If you have been following me for a while then you know how much I love Daily 5. I have been doing Daily 5 full force for 3 years now and I would NEVER give it up….EVER. My blogging friends and I did a Daily 5 book study a few summers ago…you can check out all those posts HERE.
Before I start talking about the 2nd Edition of Daily 5 for this book study, I want to introduce you to some freebies if you were not a follower during our first book study. Click on each picture to grab your freebies.
My Freebielicious BFF’s and I will be blogging about each Daily 5 chapter every Friday until we are through the 2nd edition. This first post on the first two chapters will be short and sweet.Â
Let me just say that this book is also an easy read. They are real teachers directly from a classroom and they “get it”. The Sisters really have the best basis for all their research…a classroom. They get that we have “barometer children” in each and every classroom. They stated that these children dictate the weather in your classroom…I love it! Isn’t this the truth?!?!? This is what kills me when I hear from other teachers that it didn’t work because of the group of kids they have. No excuse. If you do it, do it right & are consistent, it will work. You will have a classroom community full of enthusiastic little learners who are engaged in meaningful activities completely independently. The atmosphere of my classroom has changed since implementing Daily 5. My scores have increased as well as my love of teaching. True story.Â
Daily 5 is a “framework” that you teach just like you teach anything else in your classroom. You have to teach them the procedures for the restroom, pencil sharpening, getting a drink, going to their locker, etc. until it becomes a habit. You are teaching them how to be independent, while being engaged in meaningful work for extended periods of time. Genius.Â
When I think about my classroom just 4 years ago, I get the chills. You would walk in and see my students in their desks with the occasional movement break. I would have them read our basal reader to death! How boring! O-M-G. I can’t believe I did that for so many years. At least I have always promoted AR in my classroom. That is the only fresh reads they would get for goodness sake!Â
I do not use a reading series in my classroom. I follow the scope and sequence that the other first grade teachers do but I do a mixture of 1st and 2nd grade material since I teach high ability students. If I didn’t, I would probably use the basal but I would definitely pick and choose.Â
One thing about Daily 5 that I personally love is CHOICE. I know I do not like anyone telling me what to do. I would rather have a choice. The motivation increases when you give your students a choice. I truly believe in that part of Daily 5 and I don’t plan to ever take that part out. We are putting them in charge of their own learning and holding them accountable.
While you are teaching your students your routines and procedures you can also teach them your expectations during Daily 5. Why not do it from the beginning with everything else? Set the bar high and make no exceptions. Deal with the “barometer students” individually and sometimes they will be the example of what not to do.Â
The structure in the 2nd edition has changed. The Sisters suggest that you build up the stamina of all 5 choices at once. I personally introduce “Read to Self” on the very first day of school. I like my students to be introduced to our classroom library immediately so I can see what books they chose. Then, I check on them individually to see if they can actually read what they chose. I will get into that later. I would suggest starting out with a 3 minute goal for each and increase or decrease as needed. The next station I introduce completely depends on the type of class I have. This year, I introduced “Read to Someone” right after “Read to Self”. It worked and they were engaged. The 3rd station I introduced was “Listen to Reading”. I do not have Ipads but I do have a wireless listening center. They did choose this often in the beginning but towards the end they had no interest. I introduced “Word Work” and “Work on Writing” within the same week. By 3-4 weeks into school we had built up our stamina in each station.Â
Speaking of stamina……………..
I use the following necklaces during the time when we are building our stamina. Once we get into each station I always choose one boy (stamina king) and one girl (stamina queen) who are demonstrating perfect stamina the entire time. Of course, my goal is to have each child get to wear one of the stamina necklaces, especially the “barometer children”. If they get this necklace, they also get a BIG FUZZY which is a BIG DEAL.Â
Did it go perfectly each day??? No, not at all. When the stamina is broken, then address it. I am going to be honest. I usually do not have them go back to their desk. I have them “freeze” while we have a discussion on what went wrong. If it’s the 2nd time stamina was broken, then we go back to our desk. If the stamina is broken by the same person or group then we do discuss what happened as a class and what we will do differently the next day. Just like any routine and procedure you teach you address concerns when something goes wrong. When you have a child hopping like a bunny down the hall, you address it, right? Same thing.Â
By the 4th week all my procedures and routines are habits for all my students. So is Daily 5. After you have built your stamina in each and are running 5 stations, the Sisters suggest to drop off one station. Now the students will be participating in 4 rounds with 5 choices available to them. Once you are stopping a round due to time constraints and NOT broken stamina, then drop off another round. So now there are 3 rounds with 5 choices.Â
We are about 8-12 weeks in now…………
There is a graph that is included in the book. “Read to Self” and “Work on Writing” which are both in bold and have to be chosen daily…non negotiable. There is still choice as to which one they go to first. I typically do 3 rounds of Daily 5/day. I will get more into my 90 minute literacy block schedule later on in the book study. At this time I would have my students fill in the following chart daily and they are also choosing on our Daily 5 chart above. Both charts can be found by clicking on the picture below.
