Daily 5 Book Study - Chapter 1

Last summer, after stalking teaching blogs, I downloaded the Daily 5 book on my Kindle. (I had to get the paper book later because not everything is in the Kindle version) I was moving grades and looking for a way to change up my literacy block.  I had been doing a creation of my own using the four blocks of reading (reading, writing, word work, and oral reading (i.e. teacher time)).  I was looking for something that had research to back it up and that made sense to me.  DAILY 5!!  I have never liked to grade papers.  I don't think that tons of worksheets is a way to spark the interest of a student to want to learn.  I wanted a way to teach students lifelong skills that increased the love of reading.  After one year, I love it.  My class was a handful but during the 2 hours of reading everything ran smoothly.  So much so, I have convinced other teachers in my building to try Daily 5 this coming year. 

Teaching With Style!  and Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations are hosting a book study on the Daily 5.  Below are the framing questions from chapter 1.  I am rereading the book this summer and tweaking my process a little.  I hope the study will give me some insight on what worked for others.

1. On pages 4-6, the authors present two different pictures of their classrooms. In thinking about and reflecting on your own practice, how would you characterize your literacy block? Does it look more like the first or second scenario, or is it somewhere in between? How will you change it?

I have worked hard this year on letting go.  I want the students to be independent in their learning.  I am still not there completely.  I still check in on my "high flyers" to often.  Maybe I need to work on procedures a little more this year to make sure everyone has the process down. 

2. The typical teacher is very busy having students do lots of different activities. How is what you are having students do now in your classroom creating quality readers and writers?

In the past, I have had my students doing lots of worksheets and file folder like games.  I was frustrated with the process because I couldn't check the work quickly to make sure the practice was correct practice.  Pieces of the games would be lost making the whole thing useless.  Plus the added feature of someone coming to tell me that a piece was missing and interrupting my small group :).  Now I know what the students are doing is meaningful real reading and writing, during share time and conferences I get to hear their progress, and my small groups run much smoother.


3. What sets the Daily 5 structure apart from what you are doing in your classroom?

Moving to Daily 5 from my previous structure was smooth.  I was already using centers with a direct teaching element.  What changed?  I broke my direct teaching into smaller pieces.  Instead of a 40 minute lecture, I now do 10 minute mini lessons 4 times.  I model the behaviors over and over instead of just once.  I give students a choice in their activities, before I made that decision.