1. Choose a Monthly Topic Based on the Season or Time of Year
Action Step: Start by selecting a theme that ties into what’s currently happening in your students’ lives. Think about what’s relevant, whether it’s football season in September, spooky vibes in October, or gratitude for Thanksgiving in November.
Example: In September, a football-themed unit taps into students’ excitement for sports, even if they’re not hardcore fans. Use that overarching topic to choose reading materials that span genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry).
2. Select Thematic Reading Selections for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry
Action Step: Once you have a theme, find or create reading selections that align with it. Look for passages that highlight the same mood or topic across genres.
Example: For a spooky October theme, choose a suspense-filled short story, a nonfiction piece on haunted locations, and a poem rich with eerie imagery.
3. Stick to Four Core Station Tasks for Each Genre
Action Step: Design your stations around four consistent tasks—Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading Response, and Writing Response. These four core elements should remain the same month after month to save planning time and make expectations clear to students.
Example: For fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, each station will always focus on these tasks, but the passage changes. For the spooky theme, you could cover vocabulary that reinforces tone and mood, grammar focused on commas in complex sentences, and reading/writing tasks that dive into how suspense is built.
4. Use Consistent Activities for Seamless Flow and Minimal Instruction Time
Action Step: Keep the station activities similar in structure to avoid spending too much time on instructions. The key is consistency—students should know what’s expected, so time isn’t wasted.
Example: Vocabulary tasks might always focus on using context clues, while grammar stations might consistently tackle small, focused lessons, like one specific way to use commas.
5. Plan for Early Finishers and Those Who Need More Time
Action Step: Include a Student Instruction Card at each station. On one side, outline what students need to accomplish in that station. On the back, list steps for what to do if they finish early or run out of time.
Example: Early finishers might work on bonus vocabulary sentences, while those who don’t finish can take a quick note about where they left off and pick up there during the next station round.
6. Use a Timer and Manage Transitions
Action Step: Keep your station time tight and efficient with a visible countdown timer (plenty of free options are available online). For transitions, either have students physically move between stations or rotate station materials while they stay seated.
Example: Post the timer on your smartboard or project it onto a wall. When the timer hits zero, students move to their next station or pass along the materials to the next group.
7. Incorporate a Teacher Station
Action Step: Don’t forget your role! Plan to spend your station time at a “teacher station” working with small groups while students rotate through independent activities. The fewer interruptions, the better.
Example: To limit interruptions, you as the teacher should get clear on the following types of questions so you can convey the expectations to your students:
……………………………………………………………………….
NOTE: These^ tips and steps are just a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes setup of how I build out my entire set of station materials that lives inside my monthly themed station collection.
Get the entire collection of monthly middle school stations when you join Ready, Set, Stations —> Each month’s set includes a fiction, nonfiction, poetry collection so that all the activities (reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar) go together thematically!
Let me overthink stations so you don’t have to😉
INTRODUCING:
I’ll send you 12 fresh, themed station activities loaded up ready-made style each month:
✅One fiction passage + one nonfiction passage + one poem
➡️ One reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary station for EACH passage
🙋🏻♀️ That’s 3 thematically-linked passages with 4 stations per passage = 12 stations each month!
