D5: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Math Daily 3

Every year I have been teaching I have done math centers to some extent. I enjoy seeing my students in small group during math as well. I think it is important for students to receive individualized instruction in math as well as in reading. I group my students based on skill level at the beginning of each new unit or topic. This allows for constant progress monitoring and changing groups, which I love.

Math Daily 3 Structure/Overview:

*Math by Myself: kinesthetic practice

*Math Writing: writing to explain

*Math with Someone: kinesthetic practice/games

At the beginning of most units the Math D3 consists of review and practice from the prior unit. This allows students to continue to practice skills and concepts previously taught. Students with less stamina participate in 3 shorter rounds of the D3, while students with greater stamina participate in 3 longer rounds. In between each round of D3 there is instructional time. “The sisters” use the first round of instruction as explicit direct instruction, the second as guided practice, and the third for problem solving. Refer to page 127 to see specific focus lessons in the “I do, we do, you do” model.

What do you need to begin Math Daily 3:

1.    I-Charts

2.    Board to Organize Math Activity Choices

3.    Organizational Tool for Manipulatives

4.    Game Boards

5.    Dice

6.    Counters

7.    Playing Cards

8.    Tool Kits for Individual Students

9.    Math Tools by Units of Study

10.  Math Notebooks or Journals

11.  Whiteboards and Markers

Launching Math by Myself:

-Model where the materials are and how to get them

-Model how to play the game or do the activity

-Place the title of the game/activity on the choice board

-Go through the 10 Steps of Independence

-Create an I-Chart and Hang in the Classroom

-Go through the 10 Steps of Independence with other student behaviors: Get Started Right Away, Build Math Stamina, and Work Quietly (add to I-Chart)

-Repeat the process with any new game or activity

Launching Math Writing:

-Launch after students have built stamina in Math by Myself

-Go through the 10 Steps of Independence with the first couple student behaviors: Stay in one spot, Work math writing the whole time, Get started right away, Build math stamina, Work quietly

-Include each of the behaviors on the I-Chart

-Hang I-Chart in the Classroom

-Once students have built stamina allow choice between Math by Myself and Math Writing

Launch Math with Someone:

-Foundation Lesson: How to Choose a Partner

-Teach the activity or game

-Go through the 10 Steps of Independence

-I-Chart with behaviors: Set up materials quickly and quietly, Stay in one spot, Work on math the whole time, Put materials away in the correct spot, quickly and quietly, Get started right away, Build math stamina, and Work quietly.

-Once students have built stamina allow choice between all three of the D3

I really enjoyed reading this chapter. I have heard about bits and pieces of the Math Daily 3, but to hear it from “the sisters” themselves was perfect! I can totally see how this will fit into my classroom for next year. I liked that they used the “I do, we do, you do” model, because that is something I use in my classroom as well, especially in math. Last year my math centers were for an hour and we rotated every 15 minutes. I want to try “the sisters” way next year. I think providing short bursts of instruction and then doing a rotation will benefit my students. I can’t wait to read the last chapter in the book!

Happy Summer Reading! 

Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 7

What happened to me finishing the D5 Second Edition about a month ago...LOTS of things. It has been a crazy, but good month. I can't wait to share all the exciting things happening! 

Back to the Daily 5!!

Chapter 7: When to Launch the Next Daily 5

“The sisters” suggest launching the next component of the D5 after students have built stamina for a certain number of minutes. For 2^nd grade it is between 10-12 minutes. Again the reader is reminded that every class is different. This could take four days for some classes or thirteen days for others. I really enjoy how “the sisters” intertwine this idea throughout the book.

Launching Work on Writing

Work on Writing and Writers Workshop are not the same thing. I talked about this a little in my last post. Many times during Writers Workshop my students were working on a specific piece of writing or practicing something I taught in a mini lesson. I allow my students to continue working on these pieces of writing during Work on Writing. “The sisters” suggest allowing them to have more freedom with what they choose to write. I think I will continue to ask my students to write, edit, and publish pieces from Writers Workshop during Work on Writing. This will eliminate them working on several pieces of writing and trying to keep everything straight. I like to have similar expectations for both. “The sisters” walk you through the same steps they did during Read to Self. I flagged some of the language and questions they ask their students. Again my favorite is having students rate themselves and set a goal for the next round.

