More Learning Station Suggestions

Last week we posted teachers’ suggestions for using learning stations in language classrooms. Here are more ideas:

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Ideally I would like to give every kid a clipboard. It would be nice if they carried their clip boards around with their work on the clipboard and in the end, turn everything in stapled together.

One station could be Reading comprehension / worksheet
One could be a game of some kind...for two people?
One could be on the computer if you have one, or the Smart board.
One station could be where they record themselves on the tape recorder doing some kind of performance task.
One station could be speaking with a partner. From a dialogue / question and answer sheet?
One station could be speaking to the teacher.
How about a station or two with flashcards?
How about one station with books in the target Language related to the theme?

Shay, S. [FLTEACH] learning stations ideas 1. FLTEACH listserv (FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU, 1 Dec 2011).

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D. Blaz has several more ideas to share:

I have assigned point values to the activities and for an A, they have to do 50 points worth....for a B, 45 pt. and so on.

Also, by my randomly picking their first station for them by having them number off to start, this forces some to do the more difficult ones first.

Finally, I don't have them wait for a signal to go on to the next activity....that way I don't have to worry about how long they take....but I also tell them they need to go to a station that's OPEN, not one with a line of kids waiting for it.

And I always have something for "early finishers" to do....a wordoku or word search or some sort of enjoyable but not entirely necessary activity. Once, I had food waiting for the finishers, but that backfired as some were so eager for the food they did a poor job on the stations. I won't do that again....

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Leave a stack of old magazines; they must find and cut out a photo illustrating a reflexive activity (really, not as hard as you'd think, esp. if a fashion magazine. There's always someone getting dressed, applying makeup, etc.)....paste it onto a page, and write a Juicy sentence about the picture:
Who/what is not juicy. Juicy has that, and two of: when/where/with whom / why / how many times / what time

Then they should put it up somewhere in the room... and another student has to post a reaction to the picture: I like/don't like how she/he is whatever-ing, or share when/how, etc. they do this same thing, or ask a question.....But I like to have a sort of interactive station like this, because the kids will keep circling by (and reading) when they see someone's written on theirs!

Have the kids sign/initial their "posting"...

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Another speaking activity could be a survey: who has what, what time things are done, what room, etc. etc. Students would pick up a survey and have to ask X number of classmates the questions, and write down their answers (or check boxes if you want it to go faster).

Blaz, D. Re: [FLTEACH] stations. FLTEACH listserv (FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU, Dec 2011).