Jackie Jenkins

Jackie Jenkins

RE 5730
Workshop Planning Sheet

Describe the focus of your plan. What is the main topic? What instructional activities will you use? What is the theoretical perspective of your instruction?

For my workshop I plan to discuss literacy workstations. Literacy stations are a teaching tool that is becoming more and more prevalent in elementary school classrooms. Using stations allows teachers the opportunity to meet with leveled ability groups for guided reading/instruction. The benefits of using literacy stations in a classroom are plentiful but many teachers are hesitant to use them because of management concerns as well as concerns over what to have the rest of the students do while the teachers is involved in a group. My main focus of the workshop will be starting literacy stations in your classroom, management of these stations, and suggested learning activities for the students not involved in the reading group. I will use a few different instructional methods. I will use some lecture style but a lot of small group interactions and discussions as well as a gallery walk to see station ideas with handouts that they can take. The workshop and activities will be geared for K-2 teachers and especially for kindergarten teachers.

I think that having the ability to meet with students for small group instruction on their level is extremely important. All educators know that if you teach a child on their frustration level it is impossible for them to learn. In classrooms where a teacher has students on a variety of instructional levels the only way to really meet the needs of each student is to break them into ability groups. Using daily literacy stations is a great way to make this idea work. Having students work in groups also fosters social learning and ensures that all students will be actively engaged as they are held accountable for participating in a learning center or in a reading group.

List a minimum of five objectives. Phrase your objectives in terms of what teachers will know at the end of the workshop.

1. The teacher will know how to successfully prepare their students to work in literacy stations.

2. The teacher will know how to successfully set up their classroom for literacy stations.

3. The teacher will know how to manage literacy stations in their classroom (rotation ideas/ charts/ groupings).

4. The teacher will know some engaging, worthwhile activities for students to use when they are working in learning centers.

5. The teacher will know the benefits of using literacy stations in their classroom.

Provide an outline for the workshop.

1. I will start by welcoming the teachers to the workshop and ensuring them that this is a workshop where they can feel free to ask questions/share at any point. I would tell them that the purpose of the workshop is to make them feel more comfortable using literacy workstations in their classrooms by giving them tools and ideas including ways to set up the classroom/ set up the stations/introduce students to the ideas and showcasing easy, meaningful activities. (5 minutes)

2. I would jump into the topic of using literacy stations by using a small group activity- a pros and cons list about using literacy stations. The activity is described in detail under the small group activity section. (about 20 minutes).

3. Next I would cover the ideas of management of centers and setting up your classroom and the students. I would probably use a powerpoint that included real pictures from teacher’s classrooms. The main points I would stress are:

-Be sure to start the stations slowly. Begin by teaching the students the activities that they will be expected to complete in the learning centers. I would suggest that they set up the stations and group students to go through the stations for two or three weeks as the teacher monitors and does not have a group. This will help scaffold the process and ensure that students will be able to do the stations without interrupting the teacher’s reading group in the future. The next step would be to have the teacher begin pulling a reading group while the assistant continues to monitor the independent stations. Finally, after two or so weeks of this step the teacher assistant could begin to pull groups as well and have the independent stations run smoothly because they have been introduced and practiced.

-Ways to set up the centers- using baskets or tubs to hold all supplies needed for a center. Using a color or shape coded system on the tubs that correspond to the chart.

-Different rotation systems- using a pocket chart or other visual for the groups will eliminate confusion and help even nonreaders follow the chart. (I would definitely have pictures of these charts from teachers’ classrooms and some there for the teachers to look at during the gallery walk). Having students rotate to multiple centers in one day versus having each child complete one station per day will be discussed. Have a routine established for students when they have completed their station (where do they put their work? Do you have a free choice chart or “can-do” activities they can complete when they finish early?). We would also discuss here ideas for signals to use when the children rotate and ways to prevent students interrupting during teacher reading groups.

Throughout this part I would ask the teachers to share what has worked for them under each of the topics. This would be a discussion/idea share more than a lecture. (35 minutes).

