Keeping Literacy Centers Simple, Easy, and Fun!

Literacy centers in the classroom should be simple, easy, and fun!  Using no-prep or low-prep ideas helps with time management, lesson planning, and easy weekly setup.

Throughout the years, I have tried a plethora of ideas for my literacy centers.  Some worked okay, and some did not work at all.  Finally, I realized I was overthinking and making center time WAY more complicated than it should be for both myself and the students.  Once I realized that the simplicity of the centers was what made them work, everything else clicked into place.

Using five weekly centers in your classroom each week makes things easy.  Having a group of 4-5 students in each group rotate through only one center each day keeps it simple for the students.  The no-prep or low-prep activities keep it fun and SUPER easy for you!

Five Literacy Centers for All Year

Set up these five literacy centers at the beginning of your school year, and use them all year long!

Center #1: Technology: Use any activity that you have on hand. This can be computers, Chromebooks, iPads, etc. Students can play online games or you can assign a digital activity via Google Classroom to your students for this center.  Using digital task cards or interactive digital  games for practice are great choices.

Center #2: Writing: The activities change in this center weekly, but the supplies remain the same.  Any activity that you want your students to use for a focus on writing can be used. Add a word bank, thesaurus, dictionary, writing tools, paper, etc and give your students a weekly writing prompt. 

You can also use one of the writing activities from my No Prep Literacy Centers units.  Print the center directions on color copy paper to grab the students’ attention and place it in the same place in the center from week to week because students need that routine and dependability of knowing where to find the directions.  Copy the other pages for the activity on regular copy paper to add to the center.  These activities are sometimes longer in length, and students might need two weeks to complete.  On those weeks, do not change out the materials.

Center #3: Reading: It is especially important to give students multiple opportunities throughout the school day to read independently from books of their choice.  For some, school might be the only time they are exposed to books.  During this center, give students comfortable seating choices throughout the room so that they are not in a group and disturbing other students or being disturbed.  Students can have individual book bins that contain books they have chosen to read.  By having their book bins already stocked, students are not constantly moving around the room to visit the classroom library during this time.  Use these Digital Reading Responses for students at some time during the week to add a writing component.

Center #4: Word Work: This center can look vastly different weekly.  I always use an activity from my No Prep Literacy Centers.  Students might be manipulating letters to create words one week, and the next week, they might be playing a word game from the same unit.  Another week, they might complete the monthly “Put It in Order” alphabetical order activity included in each monthly unit. For the last week, they might do a part of speech word sort from the unit.  Adding some of these activities normally used for Morning Tubs can add a lot of fun to your literacy centers as well.  

Center #5: Miscellaneous: This center can include anything related to what you are currently studying in reading or grammar or a review of previous learning. One week students can move around the room on a scavenger hunt, while the next week has students reading an informational passage and answering questions.  This center allows for flexibility and might include task cards,  sightwords, or even an activity from my early finishers unit.  

Adding any kind of game that you already have in your classroom is a simple and fun activity for this center also.

(Click here for a list of ten easy activities to add to your centers using items already in your classroom.)

Using these five simple, easy, and fun literacy centers all year will help you keep your sanity.  The prep time is 15-30 minutes on a Friday afternoon, helping me get out the door and home to my family.

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My Kind of Teaching

Five Easy Ways to Use YouTube Videos in Your Classroom (Tip #5 is my favorite!)

Even if you aren't a very "tech-savvy" person, don't let that scare you.  There are so many ways in which you can implement technology into your classroom.  

Using videos from YouTube is an easy way to add the technology factor to your teaching!

There are so many great videos out there on YouTube.  In a busy teacher's life, you don't always have time to preview videos to check that they are safe for students.  However, you can subscribe to your favorite channels to create a playlist so that you can feel confident that these are quality videos.

As always, if you are unsure about where a video originates or if it is not from a channel you trust, preview it before showing it to your students.

(Side note...I am a LIST person.  I love lists...all kinds of lists.  That includes folders on my computer and in my Google Drive. They might or might not be color coded by subjects with files inside of files...)

When I show my students a video I like, it's very simple for me to copy that URL and paste it in a Word document inside a folder for the subject we are learning.

Next year, the work is done.  All of those great videos are simply a click away, already organized by subject and ready to go into my lesson plans! 

Here are five easy ways to use YouTube videos in your classroom.

1. Whole Group

Using an instructional video is a great "hook" to introduce a new topic.  Students can watch a catchy song, a funny story, a read-aloud, and more.  

