Our Daily 5 updates.

Wow, I’m terrible at keeping up with this blog.  Sorry friends.  It seems that writing posts has fallen to the bottom of my priority list, but I tell myself that that’s okay.  After all, actually teaching my kiddies is what I should put first, right?  

Anyway, we’ve had bunches going on lately.  Like most of you, we will be celebrating the 100^th day of school soon (February 6^th), and Valentine’s Day not long after.  One year, thanks to snow days, those two events fell on the same day.  OHMY was that an exhausting one.  I think we’re safe from that this year!  I'm excited to share our celebration pictures soon!

What I’d really like to share is a Daily 5 update.  This is the first year I’ve done the Daily 5 in my classroom, and I can’t imagine life without it.  It really is so much more relaxed than my past experience with centers, AND the kids are doing much more authentic reading and writing!  We look forward to our three rounds each day.

We’ve recently added two super fun things into our Daily 5 time.  First, I have started allowing 2 kids to work at the Smart Board on ABC Ya.  This is one of my favorite websites for educational games and activities.  During Daily 5, it qualifies as word work, and it's definitely a favorite right now!  (Below, A and A are using magnet letters.)  I was worried that having this going on would distract others in the classroom, but so far it hasn’t been a problem.

 

 Another new Daily 5 addition is our WhisperPhones!  Our principal purchased these for all classes after a recent literacy workshop we attended.  They’re fantastic!  The kids totally get into them during Read to Self.  (If you don’t have the funds to purchase the fancy kind, homemade whisper phones can be made from PVC pipe for cheap!)

 

 

Finally, here’s our biggest update:  Last week, the kids had their very first day of total choice!  They were absolutely pumped!  I made a very big deal of this occasion, telling them how responsible students must be to have total choice.  A small part of me was nervous about giving up control (until now, we've all done the same Daily at the same time), but I'm pretty happy with how it is going.  My rule is that they must Read to Self at least one round each day, but otherwise, they are free to choose between Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Word Work, and Listen to Reading.

We use both of these amazing checklists (mine on top, theirs on bottom) to organize our rounds:

 

(I downloaded both of these freebies from TpT at the beginning of the year but was unable to find their links now!  It one is your product, please help me credit it)!

They love it. I love it. Hooray for Daily 5!!

Catching Up... And a Freebie!

Wow, these past few weeks have been SO busy!  Each time I think of a post I’d like to write, I spend my evening with a school to-do list instead!  The changes in my classroom and curriculum this year sure have required some extra time and effort, but I must say, I am beyond happy with them all!

I already raved about our initial Daily 5 launch, but I feel like I must continue!! My firsties have now built stamina with Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Word Work (in that order), and I am just so, so thrilled with this program.  Comparing these kiddos to past groups who did not do Daily 5, they are much more independent in reading and writing and more willing to read and write, with a calmer atmosphere all around.  For example, we have a writing workshop time separately, during which we focus on Common Core writing genres.  I taught Narrative the last few weeks, the same way I always have, and this time around I was so pleased with what the kids did independently!  Without waiting at my side for spelling help!  Without whining that they didn’t know what to write!  Without turning in work that was obviously done with little effort!  Writing time is quiet and focused…I don’t know how to act!  I am so excited to see how much we will accomplish this year!

Speaking of writing, we began our writing workshop this year by creating our Heart Maps.  Heart Maps showcase what’s in a student’s heart – all the most important things!  Students use these any time in the year when they need writing inspiration.  They turned out so cute!  Here is mine:

Click here to get my Heart Map download.

 Another new addition this year is Math Workstations, inspired by Debbie Diller.  We haven’t completely launched these yet.  We have learned 8 or 10 math games and talked about workstation expectations with an I-Chart (inspired by Daily 5!).  The plan is to put workstations into action this coming week….stay tuned!

One last new addition, definitely needed this year…and a freebie for you!  I could tell from day one that I had two boys who were going to test me with bathroom visits.  We’re talking asking every 20 minutes, all day long.  With the little ones, it’s always hard to tell whether they actually have to go or just want to roam the halls, but I knew we’d have to do something to help them go less frequently.  So, I created Restroom Passes for them - 4 cards for each boy, labeled with their name, 2 for morning and 2 for afternoon.  I laminated the cards and put them in their desk pockets (also used for our Reminder Cards and Positive Point cards).  The boys know that they get these 4 chances each day, and otherwise may not go to the restroom (unless it is a REAL emergency).  We’ve been using the cards for about a week, and they immediately helped!  If you’re having a similar problem, I hope these cards will be useful for you!  

Click here to download the Restroom Passes.

That’s all for now!  Week 5 begins tomorrow… Have a happy Monday friends! :)

Hooray for Daily 5!

We launched our Daily 5 lessons today!!  If you’re not familiar with Daily 5, it is a literacy framework by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  Not a curriculum, more of a schedule.  The Daily 5 activities are Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, and Work on Writing.  In my experience thus far (only 7 days into the school year, but still), the Daily 5 is AMAZING!  I’m so excited that our district Curriculum Director is on board with grades K – 5 adopting it.  When I read about the Daily 5 on fellow teachers’ blogs and then saw the awesome resources that were being created on TpT, I knew this was what I needed!  I was ready for a change from my not-so-effective center routine the last few years.  I read the Sisters’ books, attended a workshop over the summer, pow-wowed with my colleagues about the day-by-day plan for our firsties, and I was ready! 

Get the book here!

Yet, after meeting my class the first day of school, I have to admit I was a bit worried.  The Daily 5 operates in a way that the kids work completely independently in rounds of reading, writing, and word work.  Well, it seems that I have a group of EXTRA-social little ones this year, and I had begun to have visions of Daily 5 rounds full of me yelling out “Quiet, boy and girls!” and “Please do your job!”  Nevertheless, I went into the first lesson with a clear plan, wanting so much to make this successful for my class.

And, TA-DA!  I was SO pleasantly surprised by the turn-out of our first Read to Self lesson!  You know how sometimes, no matter how well you prepare for a lesson, the actual delivery of it just doesn’t turn on well, whether it’s because of you, the kids, or because of some other factor (1 of 250 different things that can interrupt the flow of your schedule)?  Well, not to toot my own horn, but I totally ROCKED this Read to Self intro!   I remembered to hit all the important concepts at the right times.  We made a fabulous I-Chart, and we discussed the 3 ways to read a book (read the pictures, read the words, retell the story).  We did inappropriate and appropriate models of Read to Self behaviors, with the kids being actors and actresses.   And then I released the kids for their first practice, with a goal of 3 minutes of Read to Self time.   

The I-Chart we created on our Smart Board

After about a minute and a half, one of the kids called out to a friend to share something from her book, and I immediately called the class back to re-group.  After “checking in” with the kids and rereading our I-Chart, I sent them back out to try again, with a goal of 2 minutes this time.  And not only did they do wonderfully, they RAVED about it!  They loved it!  They wanted to do more of it!  They were “right in the middle of something and didn’t want to stop reading!!”  Music to any teacher’s ears. J 

Reflecting, I am glad we had to stop and re-group in that first lesson.  It set a precedent for the kids and demonstrated how important the I-Chart behaviors are.   And, I’m so proud of them for what came next.  I think back to Independent Reading time in my classroom last year (10 minutes each day) and realize what a huge difference these lessons make.  This group was more focused reading independently on the second day of school than my last year’s group was in May or June!  We will build our Read to Self stamina tomorrow!  Hooray for Daily 5! J