Part 2: The Daily Five In Action

• Chapter 4: Read to Self
• Chapter 5: Read to Someone and Listen to Reading
• Chapter 6: Work on Writing and Word Work
• Chapter 7: Putting It all Together and Troubleshooting

When I began using the Daily 5 in my classroom, I was surprised at how much stamia my children already had.  We begin working on read to self.  Within in a few practices they could stay on task for 12 minutes.  So I begin to alternate between read to self and read with a someone.  Yes, I did use the EEKK story about the spider!  My students know what sitting EEKK means and are very good with it.  Within a few more days they were up to 18 minutes on both and working on writing.  I found the easiest one to introduce was listen to reading.  However, it has it's own headaches.  I allow my students to work on a computer or to choose a book on tape.  I had to buy tape players and find the books on tape.  Since, I have learned others are just using a listening center.  I could have saved some money!!!  I also rotate my reading groups around.  I don't let them choose where they are going when.  The way the book told, I was afaid I would waste too much reading time with my wonderful students.  (A.O.)

These are Laura Beth Smith's notes.

Ch4-7 Daily Five.doc

 4. "Read to Self" is difficult for many special needs students. They are easily distracted and often have a "failure" complex. Gradually building their stamina not only increases the amount of time they are able to "read to self", but also increases their self-esteem. The "good-fit" book really helps in this process. (KAD)

5. Special needs students really enjoy "Read to Someone" and "Listen to Reading". This is their time to SHINE! They are becoming better readers while having fun! EEKK helps both students to share the book, so there is no "book hog". (KAD)

6. I love the idea that students are spending time on writing about what really matters to them. Once again, choice enables them to have some control in their lives and puts them in charge of their learning. (KAD)

7. Modeling the correct and incorrect behaviors is a great way to help students get the attention they crave, in a positive way! The practice and check-in is terrific for students who are often off-task. Reconvening to the "gathering place", before the allotted time, (when a student is off-task), does not interrupt the reading process to deal with discipline, etc. Rather, it gives the off-task child an opportunity to refocus while the entire class reflects on how the session went. (KAD)

4.  Read to self is the students responsibility.  I must make sure that it is modeled and practiced in the library to reinforce what the teachers are doing in the classrooms.  An activity fails because there wasn't enough modeling.  The first couple of weeks, it will be model, model, model.  (SAM)

5.  You need a reason to listen.  I think the concept of checking for understanding is something we have to reinforce -- stop at the end of every page or so to try to remember who you are reading about and what is happening.  I like the phrase "Read along with our eyes and ears."  How many times have we said, "Follow along."  We take for granted they know what that means.  I think choosing a partner will take some time to do correctly.  Students will always try to choose their best friends.  Also, how to let students know you need a partner will be difficult for some students.  (SAM)

6.  The Daily Five gives the students a chance to practice writing of their own choice.  I think the most important concepts in this chapter were:  1.)  Think or plan before you write  2.)  Underline words you don't know how spell and 3.)  Write the whole time.  (SAM)

7.  Students are in control of their own schedule.  "Independence is synonymous with accountability."  The questions in Chapter 7 are some of the questions that I was thinking about.  (SAM)

A lot of information has been given to us in this book.  To really follow and do this information correctly, we will need individual copies to review what we have read.  The information in this books needs to be reviewed constatnly.  I would suggest those teachers who are planning to follow the ideas in this book be given copies that they can reread and also make notes in the margins.  (SAM)

The Daily 5 was chock full of ideas and scheduling tips that will certainly help make reading instruction in the classroom more effective. I like that teachers can modify and adapt the ideas to incorporate into their own classrooms’ reading schedules and atmospheres. I spent a few weeks at the beginning of this year working on getting my reading schedule to work for our room so I appreciate the scheduling tips.   Having just read the book, I haven’t had time to implement the ideas and charts that they suggest and I wish we had more time this year to implement them into our independent reading work. We have created a seamless reading operation in our classroom where students know what they are expected to do but I think my students would enjoy each of the 5 areas and the responsibility of choosing the areas. Two of my favorite ideas are the suggested time frame for adding each area and the idea of building reading stamina. That’s a great way to present it to students. My students this year would have loved it if I would have said that we were working on their “reading stamina.”  It’s clear that teachers have written this book by the detailed content and instruction. They have left no stone unturned. There’s even a Troubleshooting chapter to ensure that additional questions are answered.  ~ P. L.

