Story Chatter

I just wanted to share one of my favorite centers that I use in my classroom. I call it 'Story Chatter' and it has worked really well in my classroom this year. It's more of a follow up to my small group reading center that my kids do with me each morning. After I meet with my group for 15 minutes, that group goes to Story Chatter. Here, they talk about the decodable reader that we read in small group. Each week the new comprehension skill is added and they must discuss it. For example, the first week, the group just had to talk about the characters that were in the story since that was the only skill we had discussed. As the weeks go on, they have more to talk about. Right now, each group chats about the characters, setting, if the story was real or fantasy, and the main idea of the story.

I listen to the group as they discuss and I am amazed at how well they do at this center. It really helps them practice the comprehension skill and review what we have just read. It also gives me a chance to walk around the room and make sure the other centers are on task before we switch.