It’s fairly common for General Education teachers to use Direct Instruction reading programs to teach literacy. But the truth is, many of these programs just weren’t designed for the general population - and certainly not for students with specific needs and various reading levels…
Luckily, Literacy Centers are a Special Educator’s best friend! Not only do they allow you to break up reading, writing, and spelling lessons into digestible chunks - but they also give you time and space to differentiate and work with individual students.
A literacy center is a physical area - or station - where students are provided multiple opportunities to read, write, spell, and engage in meaningful learning experiences. Students work independently or collaborate with peers to complete station tasks. In a Special Education classroom, center tasks are typically structured according to IEP goals and necessary accommodations are provided.
Well-planned literacy centers promote student collaboration, incorporate movement, and provide multiple opportunities for students to practice skills and develop their ability to comprehend text(s). Unlike direct reading instruction, literacy centers allow special education teachers to plan various tasks that meet the needs of students on their caseload. Additionally, the teacher can better provide accommodations and one-on-one support to ensure that all students are engaged in learning.
Are you ready? Planning multiple station tasks and collecting materials may seem like hours of extra work - but it’s actually quite simple once you get the hang of it! Just follow these steps and you’ll be planning centers like a pro in no time.
Do your homework! The simplest and most effective way to group special education students is by similar IEP goals or skill levels. By using this grouping method, students can collaborate at each station and discuss ideas because they will be working on similar tasks. Before you start mapping out station tasks, be sure to take a look at the IEPs on your caseload / recent progress monitoring assessments and establish 4-6 groups of students.
There’s an easier way to monitor student progress… Learn more here.
Time to get creative! Considering your student groups and IEP goals/objectives, decide what students will do or engage with at each station (at least one task per student group and station). When creating your assignments, think about how you can incorporate preferred learning styles and how long your students will be given at each station. Here is an outline example to help you get started!
Center 1 - Reading Instruction/Practice
Center 2 - Spelling Instruction/Practice
Center 3 - Writing Instruction/Practice
Center 4 - Word Work/Vocabulary (Independent)
Center 5 - IEP Goal Practice/Remediation (Independent)
Center 6 - 1-on-1 Conference & Review
With TARA, you don’t have to start from scratch! Sign-up for a free trial today to access our special education lesson plans & templates.
Special educators typically have their own unique method of creating literacy center schedules - so you have to determine what will work best for you and your students! Some teachers utilize one class period for centers, while others stretch out the activity over multiple class days. We recommend trying out both strategies and assessing student understanding after each to determine which schedule is the ideal fit. Feel free to consider the following guiding questions when mapping out your center schedule!
To successfully engage in independent learning and exploration, your students might need various materials and detailed instructions to keep them on track. Considering this and creating these resources in advance will ensure that your students have everything they need to successfully complete each literacy task. We recommend preparing or gathering the following materials for each station -
Woo! You’re done with the planning - now you just need to prepare each literacy center with the materials you’ve already created and/or gathered. Prepare an ample amount of workspace for each center and consider providing flexible seating options to incorporate student choice.
TARA TIP! Properly color code and label each center to ensure students are clear on where to go when instruction begins and when it’s time to rotate.
Because when teachers come first, students win...and teachers stay.