Six Weeks of the Fab Five
A Template for Assembling and
Utilizing the Florida Center for
Reading Research Student Center
Activities
Soraya Coccimiglio
Janice DiGiovanni
Today’s Goals

Become familiar with the Florida Center for Reading
Research Student Center Activities website

Review the use of “Reading Centers” as a tool for
differentiated instruction

Learn the 8 steps for implementing and managing
student centers in the classroom

Receive and review a template for creating a workshop
for your own district or ISD/RESA

Laugh and learn from our mistakes

Assemble a sample mini intervention kit
The “Fab Five”

Based on Report of National Reading Panel of 2000.

Core elements of successful classroom reading
instruction

Conclusion: Instruction must be systematic and explicit
in the following five component areas (the five “Big
Ideas” of reading):
 Phonemic Awareness (ISF & PSF)
 Phonics (Alphabetic Principle)
 Fluency (NWF & ORF)
 Vocabulary
 Comprehension
The “Fab Five”

Systematic instruction: The direct presentation
of skills/concepts in a pre-specified sequence
taught in a logical, defined, order.



Skills and concepts begin with the most simple,
moving to the most complex
Student objectives are clear, concise, and driven by
ongoing assessment results
Students are provided with appropriate practice
opportunities which directly reflect instruction
The “Fab Five”

Explicit instruction is taught directly through
teacher modeling, guided practice, and
independent practice (scaffolding instruction).


Teacher models and explains (“I do it”)
Teacher provides guided practice (“we do it”)



Teacher provides supported application


Students practice what the teacher modeled
Teacher provides prompts/feedback
Students apply the skill as the teacher scaffolds instruction
Independent practice (“you do it”)
Phonological Awareness



Explicit awareness of the phonological
structure of words in one’s language.
Awareness of words in sentences,
syllables, onset rime segments.
Awareness of individual phonemes in
words.
Phonological Awareness

Goal: Develop an awareness that words
are composed of individual sounds, or
phonemes, and to develop the ability to
manipulate sounds in words.
Phonological Awareness

Activities should include the following PA skills:
 Rhyme
 Students practice recognizing and producing words that
rhyme
 Alliteration
 Students practice repeating and producing alliterative
phrases
 Sentence Segmentation
 Students practice segmenting sentences into words
 Syllables
 Students practice blending and segmenting syllables in
words
 Onset and Rime
 Students practice identifying the initial (onset)
consonant(s) and the vowel/consonants that follow
 Phonemes
 Students practice blending, segmenting, manipulating,
and deleting the individual phonemes (sounds) in
words
Phonics


Relationship between letters and the
sounds they represent
Teaches sound symbol correspondences
Phonics

Goal: Help children use the sound-symbol
relationship to read and write words.
Phonics

Activities should include:

Letter recognition


Letter-sound correspondence


Students practice sorting, blending, segmenting, and manipulating
the sounds of letters in words and practice identifying highfrequency words
Syllable Patterns


Students practice identifying initial consonant and any consonants
that follow it; then practice blending, sorting, and segmenting the
onset and rime
Word study


Students practice identifying and matching sounds to letters (initial,
final, and medial)
Onset and Rime


Students practice matching, identifying, and ordering letters in the
alphabet
Students practice blending and segmenting syllables in words
Morpheme Structures

Students practice blending compound words, roots, and affixes
Fluency



Ability to read text quickly, accurately, and
with prosody
Bridge between word recognition and
comprehension
Emerges through supported and repeated
practice in automatic word recognition
Fluency

Goal: Help students to recognize words
automatically
Fluency

Teaching activities should include:

Letter recognition


Letter-Sound Correspondence


Students use timed practices to identify letter sounds
High Frequency Words


Students use timed practices to identify and order letters in
the alphabet
Students use timed practices to read words
Oral Reading


Students use timed practices to read with accuracy
Students practice reading with prosody
Vocabulary


The meanings and pronunciation of words
necessary for communication.
Categorized as oral (listening and
speaking) or reading (reading and
writing).
Vocabulary

Goal: To provide students with an
understanding of the meaning/use of
words so they are able to comprehend
what they are reading.
Vocabulary

Activities should include:

Word Identification/Words in Context



Words That Describe/Word Meaning



Students practice identifying and producing descriptive words
Students practice identifying and producing the meaning of
words
Word Categorization/Word Knowledge



Students practice identifying words
Students practice using words to complete or form sentences
Students practice sorting and producing words by categories
Students practice identifying synonyms, antonyms, and
homophones
Word Structure/Word Analysis


Students practice identifying compound words, contractions,
and affixes
Students practice identifying similarities and differences
between the meanings of words
Comprehension


The ability to understand and get meaning
from spoken and written language.
The ultimate goal in learning to read.
Comprehension

Goal: Teach children specific strategies to
use for understanding text as they are
reading.
Comprehension

Activities should include:

Sentence Structure and Meaning


Story Structure


Students practice identifying the sequence of events
(beginning, middle, end) and story grammar (setting,
characters, problem, solution, important events)
Monitoring for Meaning


Students practice identifying important text elements and
arranging words to make sentences.
Students practice organizing information to gain meaning
Main Idea/Summarizing


Students practice stating the main ideas in their own words
Students practice summarizing large sections of text
Using Center Activities to
Provide Differentiated
Instruction
Why Center Activities?

