If you are looking for word work center ideas for organizing all of those tiny word study pieces, then you found the right place! The nature of building and decomposing words and letter chunks means lots and lots of little pieces to manage. No worries though! With good organizational systems and strategies you can create meaningful learning activities that doesn’t translate into a messy classroom. This post shares simple strategies for managing and organizing all those small hands-on manipulatives that your students use regularly during word work time.
6 Organization Ideas for Your Word Work Center Materials
Below are 6 simple tools for organizing your word study materials.
1. Small Containers
The first of the word work center ideas on the list is to utilize small containers. Store letter beads and small word/letter cards in small containers like these.
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2. Small Hardware Drawers and Craft Sorters
Many teachers find it helpful to sort things like magnetic letters, letter tiles, etc by letters so kids can easily find what they need for word building activities. Small hardware drawers and craft sorters are ideal for this purpose. I suggest labeling the compartments with letter stickers reinforced with a bit of Modge Podge.
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3. Index Boxes
The third of the word work center ideas on the list is to utilize index boxes. Word cards can be sorted and stored in index boxes, photo boxes with dividers and accordion files.
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4. Plastic Photo Sleeves
Smaller letter cards or word cards can also be stored neatly in plastic sleeves designed to hold photos or baseball cards. These are great because they can then be kept in a binder.
5. Ice Cube Trays
The fifth of the word study center ideas on the list is to utilize ice cube trays. Letter stamps are a popular manipulative, but can get messy. Using ice cube trays to hold each letter is a great solution.
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6. Small Pouches
Create folders for each student using small pouches such as the ones designed for use with business cards or baseball cards. This would be perfect for a making words center or independent work.
In closing, we hope you found these word work center ideas for organizing all the different word study materials helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in my classroom organization workshop, as well as these posts:
- How to Organize Math Manipulatives in the Classroom
- Word Study Ideas for Elementary Teachers
- Classroom Paper Organization Ideas for Elementary Teachers
