What is Daily 5?

Over the next few weeks, I hope to familiarize you with some of our first grade curriculum/programs.

It won’t be long until you hear your child talk about the Daily 5.  So, what is the Daily 5?  It is a way of structuring the reading block so that every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks.  The research based tasks are ones that will have the big impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as foster children who love to read and write.  Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write while I instruct individuals or small groups of students. It allows me to reach every reader and writer, no matter what the level. 

There are five parts to Daily 5.

1)Read to Self 
2)Read to Someone
3)Work on Writing
4)Word Work
5)Listen to Reading 

This program will help me learn about your child’s greatest strengths and needs as a reader which will help me plan for his/her individual instruction.  One thing you might notice is a decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home.  Instead your child will be taught how to select “Just Right Books” for reading.  By reading books that are “Just Right” for your child, he/she will be able to read it more fluently and comprehend the book that they are reading.  Your child will be spending  time reading, which research supports as the #1 way to improve reading.  I anticipate the Daily 5  along with other reading instruction will motivate and improve your child’s reading.  I am excited about implementing this  reading program and giving your child the opportunity to grow as a reader this year. 

A book can take you on an amazing journey without even leaving your house! 

Tags: curriculum, daily 5

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What is Daily 5?

It won’t be long until you hear your child talk about the Daily 5.  So, what is the Daily 5?  It is a way of structuring the reading block so that every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks.  The research based tasks are ones that will have the big impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as foster children who love to read and write.  Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write while I instruct individuals or small groups of students. It allows me to reach every reader and writer, no matter what the level. 

There are five parts to Daily 5.

1)Read to Self 
2)Read to Someone
3)Work on Writing
4)Word Work
5)Listen to Reading 

This program will help me learn about your child’s greatest strengths and needs as a reader which will help me plan for his/her individual instruction.  One thing you might notice is a decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home.  Instead your child will be taught how to select “Just Right Books” for reading.  By reading books that are “Just Right” for your child, he/she will be able to read it more fluently and comprehend the book that they are reading.  Your child will be spending  time reading, which research supports as the #1 way to improve reading.  I anticipate the Daily 5  along with other reading instruction will motivate and improve your child’s reading.  I am excited about implementing this  reading program and giving your child the opportunity to grow as a reader this year. 

A book can take you on an amazing journey without even leaving your house! 

Tags: curriculum, daily 5

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I Pick Good Fit Books

I said I would have a blog post up on Monday and it's now Tuesday evening Wednesday morning! I apologize for the delay!  

We have started this "thing" in our classroom called Daily 5. It is a framework for structuring literacy time so students develop lifelong habits of reading, writing, and working independently. Once this program is fully launched your child will complete each Daily 5 once per day (hence the name Daily 5 :) ) 

We have jumped head first into the first Daily 5 which is Read to Self. Within Read to Self, we have discussed the importance of picking "Good Fit Books." When doing this we use the acronym, I PICK.

Now parents, hang with me! I promise this is good stuff and will help your child be successful readers. The more you know, the more you can help them at this task! :) 

I introduced this lesson by bringing in a bag of my shoes. The kiddos loved this and found it helpful to relate good fit shoes to good fit books. Let's break down each letter now...

I : I look at each book inside and out. Just like our shoes, when we are deciding to wear them or buy them, we take a good look at them. We should do this with our books too. When we get them off of shelves or out of libraries, we should take a good look at them.

P: Purpose: Why do I want to read this book? Taking another look at my shoes, why do I want to wear this shoe? I'm going for a run so should I wear my summer wedges? Probably not. If I want to learn facts about sharks, should I read a book about a character named Ralph going to the park? Probably not!

I: Interest: Am I interested in this topic or book? I mentioned to my students, you will not find soccer shoes in my bag of shoes because I do not like soccer, but you will find my running shoes in there because I love to run. They are usually pretty dirty too because I like to run on the trail. Now parents, this might be one of the most important parts because I always want your kids to be reading books that they are interested in. If they are not interested in a book or a topic, let them put it back and pick a better fit book. Reading should be enjoyable so lets make it just that!

C: Comprehend: Can I understand and remember what I read? Parents, this is the biggest misconception when a child is reading, and especially learning to read. When a child is reading a book, they should not only be able to read the words of the book, but also understand what they read. Just because they can read most of the words on the page does not necessarily mean that they understand what they are reading. If you are overseeing them reading (which I recommend that you do), please ask them simple questions to make sure they are understanding what they read. During this part, I tried on Noelle's cute little sandal and we all decided that even though I really liked it, it was NOT a good fit for me! 

**Side note: Many of my students checked out Magic Tree House books from the library this week. These books are probably not good fit books for most students at this point in their reading development. However, I know they are very fun books to read as a family!! 

K: Know: Do I know most of the words? We want books to be challenging enough to push students. We want them to know most of the words but not fly through every page! This will help them grow as independent readers. 

I know this blog post was extremely long but I hope you found it very helpful as it is filled with useful information. As always, please let me know if you have any additional questions! Your support is greatly appreciated! 

Here are a few fun pictures of your kiddos practicing Read to Self around the room! 

Tags: daily 5, information release, read to self

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