Classroom Stations

Folder Games

Use the center chart to facilitate various independent activities in your classroom. The ones listed are only suggestions.  Feel free to create the center titles, which are appropriate or useful in your classroom.  

  1. Write in student names in top spaces.
  2. Number from one to eight under each name, varying which center is the starting point (1).  When working with larger groupings of students either use more charts or assign students to a group and write the group name in the space.
  3. On days when centers are open, post the current starting number on the line entitled "Today's Number is_____" .   Vary the number so that students work at various centers.

CLASS
CENTERS

STUDENT NAMES

JOAN

DAVE

PETE

GAIL

DEAN

MIKE

HIGH-
LIGHTING

1

2

3

1

2

3

ART

2

3

1

2

3

1

WORD
SPY

3

1

2

3

1

2

If #1 is posted then Joan and Gail go to the Highlighting Center, Pete and Mike go to the Art (Illustrating) Center, and Dave and Dean go to the Word Spy Center.  The more centers you have available, the more numbers you could assign thus reducing the number of students in each center.
The following are brief examples of items and/or activities that could be included in each center.

HIGHLIGHTING STATION

  1. Set up a class-highlighting guide by printing various vowel patterns on different colors of index cards or construction paper.  "oa" printed on pink, "ai" printed on blue, "ee" printed on yellow, and "ea" printed on orange.  Students then use this as a guide to "highlight" these patterns when located in various texts.
  2.  Provide old books, newspapers, magazines or unused Stevenson reading materials. 
  3. Provide appropriate colors of crayons, highlighters or colored pencils for students to use.

ART/ILLUSTRATING STATION

  1. Provide art paper, colored pencils, a variety of magazines to cut up, other students illustrations which have been photocopied, stickers or stamps
  2. Provide vocabulary words or reading sentences for students to illustrate.

WORD (SPY) DETECTIVE

  1. Provide a variety of reading materials such as library books that contain current Stevenson vocabulary.
  2. Provide old magazines, newspapers, comics, and grocery store ads for students to look through independently.
  3. Post a pattern to be found.
  4. Provide a spy notebook (spiral or paper folder with notebook paper) for students to record words found that fit the assigned pattern. 

READING STATION

  1. Be available for students to read to you (the teacher) or an aide.  This is a good time to listen to each child independently to assess if they are using the Seven Special Steps and determine which words have been automated.  This is also a good way to administer the Mastery Management Test when appropriate.
  2. Use the money game as an incentive to keep the child focused. Do not stay on this task so long that the child fatigues and begins to guess at the words.

LISTENING STATION

  1. Provide books on tape and headsets.
  2. Provide Stevenson reading pages that have been taped for the student to listen to independently.  When making these recordings, be sure to state page number and allow time for student to find the page.

FOLDER GAMES

  1. Use various folder games.  These are very easy to make from duplicating masters such as Carson Dellosa or Frank Shaffer products.  Glue and laminate before writing on any game pieces.  Use pictures of two matching items such as baseballs and gloves.  Glue the gloves onto the folder and laminate.  Laminate baseballs. On gloves write clues such as "pbj" or "l-c" for Peanut Butter or Layer Cake. Then on baseballs write vocabulary from those two categories. 
  2. Other possibilities include writing the vowel pattern on the glove such as "oa", "ai", "ee", or "ea".  Then again writing appropriate vocabulary on the baseball pieces.
  3. Advanced options would be writing combinations such as "bl + L-C", "cr + PBJ" onto the gloves in the folder. Then write vocabulary such as "blame" and "cream" onto the baseballs. 
  4. Another advanced option is to write "naming words", "action words" and "painting words" onto the glove.  This can only be done after these parts of speech have been introduced in the Stevenson program.  Again the baseballs would have vocabulary words written on them which function as these parts of speech.
  5. Words can be written onto laminated folders and laminated game pieces using permanent markers and then removed with finger nail polish remover to update the game, thus saving you the work of making all new games. 

TYPING STATION

  1. These activities are outlined in the Stevenson Teachers Manual.  All of these activities are provided on a self standing flip chart, and may be ordered from Partners in Associational Learning. Alternatively, you may create one on a steno notepad by copying the letters from the teacher’s manual. 

COPYING STATION

  • Provide a seat near a chalkboard and clean lined paper.  List current list of words as directed in the Stevenson Spelling Manual for students to copy.  Remind students that these activities will be graded for neatness.  Use the money game described in the Cursive Writing Manual for incentives on building neat houses with their writing.