It's hard for teachers to always be witty and entertaining.  Let the video do it for you!

2. Remediation or Enrichment

Now that you have those URLs saved in an easily accessible place, assign the videos to students via Google Classroom.  (If YouTube videos are blocked for students like they are in my school, first add them to safeshare.tv).

Students who need remediation on a subject will listen and watch the video through their Goggle Classroom accounts (with earphones of course!).  They can watch the video as many times as needed, whether they are at home or at school.  It's also a NO-PREP assignment from you and differentiated to fit individual needs. (I consider that a win-win!)

Similar assignments can be made for early finishers and/or students who need enrichment.  Students who have a firm hold on the concept can watch videos that are more advanced to learn new concepts and ideas.

3. In a Private Facebook Group

Another favorite way of using YouTube videos in my classroom is not really in the classroom.  Instead, I form a private Facebook group for parents at the beginning of each school year.  It's such an efficient way to communicate with parents!  I like to post the instructional videos in the Facebook group so that parents can see what we are learning in the classroom.  I especially like to post videos that show those tricky Common Core math strategies to teach the parents along with the students!

4. Indoor Recess

It happens to everyone at some point in the school year.  You've had all of the indoor recess noise you can handle, and you just can't take ONE. MORE. DAY. of being indoors.  Put on an instructional video for the students to watch.  (My students LOVE the Liberty Kids videos.  Bonus points because these also gave us some quality social studies learning!)  This is an especially great idea if you happen to have a sub on an indoor recess day.

Now, to my last and FAVORITE tip...

5. To Teach an Entire Subject from Beginning to End

WHAT?  Yes, you heard me correctly.  

Sometimes, (okay, honestly almost all of the time), it's just so dang HARD to fit everything into that 50-minute block.  Introduce, instruct, assign practice work (meaningful yet busy), work with small groups, and do a conclusion for the day's lesson. 

I developed lesson plans my students could work on at their own pace for the entire week using videos.  They had instructional videos to introduce the concept, songs to help put an idea in their heads, online games to play for practice and to solidify the concept, stories to listen to, online informational texts to read, writing assignments, and more.

All videos are placed into safeshare.tv so that ads are removed and I know they are safe!

My students LOVED the assignments.  They were engaged.  The work was rigorous.  The learning was taking place in the modality they had been raised with.  

I LOVED this way of learning because I had time to work with individual students and small groups of students to remediate or challenge them.  Lesson planning was simple.  I had more time to focus on other areas in my classroom that needed my attention.

It was a win-win for all of us.  

Now that I'm retired, I can focus on making more of these and sharing this exciting way of learning in the classroom.  (Drop a comment or send an email if there is a particular concept you would like to see in this kind of unit.)

Click here if you would like to see more of these units.

Whether you use my ready-made units or you use videos to assign in Google Classroom for your students to learn at their own pace, you will love gaining the time to work with small groups!

There you have it: five easy ways to start using YouTube videos in your classroom.  (Was #5 your favorite, too?)

Click here to sign up for my weekly email and get this NO PREP Honeybee unit for FREE!

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Skip Counting Puzzles for Hands-on Learning

What is your style of teaching in your classroom?

If it's using hands-on activities, you will love these puzzles!

These skip counting puzzles are such a hit in my Morning Tubs.  I have had so many teachers tell me that their students absolutely love using them!

These skip counting puzzles make a great add-on to your morning tubs for anytime of the year.  You can find them with spring and summer themes (and soon in fall and winter themes).

You can try out a couple of FREE puzzles for each level HERE.

Included are twenty beautiful photos.  There are five different levels.

• Skip Counting within Millions

• Skip Counting within Hundred Thousands

• Skip Counting within Ten Thousands

• Skip Counting within Thousands

• Skip Counting to 1,000

These all include the same pictures, making it easy to differentiate within the classroom.  Using the same pictures allows students to work at their different levels without embarrassment.

Print the pictures on cardstock, laminate, and cut on the lines.  Store them in individual zippered bags, or mix them all together to add rigor.

A favorite activity is to add a small magnet to the back of each strip.  Students can put the puzzles together on small cookie sheets, magnetic boards, the sides of filing cabinets, or any other magnetic surfaces.

These can be printed full page, or they also work great printing two to a page.

In fact, you can use this printing trick for any page you would like to print smaller, saving both paper and ink.