4.  Read to Self.  This is a great idea, however for children with special needs this is a very difficult concept for them to master.  They tend to be very easily distracted by visual and/or auditory stimuli and therefore it takes lots and lots of practice, but my students have finally grasped the concept and they enjoy every minute of it.  BV

5.  Read to Someone.  My students truly enjoy this part of reading.  They are proud to share the strategies and abilities they have learned with other students.  They also like to hear the other students read to them.  BV

6.  Writing.  The choices of topics that the students have in writing has made all the difference with my children.  They enjoy writing stories and books about things that are important to them in their daily lives.  BV

7.  Modeling correct and incorrect behaviors.  I agreed with modeling the correct behaviors however I am not totally sold on modeling the incorrect behaviors.  I can see a student volunteering to model a behavior but not isolating them and belittling them in front of the other children.  BV

This model can be useful in helping to provide some beginning steps toward that mixture. It falls short to incorporate the entire leaning experience and does not provide measures for feedback that are required of the classroom teacher. Ideally, we’d all love to teach the love of learning without the necessity of grades. The real world however, does require assessments that are tangible and reflective of the students’ progress or lack thereof. TM

4. Read to Self is part of our daily routine. It has been a choice during center time since the beginning of the year. My students always enjoy reading around the room. This way they get to choose a comfortable place where they can focus on their book and be taken away by the story. (SR)

5. Read to Someone and Listen to Reading- After reading this book I introduced Read to Someone and EEKK to my students. I had never really given them the option to read to a partner. They love it. They love sharing not only their story, but also their reading ability with their friends. I like the idea of the partner checking for comprehension after each page and giving a second chance if needed. This reinforces how important each person in the partnership is. The reader and the listener are equals. Another great way to build community and teach monitoring, both of self and classmates. (SR)

6.  Writing and Word Work- It is so important to give students a choice in what they are writing. I agree that this is the way to truly get to know your students and their abilities. My students seem to write so much more when they choose the topic. It's as if their mind is not restricted by any boundaries that we may unknowingly be putting on them with specific  instructions. They enjoy writing and sharing their stories. (SR)

7.  I agree that this book is a wealth of information. I see so many positive things that could come out of putting these ideas into practice, or just tweaking what we are already doing. I would really like to have a copy of this book to keep and refer back to. There were several times while reading it that I wanted to highlight or make notes. (SR)

I like the idea of choosing their own writing prompt.  I have in the past had my students vote on different topics using United Streaming, roll the writing prompt dice, and pick a writing prompt by folding different topics in half and placing them in a bucket.  Unfortunately, we do become MAP driven and tend to lean towards persuasive writings.  I do believe that the Daily 5 is full of many wonderful ideas and can't wait to share some of them with my classroom.  I believe the book is a must have and it would be wonderful to maintain a copy for my teacher library so that I may refer back to it from time to time.  I can see where it would be a great asset to have next year with us starting Reading First.  Since reading the book I have had my students work on the strategy coaching or time.  So many times they just want to say the word for the struggling student and this strategy has help slow that problem down.  KRF

This book provides a great management system to use during your guided reading time in the classroom.  This is a model that will help to develop good habits of reading and writing.  I love the fact that you focus on the purpose of why the children are doing the activities.  Once you get through the procedure of Read to Self, the students will be used to the routine to introduce the other four components.  Consistency is the key to implementing the program.  I think the Gradual Release model used to launch the Daily 5 (modeling, practice, reflection, more practice, and review of how it worked) help the students to clearly understand your expectations during this block of time.  What seems like easy common sense moments may be the very thing the students do not understand which can make or break your program.  The authors did a great job stressing the importance of all areas of this manangement system including the troubleshooting area.  We know it is important to anticipate problems before they happen.  I do not have the opportunity to use this particular practice in my Reading Classroom.  However, it will be valuable to be familiar with the terms and concepts in order to support the classroom teachers in this transition.  This book is definitely a user friendly resource for the classroom teacher.  I think this management system can be easily adapted to fit the needs of our students.  (LT) 

