book box or classroom library, making words or sight word bingo, etc. This way you know the children are engaged while you are teaching small groups.

Karimeh from Apple Valley, California:
There are many things that you can do. A journal center. You give your students a weekly writing prompt and have them respond in their journal. On Fridays, check to see if they wrote in their journals if they did, give them a sticker or some other sort of reward. Another idea is to give your students a letter of a word to look for. For example the letter B. Look for words around the room that begin with the letter B. They must write the word down on a piece of paper and must find at least 10 words. Also, a listening center words great. YOu can check onto the internet for other useful ideas. Also read, Classrooms that Work by Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham for ideas.

Lisa Benson from Bellevue, Nebraska:
One activity I like is called "Read the room". Give your students paper, pencil, and a clipboard (or other hard surface). Then they walk around the room and find words to write down. They love the freedom of roaming the room. Later in the year I make it more challenging and they "read the room" in ABC order and/or write sentences with the words they find.

Susie from West Deptford, NJ:
When I taught 2nd grade, I used a learning center schedule. It will take some time in the beginning of the school year to teach each item so that the rest of the year will run smoothly. Your first step is to decide on learning centers. For first grade, you might have to scale down the things I used in second grade, but here are some of the things I used or heard of other teachers using: Squiggle (a small line of any design (a squiggle) on a piece of paper is used to help them make a picture. (make several copies of the same one and change with each full rotation of the class.) They can turn the paper any direction and make whatever they want. Then they write a story to go along with it.) Making Words (Students use a word or phrase and see how many words they can make using those letters.) Character Pictures (Using pictures from coloring books (make several copies of the same one and change with each full rotation of the class), they color the picture, cut it out, glue it to plain paper, draw a background, then write a story. Find it in a Book (You can have them find anything and then write it down each time they find it. Or they can use post it flags to mark where they found it in the book. They could find capital letters, certain words (like spelling words), periods, quotation marks, etc.) Look How Many Words I Know (Use food product boxes and have the kids look at the words on them and write down all of the ones they know.) Those are some ideas. Some other ideas are at http://atozteacherstuff.com/Tips/Learning_Centers/ Also...you may have a vocabulary or response activity to whatever you are doing in guided reading that the students might be working on independently after you have met with them. The main thing is keeping a schedule of who is doing what learning center (I used a wheel on a poster of all the centers. I divided the class into 4 groups and put each group on a different wedge of the wheel (different from the reading groups) and each day we turned the wheel so everyone had something new to work on. I chose good examples of each center and posted them on a bulletin board bi-weekly (or sometimes monthly). Taking the time at the beginning of the year to teach one learning center a day and let them do it is important to make it run smoothly.

Kelly Austin from Seminole, FL:
I always have my students work on about 15 minutes of seatwork from our shared reading lesson, handwriting, etc. Then they move to a literacy center. To get them to move to centers and behave appropriately and respectfully, you have to spend some time ( a few weeks)practicing this with your undivided attention at the beginning of the year. You will not be able to pull groups during this practice time but it will be worth it when you start.

latmiller from Bridgeport, CT:
You could have two or three work in 2 or 3 centers; peer tutoring/reading in whisper voices in a library/quiet corner; peer tutor in math. I hope this helps you.

Kesha Cain from Reserve, Louisiana:
I teach 1st grade also. When I'm having a guided reading group, I alllow my other students to journal in their notebooks. I usually go over Reading vocabulary words and meanings. After I reviewed vocaublary words and meanings, I tell them to write them in their joiurnals while I have my reading groups. If they are finished before time, I tell them to qietly read their story for the week or draw and color their favorite part of the story.

Cheryl McCarty from Dothan, AL:
That is tough. We had the same problem last year. Computer games,if you have computers,letters to spell out spelling words, white boards to spell out words, are good ones. We found different web sights to print off games. One is keyword or search,cherrycarl. You can get a lot of games and iformation here. If you get something interesting please share.

Karen Clark from Cedar Rapids, Ia.:
Try Literacy Centers - if you have enough activities in each (at various levels for all learners) and they rotate to a different center each day it works well. I use it in Kdg. - starting slowly. I begin with a Reading & Listening Center, Name Center, Writing Center, Alphabet Center & Fine Motor. Later in the year I had a Word Center, Read & Write the Room Center & Computer Center.