RELATED POST:  Setting the Tone with Morning Tubs

Would you like to receive a FREE set of my morning tubs?  Sign up for my Tuesday newsletters via email by clicking here and get this set for free!

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Healthy Eating for Kids: Tummy Ninjas vs. the Stomach Virus

Healthy Eating for Kids:  

Tummy Ninjas vs. the Stomach Virus

I'm so excited about having my dear friend Melisa as a guest.  She and I taught 2nd grade and then 4th grade together.  She is one of the most awesome people I know!  Melisa is passionate about teaching kids all about eating healthy!

Melisa has written a book, Tummy Ninjas vs. the Stomach Virus, and she's here to tell us all about it!

Hi, Melisa!  Thank you so much for being a guest.  Can you tell us a little about your background and who you are?

Hi!  My name is Melisa West, and I am the author of Tummy Ninjas vs. the Stomach Virus.  I have been an elementary school teacher for 17 years, and I LOVE it.  My husband Brandon and I have two amazingly adorable children of our own.  I have a bachelor's degree in health and physical education and a master's degree in special education.  I am a NESTA Certified Childhood Nutrition Specialist and a NESTA Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach.  It is a blessing to use my skills as an educator and my passion for health to teach, motivate, and encourage young people and families to lead healthy lifestyles. 

 My daughter Ava looking at her copy of the Tummy Ninjas book.

Can you tell us how you encourage a healthy lifestyle in your classroom?

​As a teacher, I have worked with thousands of children.  It has been exciting to observe how easy it is to be a positive role model and set a good example for them.  I have had countless parents send me messages to thank me for motivating their children to drink more water or try a new fruit.  Yes, I am THAT teacher who doesn't give candy.  I do make fruit salad for my students several times per year, and I encourage healthy snacks.  I have found that my students appreciate this. Plus, the students feel better throughout the day and are ready to learn.

How did you first develop the idea of your Tummy Ninjas story?

​It is in the classroom that I first created the Tummy Ninjas story 7+ years ago.  I had a group of adorable 2nd graders pulling out their snacks for the day.  To my astonishment, most students had bags of candy as their snacks (it was the day after Halloween).  I always eat snacks with my students.  This is just a very subtle way in which I like to inspire them to make healthy choices.  On this special day, I was eating egg salad wrapped in a Romaine lettuce leaf.  We had a very brief talk about how the candy would make them feel after they ate it.  The students all agreed that they would feel "kind of yucky".  We then discussed how apples, bananas, or something with less sugar would make them feel.  They all agreed that those foods would give them more energy and make them feel great.  From there, I told them that when we feed our "tummy ninjas" fresh fruits and vegetables, they get strong and can fight off germs.

How did the students react to this?

This really made an impact on the students.  The most exciting part of this story is that on the very next day, the students brought apples, bananas, carrot sticks, and even egg salad for snack.  They were all talking about the tummy ninjas and how they were feeding them to make them strong.  How cool and simple was that?

That's amazing!  I remember all of the work you and Brandon put into writing and illustrating this book.  Can you tell us more about your book?

We used our two children as the stars of our books.  Miles is the hero of the book, and Ava has her own character.  My husband did all of the illustrations using both of them as models.  Here's a synopsis of the book:

What is your next step of utilizing your book to reach more children and encourage healthy eating for kids?

After publishing my book, I have designed several health lessons using my Tummy Ninjas theme.  The health lessons strongly incorporate reading and writing skills.  These lessons can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  To find these fun lessons, click here.

I have also created a website dedicated to teaching children and parents about healthy options.

Melisa has generously offered to give away one of her books and a unit from her store to TWO lucky winners.  For a chance to win visit this simple giveaway to enter.  This contest will run from Sunday, March 8, 2020 to Sunday, March 15, 2020.

To purchase your own copy of Tummy Ninjas vs. the Stomach Virus, click here.

Ava admiring her father's drawing of her.

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My Kind of Teaching!

Using Games to Learn: the Importance of Games in Your Classroom

Using Games to Learn: the Importance of Games in Your Classroom

Do you use games in your classroom?

I mean, like ALL. THE. GAMES?

- card games 
- board games 
- whole-class games 
- partner games 
- individual games 
- small-group games

Do you incorporate games into ALL subjects?

If your answer is no, you are missing out on a virtual GOLD MINE of learning in your classroom!

Today, I’d like to talk about the importance of incorporating more games into your classroom routine.