Introducing Choice

While I was reading this section I was nodding my head saying to myself “I can do this.” I shared previously that I didn’t use the choice piece in my classroom last year. This is something I want to try and implement in my classroom next year. “The sisters” teach a lesson about choice, allowing students to choose between Read to Self and Work on Writing. I like the idea of only allowing them to choose between two components first instead of all five. Starting with only two choices can be a less daunting task for the students and the teacher.

Check-In

*Take a poll of what students will be doing during that round of the D5

*Use a conference sheet to keep track of who is doing what

*Call names of students who will be at small group before allowing them to choose component of the D5

*Students share their choice and goal with the class

*Few different options for dismissing the class to begin D5

Read to Someone

“The sisters” shared that many teachers have a hard time with Read to Someone. I did last year with my class and was hoping that spending extra time building stamina and focusing on the foundations lessons will help. Those were the same suggestions “the sisters” had in this section of the chapter. They also suggest introducing Read to Someone last because it had the most foundation lessons. I think I am going to try these suggestions next year with my class and hope Read to Someone goes a little smoother.

Listen to Reading/Word Work

*Students assigned as tech support

*Very little need to build stamina (I AGREE!)

While I was reading this chapter I was thinking how “the sisters” introduce a new component of the D5 while also allowing students to choose between Read to Self and Work on Writing. The last page of the chapter cleared everything up. One rotation the students choose between Read to Self and Work on Writing. Before the second rotation the teacher introduces a new component with I-Chart and the 10 Steps to Independence. The students practice that component and then the last rotation they choose between Read to Self or Work on Writing. Here is a better visual:

Rotation 1: Read to Self or Work on Writing

Rotation 2: Whole Group Practice on New Component

Rotation 3: Read to Self or Work on Writing

Happy Monday! Happy reading! 

Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 6

I am a little behind on my reading. I hope to have the book completed by the end of the week, but we will see! Chapter 6 was a short and quick reading. There wasn't too much new information about the Daily 5 in this chapter.

Chapter 6: Foundation Lessons

The chapter starts off by talking about what a foundation lesson is. I like that “the sisters” reminded the reader that your students will be the ones who influence your decisions about the foundation lessons. Everything we do in the classroom comes down to our students and what we need to do as a teacher to help them be successful. This was a great little reminder from “the sisters.”

The next sections of the chapter talk about the foundation lessons in each. I am not going to go over each of the lessons because they are pretty self-explanatory. I will share any insight or new ideas I found while reading each section instead.

             Read-to-Self Foundation Lessons

            -Three Ways to Read a Book

            -I PICK Good-Fit Books

            -Choose a Successful Spot

          Work on Writing Foundation Lessons

            -Underline Words You Don’t Know How to Spell

            -Set up a Notebook

            -Choose What to Write About

I used the Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study along with Work on Writing during Daily 5. This worked really well for my students. I would teach a mini-lesson during whole group reading time and then my students were able to practice the skills or concept during Work on Writing. I would give my students time to write after my mini-lessons, which is when I did one-on-one conferences.

              Read to Someone Foundation Lessons

            -EEKK

            -Voice Level

            -Check for Understanding

            -How Partner Read

            -How to Get Started

            -Coaching or Time

            -How to Choose a Partner

I liked in the Voice Level Foundation Lesson “the sisters” suggest using a private voice when talking with your partner instead of a soft voice. This is something I flagged to share with my class next year. Read to Someone was hard for my class last year. I followed all the foundation lessons in “the sisters” previous book, but they still seemed to get off task every time. I think one thing that will help is to spend more time building stamina and practicing each foundation lesson. I don’t think I spent enough time on the expectations during Read to Someone. This is the one area of the D5 I would really like to improve from last year. I also made sure to flag the section about coaching or time in this section! “The sisters” do a great job of modeling this for their readers.

             Listen to Reading Foundation Lessons

            -Set up and Clean up the Technology

            -Listen and Follow Along

            -Manage Fairness and Equitable use with a Limited Number of Devices

My students did Listen to Reading on the computer and I found that it was easier for me to have the website already up and ready for them each morning. This is something I did each morning before my students came in. I did teach my students what to do if the technology didn’t work or they accidentally clicked off the website. I am hoping next year to use ipods along with computers so they have several different devices to choose from.