Center activities allow the teacher to work with small
groups needing interventions beyond the core reading
program

Center activities can be incorporated into the 90 minute
reading block

Center activities can be effective, prescriptive
interventions

Center activities can reinforce skills and supplement the
core reading program
Brain Storm Activity:
What are the challenges in
implementing reading center
activities?
What is Differentiated Instruction?


Matching instruction to meet the diverse
needs of learners in the classroom.
A provision of varied learning situations,
(whole-class, small-group, or individual
instruction) to meet the needs of students
functioning at different skill levels.
What Happens in a Reading Center?


Students participate in purposeful activities that
are a reinforcement and/or extension of what
has already been taught explicitly by the
teacher.
Students work in small groups, pairs, or
individually, while the teacher is conducting
Teacher-Led small group interventions during
the 90 minute reading block.
Reading Centers of the Past
Reading Centers of Today
Provide systematic, explicit, small
Kept students busy while teachers
group instruction focused on
planned or completed paperwork
instructional needs
Only for students who finished
assigned work
For all students
Incorporated only theme-based
activities
Incorporate activities reflecting
previously taught reading skills
Engaged all students in the same
activities
Engage students in specific and
individualized activities
Often included only worksheets
Include hands-on, targeted
activities aligning/reinforcing
previously taught skills
Incorporated a lot of nonacademic and trivial projects
Engage students academically in
meaningful activities that extend
learning
Example Center
Example Activity
Listening Area (headphones
and player)
Students listen to audio books
while following text and
reading aloud
Overhead Projector
Students use letter tiles to spell
words with a target initial
sound
Computer
Students work on computerized
programs targeted at their
instructional level
Library Area (leveled
books sorted in tubs)
Students “partner read” books
at their independent reading
level
Word Center
Students put together alphabet
puzzles or manipulate letter
tiles to make words
8 Steps to
Implementing and Managing
Student Centers in the
Classroom
I. Form Flexible Groups Based on
Assessment





Keep group sizes small and reduce group size when
necessary for intensive support
Base groups on instructional need with specific
instructional strategies in mind
Consider attitudes and behaviors
Monitor the progress of high risk students more
frequently
Use progress monitoring data, teacher observation, and,
when needed, diagnostic assessments to formulate
flexible groups
II. Identify Appropriate Center
Activities Based on Assessment


Students participate in activities either
independently or with help from a peer of
higher skill ability (“the just right”
challenge)
Though activities should engage students,
there need not be a lot of fluff
Differentiated Instruction Experts Say:
“If it takes longer to make something than it
does for children to use it instructionally,
then don’t bother making it.”
Debbie Diller
“Teach the Stuff”
“Not the Fluff”—
Anita Archer
III. Design Center Management
System



Develop a Center Management Board: a visual that lets
students know where they should be, when they should
be there, and what they should be doing.
Make the board large enough to be seen by all students
from different areas of the room.
Matching icons should be on the management board and
in the center areas to help students quickly locate
centers.

Students must be taught how to independently use/read
the board.

Handout
IV. Implement a Behavior
Management System
School-wide and Classroom-based
Behavior Management


Students need to be actively engaged and
on task in order for centers to support
learning.
Teacher focus should be on Teacher-led
Center/Small Group Instruction rather
than off-task behavior of students.
What 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
Whom to go to for help
How to clean up
How to decide who goes first when engaged in a
pair or group activity
T-Charts: Listening Center
Looks Like
Students
sitting in
chairs with four legs on
the floor
Students using their
pointer finger to follow
along in the text
One student managing
the CD player
Sounds Like
Students
reading at
voice level 1-2 along
with the narrator
Things to consider when centers go
wrong…







Did I effectively and explicitly teach the activity?
Were center and transition behavioral expectations
explicitly taught?
Do I frequently provide positive feedback for
appropriate behavior (5:1 ratio)?
Did I introduce too many new centers at once?
Have the students mastered the skill and need to
move on?
Is the center too difficult for students to do
independently?
Are student-partners matched appropriately?
V.
Give Explicit Center Directions
It is essential to explicitly teach each activity before
students are expected to participate in the center
Teacher models and explains the activity
(“I do it”)

Teacher provides guided practice
(“We do it”)

Teacher provides supported application
(“We do it”)

Independent Practice
(“You do it”)

VI. Organize the classroom

An organized classroom enables students
to:



Easily locate materials
Focus on academic tasks
Use “Center” time productively
VII. Manage Transitions to Protect
Instructional Time




Teach set routines and expectations for changing center,
putting materials away, and cleaning up center areas
Establish and teach a signal that indicates it is time to
change centers
Keep a brisk pace when transitioning between centers.
To reinforce skills with younger students, use songs,
rhymes and word games during clean up
Implementing and Managing
Student Center Activities
Source:
http://www.fcrr.org/Curriculum/studentCenterActivities23.htm.
VIII. Establish Accountability To Keep
Students Engaged and Monitor
Student Performance





Students graph their performance
Provide students with score sheets for
games and other activities
Students submit their work in assigned
folders when appropriate
Partners correct each others work
Parapro or other instructional assistant
monitors Center work
Establish Accountability To Keep
Students Engaged and Monitor Student
Performance


Have “with-it-ness”—even though teachers are
involved with other students in intense small
group activities, they must be aware of what is
going on in Center activities
Provide frequent feedback on center work to:



Prevent students from practicing errors
Instill the importance of quality work
Convey the importance of each academic task
Remember 5:1 Ratio!
What We Know for Next Time:
“Live and Learn”
FAB FIVE Tips Sheet