Games are a great way to introduce a concept, practice and reinforce skills, review before a test, build confidence, and so many more benefits.

Using games instead of workbooks, homework, or drill and kill is a FUN way to incorporate learning in a nonthreatening way.  It feels rebellious and like you are "cheating" and not fully teaching, but that couldn't be further from the truth! 

Those of you who know me know that my philosophy in both a traditional brick and mortar school setting as well as in homeschooling involves learning through play.

If this is not your mindset, it is never too late to change and begin thinking of play and games as part of your curriculum.  

Games ARE learning!

In addition to learning and practicing specific skills and concepts, playing games develops and encompasses many other skills:

• verbal skills
• following directions
• social skills
• cooperation
• critical thinking
• problem-solving
• focus

Your students will be THRILLED to come to your classroom when you put away the workbooks and worksheets and play a game instead.

You will be THRILLED because your load will become lighter by adding games to your day and week.  The benefits for you include:

• less prep time (ALWAYS a win-win!)
• nothing to grade
• minimal setup
• maximum engagement 
• informal observations and assessments

There are many different ways you can add games to your day.

• Add a game to your morning routine for "bell work".
• Add games for early finishers.
• Add games to centers.
• BEGIN with a game in any subject.
• Complete other work and END with a game.
• End your day on a high note with a game.
• Add games for enrichment or remediation.

One of the easiest and most fun ways I used games in my classroom for a whole group was so very simple and involved absolutely NO PREP on my part. I call this game "Four Corners".  Here's how to play:

Designate each corner of your classroom as a letter.  You can even add the letters like I did.  One corner is A, another is B, and the other two are C and D.  Ask your students a question with four answers.  When you say "move", the students all move to the corner that they feel is the correct answer.

(When you first begin playing this game, students do not want to be "wrong" and will usually follow the students they think know the answer.  One way to stop this is to give each student a write/wipe board along with a dry-erase marker and eraser.  Before saying "move", the students must write their answers on their boards.  When they move, they take only their boards with them and hold those boards up so that you can see that they have written the same letter as where they are standing.)

As students become more confident with this game, they will be able to move to a letter with confidence, even if they are the only student.  It really becomes empowering when students realize that the majority of students actually move to the wrong answers sometimes!

Through many, MANY years of teaching, I have witnessed the power of using games in my classroom (and now in our homeschool).  While it does take a little planning and gathering of materials on your part, it is still vastly less than printing worksheets, grading those worksheets, and more.  Use those worksheets sparingly as a way to have paper proof (if you must) that the students have learned the concept.  We all know that you know which students have it and which students don't without seeing it on that piece of paper!

You can add games to your classroom without a lot of money:

• thrift stores
• by asking family members and friends
• posts on social media for donations to your classroom
• yard sales
• clearance
• online printables
• online digital games

If you are interested, I have several printable games in my Teachers pay Teachers store.

Here is a FREE printable in my store.

• Addition & Multiplication Game

Sign up for my weekly emails, and get eleven FREE no-prep centers and games.

Giving your students time to learn in this format can and will transform your classroom environment and your students' confidence in their abilities. 

Try it and watch the magic happen.

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My Kind of Teaching

March Morning Tubs: a Great Alternative to Morning Worksheets

March Morning Tubs

Using morning tubs is a great alternative for morning worksheets! 

Who says that fun has to stop after kindergarten?  It’s certainly not me!  I am a big believer that children learn best through play and exploration.  With that philosophy in mind, I developed these morning tubs using many of the “play” components younger children love and combined that with basic skills and standards necessary for success in second, third, and fourth grades.

Here's a closer look at the March morning tubs.

March Morning Tubs - ELA

All of the tubs (whether 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade) contain the same activities for ELA.

Students will read the clues in the squares on each whiteboard and find the puzzle pieces with the answers.  When all of the pieces are placed on the correct clues, a picture will be revealed.

The students will choose picture cards and write stories, including rich details about the pictures.

Optional: Use the document camera to reflect the picture onto the big screen.  Use as a writing assignment for the entire class.

Students will use the magnetic letters to spell the vocabulary words.  Two levels are included: with words and without.  Students can copy the words, or they can use the blank cards to spell the words.  This can be used with a cookie sheet (I bought mine for only $1 at the Dollar Tree) or with any magnetic surface, including the side of a filing cabinet.

The students will walk around the room quietly and look at the animal cards.  The students will write the animals under the correct habitats.

The student will read the passage about an unusual animal and then complete the activities.