          Word Work Foundation Lessons

            -Set up and Clean up Materials

            -Choose Materials and Words to use

            -Choose a Successful Spot

During Word Work I always gave my students two options to choose from each day. Since we only completed two round of D5 each week, I only had to change out Word Work at the end of each week. Instead of only have my students work on sight words, I wanted to incorporate phonics skills we were working on as well. Depending on how much practice my students needed with the phonics skill of the week depended on if we did sight word practice or phonics practice during Word Work. I always made sure the work they were doing was meaningful to what was being taught in my classroom.

Make sure to check out what Kim has to say for the upper grades! 

Happy Monday! I hope everyone has a GREAT week! 

Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 5

I am back to work this week from spring break and I am busy busy! I think March and April are the busy time of year in education for some reason (and the most stressful!). Tonight I am here to talk about Chapter 5 of the Second Edition of the Daily 5. 

Chapter 5: Launching Read to Self-The First Daily 5

The First Day

*Read to Self is a very powerful tool for students to gain literacy skills through, which is why "the sisters" suggest teaching it first. 

*Read to Self is launched using the 10 Steps to Independence I talked about last time. 

*At Back to School Night allow students to choose some books to put in their book boxes therefore they are all ready to begin building stamina on the first day of school. 

*There are 3 foundation lessons to teach during Read to Self; Three Ways to Read a Book, I-Pick Good Fit Books, and Choosing a Successful Spot

Three Ways to Read a Book

*"The sisters" teach this lesson on the first day of school. 

*For younger students leave out retelling for another short mini lesson later in the day. Doing all three ways will make your lesson longer than 8-10 minutes. 

*"The sisters" walk you through what the lesson looks like and sounds like. I made sure to flag this section to refer back to when I am teaching. 

*This is a perfect lesson to also allow students to practice your expectations of turning and talking to a partner to tell each other what they saw you doing while you were reading the words and reading the pictures. 

At Last- We Launch Read to Self

*Use the 10 Steps to Independence to launch Read to Self. "The sisters" hold three or four practice sessions to build stamina throughout the first day of school. I like this idea, because last year we did practice several times each day and I think it really helped my students build stamina quicker and solidify the expectations during Read to Self. 

Integrating Foundation Lessons

*What do you do when your students aren't building stamina...foundation lessons! These lessons are focused on teaching students the desired behaviors for each component of the D5. "The sisters" suggest teaching foundation lessons before launching each of the D5 choices so students can jump right in when it is time to build stamina. I am not sure if I like this idea. Last year we taught the foundation lessons while we were building stamina. I would teach the lesson about EEKK for Read to Someone and then my students would immediately apply it to Read to Someone the next round we built stamina. I am not sure if I will change to "the sisters" suggestion or not. For me it feels more nature to teach them in conjunction like I did last year. 

I-PICK Good-Fit Books 

*This is one of my favorite foundation lessons to teach with my students. "The sisters" spend a good couple of pages covering this lesson, therefore I would say it is pretty important!

*Leveling your books in your classroom library might not be the best choice because students then can't apply the I-PICK model in other situations. They only rely on having to stay in all the green tubs because that is "my level." 

*After modeling the lesson with shoes, "the sisters" model with real text for yourself to choose from. I like this idea, for my students to see me choose a good-fit book. I think modeling this process for my students would be very powerful. 

*Include the I-PICK model in family newsletters to get parents involved throughout the school year. 

*Invite other staff members to get involved in the process of finding good-fit books. The librarian is a great person to contact for help. Also ask other staff members to model the process of picking a good-fit book for your students like you did. 

*The process of finding a good-fit book takes time. One suggestion is to have a round of the D5 once a week be "shop for books." This allows students to return books and find new books for the week. It also is an extended period of time, instead of the usual 5 minutes they get at the beginning or end of the day. Students will need this extra time to truly use the I-PICK model correctly. 

*Confer with students during small group about what books they have in their boxes. This is a great way to check in with students to makes sure they are being successful with the I-PICK model. 