Chapter 2 goes into details about the core beliefs which are trust and respect, community, choice, accountability, brain research, transitions as brain and body breaks, and 10 steps to Independence. I will be focusing on community for this post.
I have always spent a great deal of time establishing and creating a sense of community in my classroom. This begins the second my new students walk through my classroom door. We quickly become a family and gain trust and respect for each other. A classroom environment that has a sense of community provides the students with ownership immediately. My students work with me and each other to make our classroom run smoothly day to day. I do things such as warm fuzzies, intrinsic reward coupons, classroom jobs, positive student recognition necklaces and bucket filling every single day. I created characters for my Positive Classroom Management Ebook that we refer to often as we are building and establishing our classroom community. It’s a natural fit with Daily 5.
To me, the Daily 5 fits into my positive classroom environment perfectly. Since using the Daily 5 model, I have noticed an increase in opportunities throughout our Daily 5 block to encourage and support each other to reach our classroom goals. We hold each other accountable for our behavior and learning goals each and every day. They are helping me with classroom management and don’t even know it! I love it!Â
If you are a blogger and would like to link up, please grab the Daily 5 buttons above and link up! Don’t forget to follow me on TPT because I am already working on even more Daily 5 FREEBIES!
Here is a snippet of my Daily 5 Pinterest board which you NEED to follow.
Follow Melissa’s board Daily 5 on Pinterest.
Here is a snippet of our Daily 5 Book Study Pinterest board which will lead you to all the posts from several years ago as well.
This post made me absolutely giddy! As soon as I saw the title I couldn't wait to read what you had to say! I also started Daily 5 3 years ago and it has changed my teaching life forever, and for the better! As I read your reactions to starting D5 I was saying "me too!", "oh I think so too!". I'm starting the Second Edition this weekend and will be linking up. Thanks so much for getting this started, I look forward to your future posts!
Learning with Mrs. Langley
Great post! I actually did the last book study and that is when I got brave enough to try Daily 5! Love it and also would never go back! Thanks for putting all these freebies together in one place.
Crystal
Thank you for sharing! I adopted the daily 5, four years ago and my classroom and learners are so much better because of it. I love the second edition and look forward to all your posts!
I love the freebies, Mel!
Jennifer
First Grade Blue SKies
Love the chart where they can color as they do! Thanks
Linda
I've being doing Daily 5 for the last 3 years too! I just got my hands on the second edition a few days ago, and am almost finished with it! Then, I happened to stumble upon your blog series on the second edition book study! I can't wait to read the rest of you (and your blogger friends') posts about the second edition! I'm definitely loving it so far!
Theresa @ True Life I'm a Teacher!
This past year was my first teaching and I have just started reading the Daily 5 book after reading the CAFE book and I am planning on putting this whole system into play in my room this coming year. Excited to follow your book study and the freebies are just what I am needing to get everything started. Thanks!
I love the stamina necklace idea! I started D5 on day one this year too. I think it pays off to start right away so it's an established routine/expectation from day one.
KaSandra
MemoriesMadeinFirst
Hi, I just bought your Ebook tonight and devoured it. I also was all over your blog looking at everything, but especially the warm fuzzies and behavior management stuff. One question before I buy stock in pom-poms – When kids earn or lose a fuzzy do they have to get out of their seat to get it/give it? Do you explicitly hand them out so kids stay in seat or is this a student's job? We do a lot of group work sitting at a carpet and I'm just trying to figure out how to incorporate the fuzzies! I had a terrible year of kids blurting out and being all over the room so I would like to try and be FIRM with this but first I need it all figured out so I'm not caught off guard. THANKS!
I have a question about your clip chart…first off, I LOVE it. But how do you use it in the classroom? Do the kids get to pick where to go and then move their clip for each rotation? Do you regulate how many kids are at a choice at a time?
Sarah
teachingiscolorful.blogspot.com
scoatoam@gmail.com
Getting started with Daily 5 for this next year. What do you do about the child who never finishes any of the work in his/her choice?
Getting started with Daily 5 for this next year. What do you do about the child who never finishes any of the work in his/her choice?
Thanks for the freebies!! I'm moving from 6th to 1st so I need all that I can possibly get. 🙂
Shannon
http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com
With this edition students have almost brought around the efficient guides and these will further lead them towards the better understanding of the certain prospects. professional typing services