Thursday, June 21, 2012

Daily 5 Chapter 2

I am such a fan of Daily 5.  Now that my room is finally packed up, I think I can fully join into this book club!  


Here are some thoughts on chapter 2:
Chapter goes through the foundational principles of Daily 5-trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina

TRUST:
I think one of the decisions to be made is the line between what student managed and teacher managed.  What am I willing to allow students to make decisions about so that I free and able to trust that students have learned and are able to be independently on task.  As I think back on the year, I realize that trust doesn't start, all at once, in September.  It is built bit by bit throughout the year, but I have to remember to start small and help students create it.

In my room, at the beginning of the year until about December, students sign up each day for their Daily 5 choices.  Sign up, do the session, return to carpet, review, sign up again, repeat.  When we return from break, we try out just getting started on session 1.  After time is up, I ring a bell and students switch to session 2, with just a few reminders and get started.

CHOICE:
Not being given a choice for a task, often deters me from any kind of motivation to the task.  The same is true for kids.  Structure is so important, but for the structure to work choice holds it together.  Students have choices for how they will use their reading time, as well as what they want to read within that time.  For book changing, I assign small groups a day of the week.  On their day, they can trade out their books.  How do you allow for book choice?
COMMUNITY:
I believe this is the most important influence over a classroom.  Having shared reading experiences allows students to connect using books.    Then they can share books with each other as they learn and make connections with each other.  I love when one of my students finish a book and have to immediately give it to a friend.  (This requires a lot of trust on my part...new books are on book change day...is the book just right for both people....I can let it go in the effort of community.)

One way I can help with the community creating is by using students for posters and anchor charts.
Anchor charts always have the name or initials of the person who contributed their thinking.
Books are as Precious as Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament Chart
Chickadee Schema

Chart of where we read outside of school.




















SENSE OF URGENCY:
I think this is the one I struggle with, maybe it is the word urgency.  Urgency makes me think of hurrying or an emergency.  Students should get started with a sense of urgency, but then after that I want them to have a sense of importantcy   (yes I did just make up that word) about reading.  I can't tell them enough times how important reading is, I want to foster that within them, so they realize it is important (and FUN!)  Still thinking about how to go about this.

STAMINA:
This I love.  Kids love the word stamina...they think it is a big people word:-)  Every fall, we have a jog-a-thon fundraiser and we talk about running stamina for the jog-a-thon right along with reading stamina.  It really helps kids have a bridge for making meaning of stamina.  Then we practice.  At my school the 1st grade teachers, also use Daily 5, so they come to me in 2nd with a stamina started, we just have to practice reviewing and using their reading stamina muscles.

For more thoughts on chapter 2 of The Daily 5 check out, Teaching With Style.
Happy Thursday,
 

9 comments:

  1. Loved your post Laurie! I pulled out my little notebook to jot down some of your ideas!! I love that you assign them a day to choose books!! This was something that drove me crazy this year! I like the pictures of students doing the work as well. After I read the Daily 5 and added students names to ideas on the anchor charts they were so proud and much more inclined to model the right behaviors:) Thank you for your thoughts and ideas.

    Aloha,
    Corinna
    Surfin' Through Second

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  2. I love your post. I wanted to do this book study, but I can't find the book! Maybe it is on my bedside table, or under a rock somewhere! I'm going to study all your posts and take notes. Trust is hard for me in the beginning of the year because I haven't earned it or they haven't. I always wonder are they really reading...By the end of the year I know they are!
    Jenny

    Owl Things First

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    1. I lose this book more than any other. I think it is because the front is so colorful, so when I look at book spines I am looking for color, but it is a white spined book:-)

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  3. Great post and food for my thoughts! I especially liked giving the kids a trade opportunity, but I was curious, the kids that can trade on one given day, trade within that group only right?

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    1. On their given day, they trade with the classroom library...all kinds of choices. Some of swap all their books and some swap just the ones they are finished with.

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  4. Next year will be my first year STARTING off with Daily 5. I got into it a bit here at the end of this year. We did not have word work this year- it took a back burner to some guided reading mandates, so it's something I'll be working on this summer.

    Initially, I assigned kids rotations, but then after reading the book, I restarted and went ahead like it was day one writing up the expectations- we just didn't build stamina- and I have to say, offering them the choice of what to do and when resolved so many behavior issues. My kids chose between read to self/buddy reading, writing by yourself/buddy writing, retelling station, listening station, computer station. The last three only being allowed once a day but the first set as many times as they wanted. I never had a board for them to sign up on, I just told them to pick. I'm not sure what I'll do next year. I'm wondering if it's a necessary part of the process or not?

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    1. I didn't use a board. I just had a paper checklist, with all the days of the week. We went alphabetically through the class, and they would say, RS, RP, WW, or W (read to self, read to partner, word work, or writing) while I recorded what their choice was. The whole process (once they remembered who they were after alphabetically) took under 2 minutes.

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  5. Oh!! I love this! I am so pinning it so I do not forget to revisit this. I forgot that the book study was starting all ready with all of the other things going on in my head. I may have to opt out for now and follow up after exams.

    Misty
    Think, Wonder, & Teach

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    1. I just joined in....last week I was still with students so skimmed through the first chapter.

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