Adding the Other Foundation Lessons

*This section "the sisters" talk about launching Work on Writing next. The lesson they describe is similar to the beginning lessons I used in Lucy Calkin's Units of Study to launch writers workshop. I used Calkin's Units all year as my mini lessons and then during D5 my students worked on their writing pieces and practiced the skills I taught in my mini lesson. 

*"The sisters" also briefly talk about launching the other 3 choices in the D5 and what the foundation lessons are. 

I enjoyed reading this chapter but it seemed a little jumping for me. It was hard to focus on Read to Self when "the sisters" added the other components in as well. I would suggest going back and rereading the chapter in the first Daily 5 book on Read to Self too. I did get some great tips I want to try in my classroom to make Read to Self even more of a success than it was last year. I can't wait to get parents and staff members involved in the process! 

Make sure to head over to see what Kim has to say for upper grade levels!

Daily 5 Book Study Chapters 3 and 4

I have one excuse why I didn't post on Thursday about Chapter 3....the WEATHER! It was 70 degrees and sunny yesterday in Kansas therefore I was outside pretty much all day. I think I walked the dog 3 or 4 times! Since I didn't post yesterday and I said I would post tomorrow I decided to post on chapters 3 and 4 today. The hubby wants to maybe paint tomorrow so I wanted to make sure I got both posts in. 

Chapter 3: The 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence

I enjoyed reading this chapter because "the sisters" narrowed down their ideas of building stamina and setting up the D5 into 10 easy steps! Our students need to actually experience their learning physically instead of just hearing and seeing it. This will allowing students to create a lasting memory of the expectations and routines. This is definitely my philosophy as well when it comes to not only the D5 but also teaching expectations at the beginning of the year. "The sisters" 10 steps  can be used in many other instructional situations besides the D5, they are great practices to have in your tool belt as a teacher. 

Step 1: Identify what is being taught

This steps is pretty easy and self explanatory, but many times we as teachers leave it out. Identifying what is being taught will allow students to make connections to learning and improve comprehension. In the D5 this is done through making an I-Chart. 

Step 2: Set a purpose and create a sense of urgency

This steps is also done through making an I-Chart. "The sisters" also tell a great story in this section about a little girl named Jenna, make sure to be on the look out when you are reading. When you are creating a sense of urgency with your students it is helpful for them to see you excited about the learning for the day. Remember our attitudes always rub off on our students! 

Step 3: Record desired behavior on an I-chart

"The sisters" have changed this step a little...instead of having students brainstorm the ideas the teacher will record the desired behaviors and briefly explain each one. "The sisters" believe allowing students to brainstorm will make the lessons too long and therefore being unproductive. As I was reading this section I went back and forth. I understand that we want lessons to be short for our student's attention spans but I feel allowing the students to brainstorm creates a sense of ownership  within the class. I am not sure how I will handle this next year with my class quite yet. I did like that "the sisters" suggest with younger students to only list a few desired behaviors and continue to add more as the students build more stamina. (this is perfect for K students!)

Step 4: Model most-desirable behaviors 

We all know how this section goes! One take-away I got was that "the sisters" always made sure to check in with the whole class after each modeling. I made sure to flag the specific wording to use with my class next year. 

Step 5: Model least-desirable behaviors, then most-desirable behaviors again

Last year when I did this step with my students I made sure to choose a student who I knew might have problems during the D5 as we practiced building stamina. I was able to remind that student that he/she had shown the class what not to do very well, but even better he/she was able to model perfectly what to do. This was a great confidence builder for that student and something positive I could always refer back to with that child. "The sisters" model is correct, incorrect, and then correct unless you are teaching kindergarten. Showing kindergarten students the correct and incorrect expectations might confuse them, therefore only showing them the correct modeling is a better choice. 

Step 6: Place students around the room

This is a section I skipped last year with my students. We have specific places students would sit during different parts of the D5. For example; they sat at their desk for Read to Self and Work on Writing, they sat on the carpet for Read to Someone, they were on the computer for Listening to Reading, and they sat on the floor in the back of the room for Word Work. This worked pretty well, but I might try allowing students to choose where to sit next year. Now having a year of the D5 under my belt I really want to try bringing in more of the choice foundation that "the sisters" build the D5 around. I think I will be pleasantly surprised! 

