8 Proven Literacy Strategies

Written by Jennifer Delgardio. Classworks Integrated Reading activities were created for on grade level instruction to promote deep comprehension and analysis of texts. They help students gain experience with grade level texts and skills using interaction and engagement.

Choice #1: Read to Self.

Literacy center ideas for elementary grades

1. computer center.
2. ABC center.
3. writing center.
4. listening center.
5. memory card games.
6. word family center.
7. book club center.
8. building/manipulatives center.

Each center lasts 20 minutes long and the total center time is one hour, which means students should visit 3 centers each day. A. Independent Reading – This is one that ALL students do every day! It’s important to me that students self-select books based on motivation and not reading level.

• Text Annotation.
• People Over Programs.
• Freedom of Choice.
• Chat About Data.
• Reward Reading.
• Be Seen With a Book.
• Use Data to Make Decisions.
• Let Instruction Drive Implementation.

1. Set aside time for independent reading.
2. Create Literacy-Rich Environments in every K-12 Classroom.
3. Support High-Quality Classroom Libraries.
4. Encourage Read Alouds.
5. Create a ‘Caught Reading’ Campaign that features Teachers as Readers.
6. Invite Guest Readers into Classrooms.
7. Encourage Students to Read Widely.

The Daily 5 is a structure for learning. It has 5 components that can be taught daily: 1) read to self, 2) read to someone, 3) listen to reading, 4) word work, and 5) writing.

Math Centers provide an opportunity for students to practice and apply skills and strategies taught within the classroom. While students are engaged in purposeful centers, teachers have the opportunity to work individually or with small, flexible groups to meet the individual needs of students.

A literacy center can be described as a “small area within the classroom where students work alone or together to explore literacy activities independently while the teacher provides small-group guided reading instruction” (Ford & Opitz, 2002, p. 711).

Six such strategies are: making connections, visualizing, inferring, questioning, determining importance, and synthesizing. Let’s take a closer look at how these six literacy strategies affect reading comprehension.

Another engaging 3rd grade literacy center idea is the “I Spy” Look in a Book reading center. Students can use ANY book of their choice. As they read, they look for parts of speech that we’ve learned in class. Then they fill up the grammar chart while they continue reading their book. This picture shows an example of the Pronouns Look in a Book.

I highly recommend Debbie Dillers books about literacy centers for upper elementary classrooms. Literacy Work Stations and Practice with Purpose are two of my favorites. She also has other books on establishing centers / small groups in the classroom. With this in mind, I realized some important things about my 3rd grade literacy centers:

She defines a literacy center as: “…an area in the classroom where students work alone or interact with one another, using instructional materials to explore and expand their literacy.”