Kelli from Colorado Springs, CO:
There are a million ideas for centers and independent seatwork, but I'm a proponent of as much good, old-fashioned reading as possible. I imagine that if your first graders are reading good books at their approximate level, they should be able to sustain at least a 15-minute independent reading (my 3rd graders do 30-40 minutes). That would cut down the time you need to fill to just 30 minutes, reducing the chances for mischeif from boredom. Do you know the "5-finger and a thumb rule"? The child chooses a book they're interested in, opens to a random page, reads it aloud, keeping track of troublesome words on their fingers. 0-2 = too few, 3-5 = just right, 6+ = too hard. The thumb is for if they can retell the page. Also, I would assign a journal to be filled out from their reading, maybe just telling their favorite part or most lingering idea/question. You could even form "Book Clubs," where 2-5 kids are reading the same book so they can meet and talk about it together, and you don't have to know it or ask any certain comprehension questions, just provide them the time every few days so they are motivated to read and have a chance to learn to express their thoughts in words with one another. Hope this gives you a different perspective!

Lillian from Scituate, MA:
Sherry, there are lots of books about setting up reading centers. Some of the ideas I tried are: journal writing, listening center with cassette player, headphones, and kids books on cassette, a spelling activity such as abc order, recognizing parts of speech, drawing a sequence of pictures about the current reading story, students record themselves reading aloud for fluency, etc. Good luck!

Kathryn Stich from West Palm Beach, Florida:
I like using stamp for center stamping activities. Use picture stamps at one center for a stamp it and write about it activity. A math center activity can use clock stamps, money stamps, fraction stamps for the students to stamp the amount shown on sheet, using four or five problems. A science center can use picture books for the unit of the week or a simple activity. I try to tie all my centers into whatever we are studying at the time or to reinforce a skill in which the students need more practice. 15 minutes and then rotate to the next center. These activities can be changed easily or used more than once so they last all week.

Tera from Delaware, Ohio:
Debbie Diller has a great book called Literacy Work Stations - Making Centers Work. It gives great step-by-step instructions on how to introduce stations and make them work the whole year. The activites in the stations are designed so that students are practicing things they have already learned. I will be teaching 1st grade for the first time this year and plan to implement the startegies and ideas from Diller's book in my classroom during guided reading.

Chris Lovett from New Braunfels, Texas:
Have a group in one of your centers write words on sticky notes from a prearranged list and then sort them by vowel sounds, first sound,ending sound, or medial on a metal tray. Then lift up each sticky note and write each word without looking.

Meredith from Cincinnati, Ohio:
Sherry-There is a really great book called What are the Other Kids Doing?...While You Teach Small Groups. You should definitely check it out! It has lots of ideas for literacy-based (center type) activities the kids can do independently. You could also have them do seatwork-maybe 2 or 3 worksheets-before beginning these activities. If you do include seatwork, try and keep the worksheets as similar (i.e. from the same book, if at all possible) as you can from day to day. This will prevent you from having to spend a lot of time on directions! Hope this helps-good luck! :) -Meri

Bonnie King from Sterling, VA:
My children do independent center activities such as computer, art, listening center, language skill related activities, math or content area activities. This is a regular part of our program. The students rotate centers as the reading groups rotate. Our program calls for 2 GR groups a day for 20-25 minutes. We meet with the lower groups 2-3 times a week and the higher groups 1-2 times/week. By the end of the year, we try to have our higher readers in literature circles working somewhat independently.

ann mckean from homer, louisiana:
We have a new poem each week and practice it everyday in different ways. After We have a collection of poems, I make a poem center. I give 2 students copies of the poems, and a tape player with a tape already in it.First they practice reading the poems together and then they record them. Of course they rewind and listen to themselves over and over. Color code the tape player (red-stop, green - go, yellow-rewind) and show them how to use it. You have to go over the instructions for getting your tape player to record. You also need to set guidelines, such as noise level, who's going to operate the tape player, etc. My students just love this and it's a good way to practice fluency.

