During my first teaching years, I associated stations and centers with elementary classrooms, however, I have been implementing this instructional strategy and it really brings a lot of benefits.
For a classroom with 30 students, I usually organize 6 or 7 stations and I tell students that the maximum number of students per station is 5 at a given time. I typically have a writing station, a listening comprehension station, a grammar station a reading comprehension station, a conversation station, and finally a board game station.
I like to make the stations a bit different every time I organize them within a unit, so for example I might add a research station, a station with manipulative (Example: Family tree tiles, or order the conversation sentences trips), or I ask them to create a product such as based on a reading completed in class or for homework, create a short cartoon or other crafty activity.
Sometimes I create one station that is only for some students- the ones that need my help or my tutoring in class. When I decide to include this "customer service" station, I usually talk in advance to the students I want to work with during the stations' rotations. I use this station as a "pull out" intervention in the classroom; it is very convenient because all other students are engaged and productive and it allows me to have in-class time to help the weaker students.
Another advantage is that this strategy is students centered, it empowers students to work at their pace, and cooperate with other partners to complete the activities in each station.
I encourage you to try some of these ideas in your classroom, please let me know your experience.
For some Specific station ideas click here: Restaurant Unit Stations Clothing Unit Stations School Unit Stations Giving Directions in Spanish Stations and many more!
