Seven Building Blocks to the Station Rotation Model

Ann CoatesK12Inspire

Selecting the skills and content is the first vital step in creating a Station Rotation. For example my students worked in the station rotation relating to the book we were reading 8 to be Great: The 8 Things Successful People Have in Common by Richard St. John. I knew I wanted them to focus on two chapters in the book for discussion and practice of content and skills.

The content I chose:Chapters 3: Hard WorkChapter 4: Focus

The skills I chose:CommunicationCollaborationCreativity

Creating relevant learning activities will help students engage with the material in a way that will get them thinking and creating! Here are the examples from each of the stations for the 8 to Be Great rotation:

Station 1 - Book Talk with Mrs. Coates

Station 2 - View TED Talk on Work and answer the questions as a group

Station 3 - Reading on Growth Mindset answer the questions individually

Station 4 - TED Talk on Grit (with individual writing prompt questions)

Station 5 - Read pages 55-66 and draw a visual aide that best illustrates the content from the reading

Station 6 - Complete the BrainHQ game and write a reflection

Curating material for each station is the fun part! It can also be very time consuming… So going to your current material may be the way to go. For example I had a traditional worksheet of questions that asked students a series of questions about the chapter. I used those as a jumping off point for Station 1, the Book talk with me.

Other examples of where to curate material both digital and otherwise:

1. TED.com: With each talk between 6 and 20 minutes you are bound to find one on your topic and within the time limits you need.

2. Print articles: Most online periodicals will allow you to search and print out articles. This can allow students to highlight and write notes in the margin, still an important skill!

3. School Librarian: School librarians are a blessing! Talk to her and procure some material hard copy material

Arranging the classroom space and materials properly goes a long way in clearing the way for student learning in addition to curbing classroom management issues.

My classroom is set up in small groups to begin with but you can do this prior to class beginning. Groups of 4-5 students work beautifully. The number of groups will depend on your class size. The rotation example in the graphic organizer has six stations but I’ve had as many as seven.

Once the classroom space is organized you should label each station 1, 2, 3, etc and place materials and directions at each station prior to students arriving. (For teachers that travel classrooms this is not always possible so do the best you can to organize your materials beforehand.) Be sure to cue up videos as well. This will save time and classroom management issues.

Dividing students into groups/teams/families is my preferred way of organizing students for the station rotation. Many teachers allow for self-selection. Here’s why I choose to put them in groups myself.

Teacher created groups allow for:

1. an even number of students per group.2. no one to be left out and feeling awkward3. equal distribution for the variety of personalities found in every classroom

Presenting an overview of each station at the beginning of class will help with many things:

1. The teacher can introduce the concept of station rotation as well as the goals for the lesson.

2. All students get to preview the directions and expectations of each station.3. All students have the opportunity to ask questions.

Engaging students for approximately 10 minutes per station is ideal for the station rotation model. The amount of time at each station depends on a number of factors listed below. A six to seven station rotation for me takes two class periods.

1. Length of class period. 2. Length of the learning activity at each station. Ten to twelve minutes is a

solid amount of time to focus for most students.3. How well it fits into your curriculum. You may want more time depending on

the importance you place the content and skills in the curriculum.