Step 7: Practice and Build Stamina 

This is one of the most important parts for the D5 to be successful. I kept a class poster of the stamina we built everyday in different sections of the D5. I allowed a student to color in how much we built that day. It was a great motivator for students and a visual to remind them of their successes. Student's behavior will set the pace for building stamina each year, therefore I am not expecting my students next year to build the same amount of stamina each day as my students last year. 

Step 8: Stay out of the way

The hardest part of this section for me was the eye contact. Many of my students wanted to make eye contact with me instead of reading. One day I decided I was going to read along with them as they were building stamina. I noticed that many of my student didn't even look up from their books because they knew I was busy reading myself. Usually I would read the next section of the D5 I would be introducing in days to come during this time. 

Step 9: Use a quiet signal to bring students back to the gathering place

My students loved my quiet signal, a rain stick. I tried using something else during math centers, but then I realized I should be using the rain stick to make it consistent for my students. "The sisters" suggest using the formula "above, pause, and whisper" with your quiet signal (Boushey and Moser, pg.54). You have an above signal (the rain stick), you pause until you have your students attention, and then you whisper your directions. 

Step 10: Conduct a group check-in

I think it is always important to have a check in at the end of any independent work time students have. This allows you to revisit expectations or I-charts if needed and allows students to share any important findings/ideas while they were working independently. "The sisters" suggest having students rate how they performed today during the D5 and then set a goal for the following day. I LOVE this idea and will be doing it next year for sure! 

Chapter 4: What do you need to begin the Daily 5? 

1. Chimes or a quiet signal: I used a rain stick that I purchased at a local teacher store. 

2. Chart Rack or Interactive Whiteboard: I made sure to keep mine at our gathering place. 

3. Tools, not toys: These are for "barometer" students. I hope "the sisters" explain how they use these more in later chapters. 

4. Book boxes: I used canvas bags I got at Hobby Lobby. I ironed on numbers to each bag so I can use them again  next year. "The sisters" suggest having 700 to 750 titles of books in your classroom library for students. That made me tempted to open all my crates of books and start counting. Also consider the ratio of fiction and nonfiction in your library. 

5. A Gathering Place and Focus Lessons: My kind principal purchased everyone rugs for their gathering places. It doesn't hurt to ask! 

5. I-Charts: I keep these in a place I could always refer to them with my students. 

6. Classroom Design: "The sisters" suggest considering where you usually like to read as an adult and really thinking about where/how your students would like to read in your classroom. My building did not allow pillows, couches, etc. but I did allow my students the choice to sit at their desk or to lay on the floor. 

WOW, that was a lot of great D5 tips from "the sisters." Make sure to go check out Kim's post for the upper grades! 

If you would like to follow along with us check out the schedule below: 

Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 2

Today I am here to talk about chapter 2 of The Daily 5 Second Edition. When I first saw the title of this chapter I got super excited because I like to see where things start and lay the foundation for my students. This chapter was great and I am super excited to share my thoughts with you! P.S. I also think this chapter could be great to share at professional development about culture building in your classroom. "The sisters" really brought everything the D5 stands for home in this chapter! 

Chapter 2: Our Core Beliefs: The Foundation of the Daily 5

Trust and Respect: 

*I liked the very first quote in this section: "Meaningful learning requires respect and trust between teachers and students" (Boushey and Moser, pg. 22). I TOTALLY believe this to be true...if our students don't trust and respect us then how do you expect them to learn anything and visa versa. We have to lay this foundation at the beginning of the year and continue to build trust and respect as the year progresses. 

*When it comes to the D5 we have to understand that once we teach our students how to read and write independently we must trust their abilities. We have to trust that they will do the "right thing" during D5 and aren't doing the "wrong thing" to be mischievous. If we find students who aren't reading and writing independently we as teachers need to take time to reteach them the expectations and provide them more opportunities to build stamina. This was an "ah ha" moment for me while I was reading. I needed to remind myself that all students progress differently and some students might need more time to be successful with the D5. 