Barbara Anderson from La Plata, MD :
During guided reading groups my students work on phonics,independent writing activities, spelling, handwriting, work on previously read stories, or activity centers. The centers are provided in our Reading series, however you can easily make your own. Find activities that incorporate reading across the content areas and use them as centers. They should be related to your curriculum as well as fun to do. My students learn the routine early in the year. This makes guided reading time less stressful and managable. Good Luck!

Andrea from Rochester, NY:
Hi Sherry, I struggled with the same issue when I began teaching K and 1st grades. I organize my guided reading so that they have 4 rotations. I have six groups - my highest groups meet with me 2-3 times a week. One rotation will always be independent book reading from their own indepdendent leveled book boxes (magazine boxes.) One rotation is always a book or word game (usually taken from 'Words Their Way')and one rotatio is always guded reading with a teacher (except for my high groups on the off day- they meet with their group and conduct a lit circle with a journal response to their book. The last rotation can be a center type activity-listening center, puppets to act out stories, book browse, writing center, journals, buddy reading, etc. If you have reading support to help with guided groups, I suggest doing 3-20 min groups instead- 15 min. is SO short! Then you can ditch the last rotation I mentioned. You just have to make sure the kids are going to a different center than the others by putting their groups and centers on the wall and changing them as you see fit. ALso, they are introduced to their new book/word game on Monday and stick with it for a week or two. Good luck!

mindi from floral park, NY:
have different rotating activities- examples 15 minutes of independent reading, 15 minutes of partner reading, listening center with books on tape, word work center wih phonics activities &/or word building activities

Nancy Daniels from East Stroudsburg, PA:
45 minutes is a long time for first and second graders to navigate independently especially in the first quarter. I have divided that time into two parts. Students spend approximately 20 minutes at a center with a partner from their guided reading group and then they spend 20 minutes (or so) doing what I call "independent work." That is usually an assignment based upon the guided reading group. It might also be phonics practice, rereading a story to increase fluency, or spelling practice. I have a chart for each reading group that tells them where they go. I team up with the second grade teacher next door for centers. We set up 7 or 8 centers each month, students work at the centers in their own class and then move onto the centers in the other class. Many centers are permanent such as "Paint Your Spelling Words" ( at a two-sided easel), "Building with Legos," "Math Games" which includes flash cards and other commercially-made games, "Listening Center," (only thing that changes are the books on tape each month), "Making Tapes," (students practice reading their favorite story book at home, when ready, they read it into the tape recorder and the book and tape become part of the listening center - they love that one,"Book Response Center," (students read a book of their choice and create a book report - I provide templates). There are many wonderful books to assist you with making easy centers, but I recommend looking for ones that can be used many times.

Neetz Lach from Highland Village, Texas:
I would put the other students into small groups and have them rotate every 15 minutes. One idea is to have one group practice writing as many words as they know how to spell on a piece of paper. The second group could use the computer to do a game (related to academics). Another group could draw a picture and write a short story. Final group could be reading a picture book.

Karen Krager from Hudson, NY:
I also teach first grade and do the same thing with small reading groups. There is a great book called something like "What do the other kids do when I am in groups?" Honestly, that is close to the name! That book has great ideas. I also have a chart filled with literacy activities they can do. Some were done in whole group so they know how to do it (ex: I have paper eggs cut in half with words, they put them together to make a compound word.) Reading author books, big books, themed books, writing in journal, sight word flash cards, letter writing, puzzle words (I display a word like: excitement and the students use magnetic letters to make as many words out of it as possible.). I don't have math activities out at this time either, but I do have math themed stories avaiable. Overall, I have found that my students love the opportunity to just read or write during this time. Good luck!

Ronda from Mt. Pleasant, SC:
I use squiggle writing. The teacher draws a squiggle (curvy or straight lines. The students use the picture to draw their own picture. Then during writing they orally tell or write down sentences about their picture. Later on in the year they can write the sentences independently also.

