Having literacy centers in your classroom is vital but, with all of the moving parts, it’s easy for your centers to get out of hand! You need a simple solution to organize literacy centers so you can keep everything in place and easily accessible to your students.
The key to organizing literacy centers is to use a storage solution that is reusable, keeps all of the parts visible, and can be easily stored together for grab-and-go access.
Literacy centers are important tools to help navigate the varying learning needs of your students. Having literacy centers or stations gives students hands-on and interactive opportunities to enhance their reading, writing, and language skills.
Typically, they include reading comprehension exercises, word work (spelling and vocabulary activities), writing practice, listening centers, and even technology-based activities like interactive reading apps.
So, you can imagine the many moving parts that are included in each center. Here’s a look at how to organize them so they can be used more efficiently by your students!
{Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links have been used below but I only share items I actually use and enjoy!}
Before you begin organizing your materials, you’ll need to grab a few basic materials. The great thing is the items you need are easy to find and can be reused for many years.
All of the items you need can be found easily on Amazon. Here’s a complete list.
Organizing your literacy centers is a fairly simple process. I am all about low fuss and I’ve used a similar process for organizing math stations. It has always been a huge relief!
First, grab your learning materials and prep or cut the pieces. I suggest going with fun-themed or seasonal literacy centers that are low prep so you can easily print and organize!
You’ll want to be sure each of your centers has instructions in plain view and that are easy for your students to follow. This ensures they can work independently so you can assist in small groups or through one-on-one instruction.
Grab your recording sheets and place them inside dry-erase pockets. Then, the recording sheets can be reused and you can save paper!
Use reusable storage bags to hold any pieces like pictures, cards, or manipulatives. You can also add in the dry-erase markers for students to use for recording their answers.
Pro Tip: Glue a pom on the bottom of the dry-erase marker so students can easily erase their work for the next student to use!
Next, grab your plastic or mesh zip envelopes that will hold all of your station pieces. Inside the envelope, place your printable station directions. Then, add the recording sheet pocket and storage bag with the pieces for the centers.
Finally, you can store the center envelopes inside file folders and use a file box to hold all of the centers in one convenient place.
It is just that simple to have organized literacy centers in your classroom!
2nd Grade Literacy Stations Bundle for Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer is a bundle of low-prep literacy activities and centers that can be used throughout the year! Each unit of centers features fun, seasonal themes and targeted skills practice with options for differentiation.
Digital Grammar and Literacy Centers feature 10 sets of digital grammar and literacy activities! These are simple solutions for tech time or virtual learning that you can simply click and assign with ease in Google Classroom, Seesaw, or share via PowerPoint.
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
Sample a day of Rooted in Reading with these lesson plans and activities for Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Grammar!