Optional: This activity could be used as a whole-group activity by showing the passage on your overhead projector and then having students complete a different activity daily.  (I have also included a link to a video about mountain chickens.)

Students will put the mini puzzles together by putting the words in alphabetical order.

Students will connect the words together to make compound words.

The first part of the compound word can be copied on a different color from the second word if you would like.

Extra supplies needed: plastic links

This game can be played with 2-4 players.  Turn all letter tiles upside down.  Each student will begin with five letter tiles.  The student will place two letters at a time on the board and then draw two tiles so that he or she always has five letters.  The student who completes a word gets a block.  The person with the most blocks when all of the words have been completed is the winner.

Extra supplies needed: small blocks

Place each stack of cards on the game board facedown.  The students will take turns rolling a die.  The first student will take a card from the stack with the number shown on the die.  If the student can give an answer, he or she can keep the card.  If the student can’t give an answer, it is returned to the bottom of the stack.  The winner is the person with the most cards at the end of the game.

Extra supplies needed: a die

March Morning Tubs - Math

The student will choose an answer by poking a hole with a straw or pencil.  When the card is turned over, the student will check to see if the straw or pencil is through the hole with the circle.
Extra supplies needed: a straw or pencil

2nd & 3rd Grades: 

The students will draw four flowers from the bag or basket and place the numbers on the flowerpot.  The students will add the four numbers in order to “grow” the flowers.

Option: Students can use place value blocks if needed.

4th Grade: 

The students will choose only two numbers and multiply.

Extra supplies needed: dry-erase marker and eraser

Students will clip the answers with clothespins.

Optional: Students can use dry-erase markers to circle the answers.

Extra supplies needed: clothespins

2nd Grade: Students will put the puzzles together by counting within 1,000.
3rd Grade: Students will put the puzzles together by counting to 100,000.
4th Grade: Students will put the puzzles together by counting within the millions.

Optional: Add a small magnetic strip to the back of each puzzle strip.  Students can then use magnetic surfaces for completing the puzzles.

2nd Grade: 
Students will turn all coins facedown.  The students will take turns turning over a card.  If the answer is on the board, the coin will be placed on top of it.  The winner is the first person who finds all of the gold at the end of the rainbow and fills up the page.
 3rd and 4th Grades:
This is the same as second grade, just with products and quotients.

2nd and 3rd Grades:

The students will draw the shapes in sand.

4th Grade: Students will draw items such as parallel lines and different kinds of angles.

This game can be used for 2-4 players.  Print each board on a different color of cardstock.  The students will take turns rolling the dice, adding them together, and covering that number on their boards.  If the number is already covered, the  turn is over.  The winner is the student who covers his or her board first.

Two gameboards are included for adding two or three numbers.

*The third gameboard can be used for students who are working on multiplication.  Use two dice for this board.

Extra supplies needed: small seasonal erasers or small blocks; dice

The students will use mental math to find six different equations that show the answers on the pots of gold.

The student will spin the spinner using a paper clip and a pencil.  The student will then take that color of Skittle and add it to his or her mat.  The student will continue until he or she has collected ten Skittles.  The student will then make fractions with the information. 

Extra supplies needed: Skittles

March Morning Tubs - Fine Motor Skills

Laminate the word cards. The students will trace the spring words written in cursive.
Extra supplies needed: dry-erase marker and eraser

Laminate.  The students will trace the pictures with dry-erase markers.

Optional: Print on regular copy paper.

Laminate.  The students will complete the pictures by drawing the mirror images of the parts shown.

Extra supplies needed: dry-erase marker and eraser

March Morning Tubs - Critical Thinking Skills

Students will read the clues to find the tangled paths and place all of the pictures in the correct places.

Laminate.  The student will complete each grid square to draw a complete picture.

Optional: Print on regular copy paper.

Extra supplies needed: dry-erase marker and eraser

Not only do morning tubs help set the tone for the day, but they get students excited about coming to school each and every day.  Who wouldn’t LOVE beginning the day with some play?  Students enjoy playing the activities so much that they don’t even realize that they are actually practicing needed skills to be successful in school.

Find these March morning tubs in my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking on the pictures below.  Feel free to pin also.  You can get one for free by subscribing to my emails.  See below for the info.

Click on the picture below to grab these seven activities for anytime of the year to give morning tubs a try.

Keeping learning fun and engaging for students with morning tubs, that's just...

My Kind of Teaching!