Centers and Small Group Instruction

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Centers and Small Group Instruction

• for Foreign
• Language
• Classrooms

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Jessica Haxhi Maloney Interdistrict Magnet
School Waterbury, CT jhaxhi_at_waterbury.k12.ct.us J
apanese Language and Culture Program http//teache
rweb.com/CT/ maloneymagnetschool/japanese/ Wiki
for Resources and Handouts http//maloneyjapanese.
wikispaces.com/ (For World Language Teachers
Section)
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What is small group instruction?
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Why use Small Group Instruction?Lessons from the
Homeroom

• opportunity for guided reading
• teachers can engage the learner
• teachers can use strategic coaching
• teachers can scaffold the learning
• students develop as independent learners

Taken from Ford, M.P. Opitz, M.F. (2002) Using
centers to engage children during guided reading
time Intensifying learning experiences away from
the teacher. The Reading Teacher
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Why use Small Group Instruction and Centers in
our FL Classrooms?
Students

• develop individual study skills
• develop group work skills
• get one-on-one time with teachers
• get to interact with technology, realia,
• or content
• can access a variety of activities in all
• of the 5 Cs and for various intelligences
• appeals to the iGeneration

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Why use Small Group Instruction and Centers in
our FL Classrooms?
Teachers

• can get to know students more individually
• can collect a variety of data all at once
• can use materials that are difficult to use in
  large groups
• can reduce class management issues
• can sit down for awhile!

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PlanningHow much time for each center?

• A whole class period
• Half a period
• One-third
• One-fourth
• One-fifth

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PlanningBrainstorming Activities

• Teacher Table
• Four to five student centers

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The Teacher Table
What could you do... if you had 20 minutes with
5 of your students around a table?
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Student Centers
What types of things can your students do on
their own?
3-4
7-8
5-6
K-2
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PlanningThe Best Centers

• can be used independently
• can be used by all
• have accountability
• are not too hard to make or change
• build around class routines

Taken from Ford, M.P. Opitz, M.F. (2002) Using
centers to engage children during guided reading
time Intensifying learning experiences away from
the teacher. The Reading Teacher
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Planning Lets Get Specific

• What are the objectives of this unit? What do
  students need to know and be able to do?
• What learning and practice would best be done at
  the teacher table?
• What experiences are best done in small groups or
  individually?
• What skills really need extra practice or
  support?
• What are engaging realia, videos, etc. for this
  unit?
• What materials and technology do I have access
  to?
• How shall I group students to maximize learning?

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PlanningGrouping Students

• Depends on your objectives
• heterogeneous groups
• homogeneous groups (assessing oral)
• behavior issues
• Ways of Keeping Track of Groups
• class list highlighted
• construction paper list-up
• nametags in bunches
• If a particular center is an assessment, keep
  track of who is absent for that center each day
  so that you can send them to it next class.

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PlanningKeeping Students in the Target Language

• Very tricky!
• Keep them busy.
• Maybe use a reward system.
• Maybe use a penalty system.
• Buy iPods!
• Build in accountability...

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PlanningAccountability for Students

• Teacher
• Collect papers each time and check
• Ask homeroom teacher to circulate
• Group (with lead student)
• Group checklist
• Lead student collects finished papers
• Group behavior system gain/lose points, money,
  etc.
• Group test at end
• Individual student
• Checklist for each student as they go through
  centers (objectives or activities)
• Completing a packet as they go
• Correcting papers as they go, inserting in folder
• Test on content at end
• Behavior system for good work/problems

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Cassette Player Recorder

• 16 new
• very easy to use
• almost retro cool!
• Best for one-time use for your scoring purposes

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Digital Voice Recorder

• 25-200
• Easy for kids to use
• Uploads to computer so you can save for the
  future
• Must make them say their names each time

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Computer Sound Recorder

• Already on any PC in AccessoriesgtEntertainment
• Students can delete and re-record until it is
  perfect
• Saves easily to computer
• Kids can name files with their own names
• May need a microphone

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Photostory 3 for Windows

• Students can record something specific to a photo
  that you or they have put in.
• Students can delete and fix it until it is
  perfect.
• Requires whole-class training, using some
  English.
• Requires plan for saving to disk or computers.

