We all know the feeling. You ring the bell and 20+ students are yelling your name and the words “Where do I go next?!” It’s pure chaos, and you definitely did NOT plan for your literacy center rotations go this way.
Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve made the rotation charts with the cute cards and graphics and tried to explain to my kids how there are 4 columns because we are doing FOUR groups today. But no matter how many times I point to the column we’re supposed to look at right now, someone winds up in the wrong group, there are tears, and I still hear my name being yelled.
It takes most of the rotation just to make sure everyone is in the right place and a darn good chunk of time for everyone to figure out how the chart even works.
I stayed in this reality for longer than I’d like to admit before I realized this was NOT the norm. Before I realized that I actually needed to be TEACHING my groups instead of losing my instructional time transitioning them.
The Solution
I started thinking for a better way to do literacy center rotations, and I had some non-negotiables. 1. My kids need to know where they’re supposed to be for one rotation at a time. 2. Changing rotations needs to be quick- no one is gonna sit and wait for me to move names around. 3. And I need to have flexible groups so I can change kids or activities around as needed. (Cute clip art was not a must have, but was a definite plus)
I used my SmartBoard and create a PowerPoint with one slide for each rotation. I created boxes for each literacy center or math center and typed students’ names inside the box they needed to go during that rotation.
Life Now
Now it’s smooth sailing when we transition from one rotation to the next. When a rotation is over, I ring the chime and students clean up and stand behind their chairs. I click to the next PowerPoint slide and students check where they need to go next. And that’s it… they just go! It takes almost no time to transition from one group to the next, and it’s clear to students exactly where they need to be.
Are you looking for a way to more effectively rotate your students between groups? You can try creating your own rotation board using PowerPoint, or you can click here to grab this one that’s already done for you!