4. Gallery Walk activity- This would be a showcase of station ideas. Before the workshop began I would have set up tables with the following labels (kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade). There would be multiple tables on each grade level. On each table I would have standards-based ideas for activities that students could complete in individual stations. I would invite the teachers to walk from table to table and look at the resources. I would have grab boxes (cardboard magazine boxes would work well) behind each idea with a sheet that teachers could take with them to use. The sheet may be a copy of the activity or a description so they could replicate it in their own classrooms. I would encourage teachers to look at tables other than their own grade level for ideas that could be adapted or for their differentiated learners. Teachers could also look at the management chart examples at this time. I would explain the follow-up (described below) and then let the teachers get up to look. Some examples of ideas I would include are:

-Alphabet activities- magnet letters, file folder games, sorts, matches, letter manipulatives, puzzles, ABC order, playdoh letters, tracing letters in sand or shaving cream etc.

-Spelling activities- spill and spell (spelling words with beans), word wall activities, using spelling words in various tasks, etc.

-Word Work- using blends, digraphs, word families, parts of speech, sentences, grammar, games, etc.

-Writing station- supplies to provide in the stations, activities to have the students do

-Computer- websites and games for the students to do

-Independent reading- book box ideas, ways to organize books, response journals/logs, partner reading etc.

-Listening stations- examples of responses/listening logs, etc.

-Comprehension- reading response journals, writing activities, graphic organizers, etc.

Teachers could walk around and look at the ideas/take the idea sheets and then leave the workshop when they were done with the gallery walk.

Develop at least one small group activity. Describe this in detail.

1. Pros and Cons Activity: As an introductory activity I would divide the teachers into groups of 4-6. I would give each group a piece of chart paper and markers and have them divide the chart paper into a T-chart. I would have them write on one side the pros of using literacy stations (why they are beneficial, what they like about using them, things that have worked or that they are comfortable with). On the other side, the cons, I would have them write what they do not like about stations, what has not worked and what they are uncomfortable with). I would give the groups 8-10 minutes to talk and make their chart. After the groups have finished I would have the groups share their charts with the whole group, each group sharing only things that are different or have not been shared previously. Hopefully through this activity information will be supplied that will help move the things on the con list to the pro list.

Develop a list of follow-up activities (3-5).

1. At the initial workshop I will have the teachers sign in with their name, email and school. I will also have on the sheet a box for them to check if they would like me to come to their classroom to observe and give feedback. I will then follow through. I will email all the teachers after the workshop encouraging them to contact me with any questions at any time and offering, again, to come to their rooms. I will go into the classrooms of the teachers that accepted the offer and observe and then conference with them.

2. I will offer a follow-up sharing session about one month to six weeks after the first workshop. This will be an informal meeting (only about 45 minutes or an hour) that will be largely an opportunity for teachers to share what they have tried that works and ask questions. They can bring in samples of additional activities they have tried that they want to share with the group. At this meeting I could also briefly touch on any cons (from their charts made at the initial workshop) that I may not have covered during the first workshop.

3. I would set up a website that included information that I went over during the meeting, the pictures of teacher’s management systems, some of the activities from the tables and links to great websites that talk about literacy stations and have great activities on them that the teachers can use. This way they have access to the information at any time and a resource that has lots of great ideas for stations in one location. I would email the website to the teachers in my workshop but make it open to anyone so they can share with their colleagues.

Describe how you will assess the effectiveness of your workshop.

One of the best ways to assess the effectiveness of a workshop is to see teachers using the information you presented and being successful. Hopefully through the workshop I would get the opportunity to go into some classrooms and observe teachers to see if they are able to implement the ideas. The number of teachers attending the sharing session, talking about the experiences and showcasing ideas will be a great testament to the effectiveness of the workshop. I would also have the teachers present a survey using a liker scale about the workshop asking them about the usefulness of the information, the presentation (Did they find the gallery walk useful? Did they like the pictures from teachers’ activities/charts? Were they comfortable sharing ideas and questions? Etc). I would have a two open ended questions- “What was the best thing you learned from the workshop?” and “What questions do you still have?” The answers to all of these questions would help me prepare for my next workshop.