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Flip Camera

• About 150 each
• Very easy to use
• Doesnt require tapes
• Students can instantly view
• Uploads to computer for
• saving for later

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Other Recording Options

• Regular video camera
• Camera already installed on computer
• For voice www.audacity.com
• For creativity www.voki.com

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Activity Ideas
The 5 Cs

• Interpersonal (two-way conversations)
• Interpretive (listening/reading/watching)
• Presentational (creating a final product)
• Culture
• Connections
• Comparisons
• Communities

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Interpersonal SkillsTeacher Table

• Having simple conversations about personal
  information
• Talking about likes, dislikes, or opinions
• Playing Go Fish or a variation
• Describing pictures
• Talking about a holiday, folktale or books read
  in class
• Role-playing with puppets or animals
• Introducing or using situation cards
• Hints
• Always ask push questions
• Have a class list, rubric copy, or laptop for
  recording scores and making notes

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Interpersonal SkillsStudent Centers

• Practicing a situation card or known dialogue
• Learning new content with vocabulary, hint
  sheets, dictionaries or computer kiosks
• Using puppets, cell-phones, or walkie talkies to
  make it fun
• Recording with laptops, digital recorder, iPods,
  flip camera, or cassette player

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Interpersonal SkillsStudent Center Games

• Hangman
• Guess who? or Eggspert games with a designated
  leader
• Teacher-created games with dice
• Candyland or Chutes and Ladders (no English!)
• Go Fish
• Culturally authentic games
• Online games with one student as Vanna White

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Listening Center
Interpretive Skills

• Books
• Songs
• Conversations
• Poetry
• Speeches

• Tapes
• iPods
• Laptops

• Listen for a certain word and count instances
• Teacher-created simple listening test
• Listening comprehension test
• Fill in the missing words (with or without word
  bank)
• Match what you hear to a picture
• Listen and put book pictures in order
• Put words in order (on sentence strips or
  copies)

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Watching Center
Interpretive Skills

• Cartoon
• Song video
• Conversation video
• Drama
• Other YouTube find!30

• VCR
• Laptop

• Put scenes in order by pictures
• Put written sentences describing scenes in
  order
• Match pictures from story to written sentences
• Answer main idea questions
• Answer comprehension questions
• Write a sentence about different scenes or
  characters

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Reading Center
Interpretive Skills

• Books
• Poetry
• Articles
• Advertisements
• Cartoons

Authentic Materials

• Look for a certain word and count or highlight
• Find words that begin with _ and list
• Put summary sentences in order
• Choose best sentence to describe character, main
  idea, problem, solution.
• Answer comprehension questions.
• Draw a picture to illustrate poem, paragraph,
  etc.

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Reading Center
Interpretive Skills
Teacher-created Materials

• Matching words to pictures
• Matching words to stamps
• Stamping words under pictures with letter stamps
• Matching words to definitions
• Draw illustrations for words or paragraphs
• Word fill-in with sentences
• Character fill-in (Japanese/Chinese)
• KARUTA with laptop or with student leader

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Presentational Speaking Centers

• Partners work with situation cards and prepare
• skit for performance later
• Practice a short dialogue
• Readers-theater read story, decide how to act
• out, practice with props, act out later
• Create a Photostory, based on pictures students
  brought in or teacher prepared

• Peer-score and peer-coach using rubrics
• Record practice OR final product with digital
  recorder,
• laptop, iPod, flip camera, or cassette.

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Presentational Writing Centers
Options dictionaries or not word lists or not

• Write word for each letter of your name, animal
  you love, etc.
• Label a picture or pictures
• Draw a picture with a word repeated
• Write a word, phrase or sentence for each picture
• Write poetry, stories, etc.
• Create a Construction paper organizer
• Write into a Photostory picture on computer

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Culture-Based Centers

• money rubbings
• learning about and practicing specific customs
• playing culturally authentic games
• accessing websites in the target language
• viewing cultural topic videos
• eating, drinking something from culture
• creating models of food or art from clay or other
  medium

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Art-Based Culture Centers

• match art piece to sentence that describes it
• brainstorm words or phrases about each art piece
• one partner describes, other points to the art
  piece
• do color-by-number of art piece,
• 1 rojo 2 verde