*I love the idea of checking in with students before, during, and after the D5 that might still be having trouble getting through all the rounds. This is a great way to build confidence and redirect in a nonthreatening way. 

Community: 

*While I was reading this section I found myself nodding my head A LOT! If you build a sense of community students will hold each other accountable. I found this to be true first hand in my classroom last year. When a student would get off task and before I could redirect many times another student in the class would remind them of the expectations and the I-Chart for that component of the D5. Building a sense of community also helped with the transient population I had at my school. Whenever we would get a new student (every other day it seemed!) I could pair that student up with a peer to help them through the D5. Usually after a week with each other the new student was able to participate in the D5 independently. 

Choice: 

*This section made we really think about how I want to implement the D5 next year in my classroom. Last year I did not allow my students to choose which component of the D5 they went to every day. We had a set rotation that included small group and Read to Self every day. We did four rounds a day, therefore  two rounds were small group/read to self and then the other components of the D5 made up the last two. 

*I know choice is good for students and is a great motivator for them to take ownership in their learning, but it seems like it would be a little chaotic. The more I read the more I realized and agreed that choice is such an important part of the D5 that I need to embrace it and try it next year! Any ideas on how you have organized and managed choice in your classroom with the D5? Hopefully I will get some more ideas in future chapters. 

Accountability: 

*Accountability in the D5 is a two-way street. Teachers need to hold students accountable but students should hold the teacher accountable for teaching them what the D5 looks like, sounds like, and provide them time to build stamina/practice. 

*Students should be held accountable for choosing an appropriate spot in the classroom to read, picking "good fit" books, voice level, etc. It is ok to step back and review expectations of the D5 by reviewing the I-Charts you created at the beginning of the year with your students. I found myself doing this after long weekends or holiday breaks. 

Brain Research/Transitions: 

*"The sisters" spent some time looking at brain research to determine how long their whole-group focused lessons should be (I call them mini-lessons in my classroom). The age level of your students equals the number of minutes your students should be able to stay attentive. Due to these findings the sisters have shortened their whole-group lessons. 

*In my classroom I did a whole-group lesson for 30 minutes, which included phonics/phonemic awareness and read aloud with vocabulary and comprehension. I did this all before we would go into our D5 rounds. Students would rotate after each round without me bringing them back together. At the time this worked for my students, but I would like to try how "the sisters" suggest next year. I think my students would benefit from doing one round and then coming back together for a whole group lesson. This allows students a break from the D5, therefore hopefully allowing them to stay focused throughout the whole reading block. 

*"The sisters" suggest 20 percent of the time should be spend teaching our children and 80 percent should be focused on students practicing the skill. I think this definitely fits the model of the D5. 

I really enjoyed this chapter of the book! Make sure to head over and see Kim tonight to see her take on this chapter in the upper grades. 

If you would like to follow along or link up here is when we will be posting next: 

Daily 5 Book Study Posting Guide

Happy Monday! It is happy because I am on spring break! Kim from Finding JOY in 6th Grade and I decided to team up on the Daily 5 Book Study Second Edition. I am super excited to have someone to give advice about the upper elementary grades because you all know older kids scare me! Kim and I will be posting about each chapter together from different points of view. Check out her blog here: 

Here is the schedule for when we will be posting. Please feel free to read along with us and post too! Make sure to link your blog post for each chapter so other bloggy friends can read your great ideas. 

If you would like to post about chapter 1 I have added a link-up button on my previous post. Check back tomorrow to see what Kim and I have to say about chapter 2! 

The Daily 5 Second Edition Book Study: Chapter 1

Happy Sunday everyone! It is has been forever and a half since I last wrote on my blog. I have had a hard time this year not being around students, therefore I have been trying to stay away from blogging. I am turning a new leaf and hoping to be back in the classroom next year! With my hopes up I wanted to start prepping for my future classroom...what better way to do that you ask? To catch up on some current educational reading! 

I first implemented The Daily 5 (D5) in my classroom last year and I fell in LOVE! If you would like to read about how I implemented it last year click here.

Have you all seen that "the sisters" have a new book out?! 

