Drop-A-Word

This is a suggested center in the Scott-Foresman Reading Street Series. I have heard several teachers complain that they don't like the suggested centers, but I use at least one of the SF centers a week. I usually do tweek them just a little bit though. This week our skill was r-controlled er, ir, and ur. I wrote words with these sounds on word cards and placed them in a bag. The students were to take turns pulling a card out of the bag and "dropping it." If it landed face up, they were to read it aloud to the group and then move it out of the way into a pile beside them. If it lands face down, they lose a turn and don't get to read it, but still move it to their pile out of the way. Play continues like this until the bag is empty and all cards have been "dropped." The next step is the students are to read each of the words in their stacks and sort the cards into three piles in the middle according to their r-controlled sound, an er pile, an ir pile, and a ur pile. After sorting all the cards, students record the words on thier center sheet. Finally, all cards must be mixed up and placed back in the bag so that the next people to do the center will not have it easy. I wasn't planning on posting this center, but this little group of guys had so much fun with it today, that it caught my eye. They were tossing the cards up and letting them fall. Then they would get mad if it landed where they couldn't read it (Ha, they wanted to read...I did it!). They did the center so well and had so much fun doing it that I couldn't resist posting this. I also thought that this is a center you can do with any skill and all you really need is word cards.

Here they are sorting the cards into their 3 piles.

This is my center sheet.