Marcia L. Kosanovich, Ph.D.

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Differentiating Instruction by Implementing and
Managing Student Center Activities
Marcia L. Kosanovich, Ph.D. The Florida Center
for Reading Research Florida State University
www.fcrr.org National Reading First
Conference July 18-20, 2007 St. Louis, MO
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• We can, whenever and wherever we choose,
  successfully teach all children to read. We
  already have reams of research, hundreds of
  successful programs, and thousands of effective
  schools to show us the way. Whether or not we do
  it must finally depend on how we feel about the
  fact that we havent so far (McEwan, 1998).

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Reading FirstFour Pillars of an Effective
Reading Program

• Valid and Reliable Assessments
• Instructional Programs and Aligned Materials
• High Quality Professional Development
• Dynamic Instructional Leadership

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Objectives for Today

• To learn about Student Center Activities and
  Professional Development created at FCRR.
• To learn how to use this resource to
  differentiate instruction to increase student
  learning.

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What I Know AboutDifferentiated Instruction
K What I Know W What I Want to Know L What I Learned

K-W-L Chart
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What I Want to Know About Differentiated
Instruction
K What I Know W What I Want to Know L What I Learned

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Characteristics of the Reading Block

• High Quality Instruction
• Minimum of 90 minutes of uninterrupted
  instruction
• Whole Group Instruction
• Small Group Instruction and Practice
• Teacher-Led Instruction
• Flexible
• Differentiated
• Homogeneous
• Independent Student Centers
• Differentiated

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Reading First Site Visits(conducted by FCRR)

• Classroom Observations
• Student Data
• Interviews
• Teachers
• Reading Coaches
• Principals

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Determination
student center activities
To assist teachers in differentiating instruction
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K-1 Project Materials

• A Professional Development DVD and 3 Books
• Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Student Center
  Activities
• Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension Student
  Center Activities
• Teacher Resource Guide (accompanied by the
  professional development DVD)

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2-3 Project Materials

• A Professional Development DVD and 3 Books
• Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Student Center
  Activities
• Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension Student
  Center Activities
• Teacher Resource Guide to accompany the
  professional development DVD

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Who is this resource for and what are the
expectations?

• Florida Reading First Coaches and Teachers
• Not mandatory
• A free resource available on FCRRs website
  www.fcrr.org

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Role of the Coach

• If the Student Center Activities are going to be
  used, it is expected that the Reading Coach will
  provide professional development to the teachers.
  
• The Teacher Resource Guide and the DVD are
  designed to support this professional
  development.

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Teacher Resource Guide

• The Five Components of Reading
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Implementing and Managing Student Centers in the
  Classroom
• Interpretation of Activity Plans
• Implementation of Activity Plans
• Crosswalk
• Glossary

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The Five Components of Reading Instruction

• For each of the 5 components of reading
• Definition
• Goal
• A brief description of how the Student Center
  Activities support growth in each component of
  reading
• Sequenced by concept in a logical order of
  instruction

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Phonics (K-1 example)

• Letter Recognition
• Students practice matching, identifying, and
  ordering the letters in the alphabet.
• Letter-Sound Correspondence
• Students practice identifying and ordering letter
  sounds (initial, final, and medial).
• Onset and Rime
• Students first practice identifying the initial
  consonant or consonants (onset) and the vowel and
  any consonants that follow it (rime) then
  practice blending, sorting, and segmenting the
  onset and rime.
• Word Study
• Students practice sorting, blending, segmenting,
  and manipulating the sounds of letters in words
  and practice identifying high-frequency words.
• Syllable Patterns
• Students practice blending and segmenting
  syllables in words.
• Morpheme Structures
• Students practice blending compound words, roots
  and affixes, and roots and inflections to make
  words.

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Comprehension (2-3 example)

• Narrative Text Structure
• Students practice identifying story elements
  (characters, setting, sequence of events,
  problems, solution, plot, and theme).
• Expository Text Structure
• Students practice identifying details, main idea,
  and important information in expository text.
• Text Analysis
• Students practice identifying and organizing
  text.
• Monitoring for Understanding
• Students practice using strategies to comprehend
  text.

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FAQs Concerning Reading Centers(K-3)

• What is differentiated instruction?
• What is a Reading Center?
• What are examples of Reading Centers and
  Activities?
• How are these Reading Centers different from the
  Centers of the past?

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FAQs Concerning Reading Centers

• K-1 Project
• Why are these Reading Centers and not Literacy
  Centers?
• Can other more traditional Centers be used?