I pre-ordered mine through Amazon. Since it is Spring Break I decided to crack it open and begin reading. When I read any educational text I like to document my ideas, notes, and things to implement in my classroom. I usually do this in a word document that I title with the book's title therefore I can easily find it later. I knew I wanted to start blogging again therefore I thought I would document my ideas, notes, and things to implement in my hopefully future classroom here! 

Chapter 1: That Was Then, This is Now: How the Daily 5 and the CAFE have Evolved

(I liked to make bullets of ideas, hope you don't mind)

How is this book different from the first book? 

*Difference of using the D5 with older and younger students

*Read to Self is the first choice introduced, second choice is now Work of Writing (they will explore this in later chapters)

*What is needed to start the D5 in your classroom

*10 Steps to Teaching Learning Independence

*How to deal with "barometer children"

*Math Daily 3

In the Beginning/What Changed/The Daily 5 Evolved/What Sets the Daily 5 Apart

*These sections are very similar from the first book. It discusses what their reading block looked like before and now. 

*How their management evolved charts, I like these charts a lot and they are especially good for first year teachers. These are a good addition to the book. 

*I enjoyed the t-chart that separates the students and teachers behavior for the D5. This would be a great visual to share with parents or other colleagues interested in the D5. 

An Overview of the Daily 5

(here is where you will first see some new ideas emerge from "the sisters")

*Students participate in D5 during 5 rounds starting off at the beginning of the year. Students have a chance to build stamina 5 different times in one day. 

*Around eight or twelve weeks from the beginning of launching drop off one round of the D5 in order to give students more uninterrupted time to read or write. 

*Spend a few days with only 4 rounds and then drop it down to 3 rounds. Depending on the development level of your students and their stamina level will allow you to make the decision of having your student's participate in 3 rounds of D5 or 2 rounds. 

*"The sisters" included great pictures to educators to visually see what this will look like in your classroom. 

*"The sisters" also suggest students participate in Read to Self and Work on Writing everyday and choosing one of the other D5 choices for the last round. 

*I am still a little confused about how choice comes into play with only have two rounds of D5 everyday and students must participate in Read to Self and Work on Writing. I am hoping this will be cleared up in later chapters. 

How the Daily 5 and CAFE Fit Together

*The CAFE will help you build your mini lessons or focus lessons in between D5 rounds. 

*Students use the CAFE strategies to set goals that the teacher and student monitor during one-on-one conferences. 

MOST IMPORTANT QUOTE: "It is important to remember that the Daily 5 is simply a framework and does not hold any curriculum content. It is about creating instructional routines with students through focused teaching, student modeling, and practice" (Boushey and Moser, pg. 20). 

The D5 is not a curriculum, it is a structure. I think this has been one of the biggest misconceptions I have heard when I talk with colleagues about the D5. 

So far the first chapter has made me excited to read the rest of the book! When I first ordered the book I wasn't sure if there was going to be much difference, but now I realize their definitely will be. I can't wait to read about the 10 Steps to Teach Learning Independence and how only doing 3 rounds of D5 a day will look. 

Happy reading Sunday! 

Daily 5!!!

I am super excited to share with all my bloggy friends about how the Daily 5 has been going in my classroom!!! Lets start off with the basics, if you haven't read the following two books you should definitely start there:

  

These books give you a lot of great information about how to launch the CAFE and Daily 5, but the hardest part for me was how to launch them together.... you know at the same time!! I heard this was crazy, but why wouldn't you launch them together...I mean you are stopping to read in between different parts of the Daily 5, which is a perfect time to introduce a strategy from the CAFE. My second grade team and I work long hours over the summer to create a launching guide that combined the Daily 5 and the CAFE. It really helped us, because we had everything pre-planned  down to the books we would be reading!

The book talks about i-charts for each component of the Daily 5, which I think are soooo important. this really helped my kids to understand what they were suppose to be doing, along with us constantly modeling. Here is a picture of how I display my i-charts in my classroom:

I will go back and refer to these if a I have a student or group of students who don't do a part of the Daily 5 correctly that day. During their own time (aka recess) we will talk about what the i-chart says and they will practice again. I know some might think this is cruel, but it has really gotten the point across to some of my students who thought they could just slack around after the launching time was over.