Lucille Bloomer from Orlando, Florida:
We use guided reading groups in Kindergarten. I use lots of centers, folder games and shoebox activities. Also, I do "journaling" during this time. I find that by the time the students complete the reading group, a worksheet or workbook activity, and 1 center activity these is little time left.

from Lexington, KY:
I teach in Lexington, KY and we use the Ohio State Literacy Collaborative Reading Program. I have work boards (centers) set up during the time that I am calling reading groups up to work with me. I have ABC, Math, Writing, Browsing Bags, Computers, Art, Poetry, Play-doh, Building, Puzzles/Games, etc. I start the school year off with 10 work board times. Each group goes to 2 different work boards during our literacy block. My guided reading groups come up to meet with me and then go back to their work board time. I have an assisant who helps run these work boards. It can be done without assistants though. My kids absolutely love work board time. If we have a different kind of a day--perhaps a field trip or something, they are so disappointed if we don't do our work board time. I hope this helps. It's a lot of work to set up the work boards for the beginning of the week, but the kids just rotate through the five day schedule.

Tracy from Boonton, NJ:
Send me an e-mail so that I can get you my phone number. I have a great system that works well!

Jen T. from Newton, MA:
When our students are doing guided reading groups at their instructional level, the other students are either 1) Doing independent reading of a "just right" book and writing in their reading response journals or 2)Working on their current writing assignments. We also make sure that one day a week there are no guided reading groups which gives us time to conference for a few minutes with every student at least once a week.

Sheryl Waltman from Denham Springs, LA:
I think in lieu of one 45-minute activity, I would set up 3 "centers" with language arts, math, art/and or science games/independent activities and rotate each group through the 4 stations (one being guided reading). Shorter activities like this work for me, since 1st graders have shorter attention spans. It cuts down on off-task behaviors which are often a problem during an extended independent activity.

Vanessa Thomas from St. Louis, Missouri:
Independent centers work well for first grade children. One station can be a listening center of a story related to a unit you're studying. Another station can be where the children can draw a picture illustrating the story that they read with you in reading group. Another station can be where they use magnetic letters to spell their spelling words on a board. Another station could be where they buddy read and whisper-read to each other. Another station could be where they work on ABC order. You could have several envelopes of word cards for them to work with. The word cards could be numbered on the back so that they're self-checking. Any type of skill that the students are learning at that time can be used as a station. You could give them some stapled pieces of paper to make a little booklet. Give the children one word to start with. They have to write more rhyming words, one word on each page, and then illustrate the word with a picture. Later on in the year, children can write a sentence with the rhyming word to go with the picture. Hope this helps!

Mrs. Hinesley from Banning, California:
I have a few ideas for you. The other students can make a mini-book to match the subject or theme your are teaching; they can listen to a story on tape/cd then respond to the story by making a group mural or individual picture; or you can set up on activity on a powerpoint that the students have to follow.

Tami from Glasgow, MT:
The first year can be a lot of work to collect items and such, but, we have had good success using rotating centers for the Guided Reading days. There is usually an Art project that has been started as a class activity previously and they just finish, one center could be using money stamps to stamp out amounts, and other Math activities such as a worksheet and everyone in that center group helps one another. Spelling practice on whiteboards, or spelling words with clay, one group reads a previous story to one another, using Math flash cards for basic facts, Handwriting practice page, Cleaning the desk inside and out, free choice activity/puzzles, clay, etc...a listening center where they listen to books on tape or CD, computer center and other investigative activities for Science, or something to do with a theme you have for the month or week, etc.. good luck!

Michelle from Chicago, IL:
I have guided reading groups in my second grade classroom. It takes me two days to meet with all groups. The following is what a assign on these days: First I assign independent seatwork such as sentence writing and abc order using the story's vocabulary words. The students also will work on a few workbook pages that go with the story.(comprehension, sequencing, ....)I write these expectations on the front board in case they forget the assignments. Once they complete their seatwork, they may begin centerwork. I have a math center, science center, writing center, and reading center. Because of my limited work space, I keep everything organized in containers. They bring their center work to their desks. The science, math, and writing center changes as we change the material that we are studying. The reading center stays the same all year. They either work on book reports or SRA's (silent reading activity cards). I chart their progress throughtout the year on this. The students must work quietly while I am with a group. This enables me to hear my students in the group and also helps the students at their desks concentrate on what is in front of them. Good luck!

Alesia from Houma, LA:
This is pretty much how I do reading groups and I teach 1st grade as well. The rest of the students are in centers at this time. I set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, the students have to move centers and I reset the timer for another 15 minutes. This does take some organization and practice, but the students learn really fast and become very independent when it comes to centers.