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Connections Math Centers

• one student reads number card, others use straws,
  base 10 rods, blocks, etc. to create number
• measuring various objects in Metric and British
• writing greater than/less than sentences
• monetary conversions and websites
• Sudoku (characters or written words)
• Written word math (cinco x cinco ___)

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Connections Science Centers

• What in the room is magnetic? (room is labeled -
  list up in target language)
• What in the room is metal, wood, etc.?
• Classifying animals by various characteristics
  and creating chart
• Putting together life-cycle pictures for plants,
  animals, etc.
• Listening to a YouTube video explaining simple
  science concept in target language

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Connections Art, Music and PE Centers

• Make a target culture craft
• Draw a scene to be labeled later
• Compare 2 target culture songs for various
  characteristics
• Write a few sentences about why one song is
  better.
• Learn a dance step or dance
• from written directions, video, etc.

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Comparisons-based Centers

• Creating Venn diagrams (written or pictures) or
  other graphic organizers.
• Writing about own family, home, etc. versus
  target culture family, home, studied (perhaps
  English)
• Investigating written work in both languages (ex.
  same picture book in two languages) and answering
  questions about similarities/differences
• Looking at maps from different countries and
  answering comparison questions or highlighting
  countries.

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Communities-based Centers

• Native-speaker visitor(s) as the center (be sure
  to give task or games!)
• Reading, listening to or writing pen pal letters
• Looking at video from pen pals
• Looking at YouTube video of peers
• Constructing an email, letter, picture, etc. to
  share with native speakers
• Creating something in target language to be
  shared with the school or home for the purpose of
  language sharing/teaching

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Assessment

• How does assessment fit into Small Group
  Instruction and Centers?

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Classroom Set-upPriorities

• Easy to change quickly
• Match activity to setting
• Provide logical circular flow
• Have a way to signal centers change

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On a Cart

• Center in a Box
• CD/DVD to put in classroom computer
• Talk with teacher about using his/her reading
  table
• Start with less centers (or even 1 group at your
  table)
• Learning Stations Concept

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Giving Directionsfor Centers

• Written sheets on table
• Instructions on slides of Powerpoint
• Go over on first day of centers and/or previous
  class
• Walk them through transitions

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For Early finishers...

• Word searches
• Crossword puzzles
• Color-by-directions
• Continue drawings
• Help others

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Tracking Student ProgressSelf-Assessment

• Can Do Checklist for students as they go
  through centers
• Can Do Checklist for after centers are complete

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Work that Students Correct

• Keep answer papers in a separate area, near you,
  or on a later slide of Powerpoint
• OR, correct as a class after last center

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Work you need to score

• Collect in Finished Work folder for later
  grading
• Put folder on desktop of computer with class name
  for students to save recordings into
• Consider recording/videotaping assessments at
  your table for later scoring
• Consider having your computer in front of you to
  enter scores
• Consider having rubric in front of you to score
  as they speak

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A final note...

• Let unit goals drive center activities
• Do your best to have every activity be a language
  activity
• Dont spend TOO much time making centers
• Use centers, whole group, and partner activities
  to maximize learning
• Enjoy!

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Unit ___________________________________ Grade____
___________________ Centers Objectives___________
__________________________________________________
___
Teacher Table
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Unit __My Family and Your Family________ Grade____
__4th/5th _________________ Centers Objectives
Practice family and hobby vocabulary
(speaking/reading/writing), understand longer
conversations, practice for later assessment
describing your own family picture
Create Family Construction Paper Fold-Up
Book Draw family member face or write name on
front flap On inside Write (mother, father,
etc). Write birth month Write one hobby they
like Write one food they like using dictionaries
Teacher Table Identify family clip art pics,
Identify sports/hobbies pics Answer questions
about how many people in their family Teacher
shares a photo or drawing of her (or a famous
persons) real or imaginary family and talks
about names, ages, birth months, and
likes/dislikes of members asks students for
input
One Laptop Reading words Slap the Word
Game Family member words Sports/Hobbies words
Find the Word in Context Look at pages from
websites or an article printed and highlight
family member OR sports words. Give students
tally of how many of each they should
find. Challege ask a few comprehension
questions about readings
iPods Watch Shingomama video and put words of
song in order. Watch conversation between
teachers and answer comprehension questions.