• 2-3 Project
• Why should Student Center Activities be
  implemented in second and third grades?

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Implementing and Managing Student Centers in the
Classroom

• Form Flexible Groups Based on Assessment
• Identify Appropriate Center Activities Based on
  Assessment
• Design Center Management System
• Implement a Behavior Management System
• Give Explicit Center Directions
• Organize the Classroom
• Manage Transitions
• Establish Accountability

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I. Form Flexible Groups Based on Assessment

• Teacher-Led Groups
• Group size (from 3-8 students)
• Keep high-risk group sizes small (3-5 students)
• Work with each small group differently based on
  instructional need as determined by results of
  the various reading assessments.

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I. Form Flexible Groups Based on Assessment

• Monitor progress of those most at-risk students
  more frequently to make instructional changes to
  accelerate learning
• Size of the small group
• Group members
• Level of explicitness
• Amount of scaffolding
• Length of time for targeted instruction

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II. Identify Appropriate Center Activities

• Choose Activities that target each groups
  instructional need.
• Plan with the learning objective in mind, not the
  product.

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III. Design Center Management System

• Establish time efficient routines and protect
  instructional time
• Group Formation
• Activities
• Center location/areas
• Systematic movement of student groups
• Scheduling of center time

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III. Design Center Management System

• Center management boards are graphic organizers
  that answer Where? When? and What?
• Large
• Matching words/icons
• Student should know how to read it independently

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IV. Implement Behavior Management System

• Students need to know
• What to do when something does not work
• What to do when they do not understand the
  Activity at a Center
• What to do when they complete an Activity at a
  Center
• How to clean up
• How to decide who goes first

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IV. Implement Behavior Management System

• Questions to ask yourself
• Did I introduce too many Centers at once?
• Did I do an effective job explicitly teaching the
  activity?
• Have the students mastered the skill and need to
  move on?
• Is the activity interesting to the student?
• Do students 3 and 6 work well together?
• Is this Activity to difficult for students to do
  independently?

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V. Give Explicit Directions

• Teacher Models and Explains Activity
• Teacher Provides Guided Practice
• Teacher Provides Supported Application
• Independent Practice

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VI. Organize the Classroom

• Allows students to
• Easily locate materials
• Focus on academics
• Use Center time productively

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VII. Manage Transitions

• Protects and maximizes valuable instructional
  time
• Routines
• Expectations
• Use the time instructionally

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VIII. Establish Accountability

• Prevents students from making the same errors
• Provides opportunity for teachers to instill the
  importance of quality work
• Conveys the importance of each academic task

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Implementing and Managing Student Centers in the
Classroom System Two

• Form Flexible Groups Based on Assessment
• Identify Appropriate Center Activities Based on
  Assessment
• Design Center Management System
• Implement a Behavior Management System
• Give Explicit Center Directions
• Organize the Classroom
• Manage Transitions
• Establish Accountability

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Interpretation of Activity Plans

• Activity Plans
• Used by the teacher to plan and teach an activity
• Sequenced by concept in a logical order within
  each component
• Activity Masters
• Used by the students
• May need to be copied
• Can be laminated and stored for future use
• Student Sheets
• Used by students (consumable)
• Need to be copied for each student

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Implementation of Activity Plans

• Preparing and Organizing Materials
• Setting Up Centers
• Computer-Based Centers
• Selecting Quality Computer Software and
  Technology-Based Curricula Materials
• Materials Needed for all Student Center Activities

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Crosswalks

• Crosswalks are sorted by
• Activity Number and Subcomponent
• DIBELS measures
• Kindergarten or First Grade GLE
• Second or Third Grade GLE

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Glossary
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Book One
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Book Two
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What I Learned About Differentiated Instruction
K What I Know W What I Want to Know L What I Learned

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Acknowledgements

• Just Read, Florida! at the Florida Department of
  Education
• K-3 Project Development Team at FCRR
• Marcia Kosanovich, Ph.D.
• Teresa Logan, M.S.
• Connie Weinstein, M.Ed.
• Kelly Magill, M.S.
• Sarah Stafford, Ed.S.
• Jeannie Keaton, Ed.S.
• Curriculum Review Team at FCRR
• Georgia Jordan, M.S.
• Michelle Wahl, M.S.
• Mary Van Sciver, M.S.
• Lila Rissman, M.S.
• Elissa Arndt, M.S., CCC-SLP

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Thank You! www.fcrr.org