A second major part of the Daily 5, is to have an interesting attention getting sound. I of course searched high and low for one and found this GREAT rain stick at US toy!

It is crazy how this gets the students attention in one turn!! I actually use it for our math rotations as well. The kids have really responded to it, so it was totally worth the 20 bucks I spent!

The next part of the Daily 5 is to have a set area for each component. I have labeled my areas, thanks to my bff making these cute labels!

This is my small group shelf, which is not a part of the Daily 5, but I do guided reading at my back table while my students are participating in the Daily 5. 

Work on writing tubs match their table colors. I have the supply person from each table go get their folders before we start Daily 5 therefore they have them on their desk already when they get to writing. 

Word work area. The students have to do the activity on the shelf on the left first. The activity on the right is from Abby's Spelling Unit. I pre-cut, copy, etc. so the kids just take a bag and they have all the supplies they need to make the project. Usually the kids really want to do this, but I have trained them that they have to do the other activity first!! 

Check out Abby's store by clicking here!

My students participate in read to someone on the carpet. I have tried to let them pick their partners, but it just didn't work out. I have therefore made a list of who they will read with each day. Under my chair I keep their checking for understanding bookmarks to practice with their partner. Since putting it all together this has been the most frustrating component  because the kids want to talk too loud. It seemed no matter how much we practiced and modeled they still are too loud when they do it on their own. I am getting a student from a local college on Monday to help out during reading and I think I know exactly where I am going to put her! ;)

My students do listening to reading on the computer. I have found it was really helpful to put the directions on how to get back on the site by our icon. Many of my students "accidentally" click the little x and then they are logged off. They know if they can't get it back on, then they have to just go back to their desk and read. 

I don't have an icon for read to self, because they do that quietly at their desks. The following is a picture of how I keep track of where everyone goes and at what time/day!

We really wanted each student to participate in small group and read to self everyday, therefore we do not let them choose where they go. We have a reading day and a writing day or a day one/day two. 

Day one: small group, read to self, listening to reading, and read to someone

Day two: small group, read to self, word work, and writing

As you can tell all but one of my groups have read to self after small group, that helps me know that they will be practicing the new guided reading book we gave them. This is also the order each group goes in, but each group starts in a different component; for example:

Day one:   

Group one: small group, read to self, listening, read to someone

Group two: read to someone, small group, read to self, listening

Group three: listening, read to someone, small group, read to self

Group four: read to self, listening, read to someone, small group 

We only have 4 rotations a day for 20 minutes each. This is what we based our stamina on, when we were building stamina each day! 

I have been truly amazed at how my students are engaged in their own reading and writing. I think Daily 5 has worked wonders at our building. One thing I think it is important to remember is that the Daily 5 and CAFE are not a curriculum, they are a tool or resource. My teammate and I plan each week what strategy from the CAFE we are going to teach along with the books. 

Here are the strategies we have taught so far or during the launching phase. Also not all reading strategies are in the CAFE. This week we will be taking about summarizing, but there isn't a specific strategy for summarizing. The following is a list of the strategies we have taught and the books we used to teach them:

Checking for Understanding: David Goes to School

Cross Checking: First Day Jitters

Tune into Interesting Words: Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words

Back up and Reread: The Teacher from the Black Lagoon

Retell a Familiar Text: David Goes to School 

Good Fit Books: In those Shoes

Monitor and Fix up: The Best Books to Read

Voracious Reading: Reading Makes you Feel Good

Prior Knowledge: Spaghetti in a Hot dog Bun 

These were all strategies we introduced during the launching phase of both the Daily 5 and the CAFE. Many times in the CAFE's launching guide it says to review all strategies  in which we would pick a book to go along with one of the stories listed above. For example we also read some of the other David books after we read David Goes to School. They were then able to relate to those books and use many of the strategies we already learned. During the launching phase are theme was centered around All about Me and then went into our Space theme in September. We found it easy to use these strategies in a variety of books, not matter what your theme for the month is. 

Click here to get your own CAFE label strategies for free!

If you want more specific word work, CAFE, and Daily 5 ideas check out my pinterest at Kelley Cirrito! 

Happy Sunday! I have parent teacher conferences this week, so only a 3 day week with the kiddos! 

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]