My Thoughts on Chapters 4-7:  These chapters presented a lot of details about each component of the Daily 5.  I feel that the authors did a great job of explaining how each part of the program is supposed to work in the classroom.  I have been thinking about my classroom arrangement and how I could make it better and more productive.  I already have a "gathering place" where we meet each morning.  Finding enough space aound the room to let the kids sit by themselves and with others may be quite a challenge.  We do "partner reading" in class, so I just need to think about expanding on it.  Letting the students choose the activity for the day is an interesting concept.  Sometimes, we have "free centers," so I'm thinking it would be similar to that only on a daily basis.  It would take the planning and put it in the students' hands.  I can see this working later in the year with first graders.  I'm not so sure how it would work at the beginning of the year.  I do like how the authors present a day by day schedule.  You know me....... I am a tad compulsive and organized!  TG

Chapter 4-7 had some very good information on classroom management.  I like the idea of picking the child who likes attention and have him/her model the inappropriate behavior and then having him model the appropriate behavior.  That way the class and the teacher can see that the student does know how to act.   I also thought it was a good idea how you have a gathering spot in the room and then after they work on an activity for awhile you stop the activity and discuss behaviors. SY

I love that they focus on the purpose of why the students do the activities.  Consistency is a must.  I do beieve it is a system that can be easily adapted and maintained and will meet each students needs.KJ

Listening to reading is something easy to use in the music class. The performance skills we teach in music could also help with the use of expression in reading to others. DW

Ch 4 Read to self  This is apart of our daily routine.  I do like that they make an I-chart with their students on why we Read to Self. This gives the students a chance to share their ideas and know what is expected.  cy

Ch. 5  I just introduced the Read to Someone in my class a few weeks ago.  It has made some of my students more confident.  cy

Ch. 6  My students love the writing center.  They like the idea that they can write independently without the stress of a conference. cy

Ch. 7 This book has many great ideas.  It does help the students accept responsibility and gain independence. cy

Ch 4  Building stamina during Read-to-Self time would really benefit my lower readers who so not stay on task long enough to become engaged in a book.  KSH

Ch 5  I think Read-to-Someone would be a valuable activity to improve fluency.  I do not agree with the authors' method of choosing a partner.  Too time consuming.  KSH 

Ch 6  My centers always flow smoothly because I do take the time to introduce each center, model correct behavior, and hold students accountable for off-task behavior.  I have had teachers from other buildings observe in my classroom to learn how I manage centers.  I already have a spelling, writing, and word building center that my students enjoy.  KSH

Ch 7  This book had many good ideas that I already implement in my class.  I hope that I will be allowed to continue my center work while incorporating the ideas presented in this book.  KSH

I feel the success of this management system is due to the fact that we are not asking students to do something that they haven't seen, practiced, reviewed, discussed, and were successful in implementing on numerous occasions.  I feel it is so repetitive in implementing and practicing the 5 components that it would become automatic responses for the children.  This practice time would help the students to become confident and independent learners.  I feel that this system would allow the classroom teacher to teach more and discipline less.  It also would help the teacher to "teach smarter not harder". I can see how this technique could be used in all areas of the school day including discipline. (CDM) 

Chapters 4-7 mainly deal with the specifics on how each part of the daily five will work.  We have used read to self and read to someone in our class since the beginning of the year.  One thing that I look forward to doing differently next year is to work on the modeling and practice to build stamina in my students.   WN

Chapers 4-7  As I understood the material were very specific to the innerworkings and implementing of the Daily 5.  The practicing, reviewing and helping students become confident is important at the early age in which I dal with children.  Even though some children are proficient at reading they are very shy about responding in front of a group for fear of "possibly" being wrong.  It seems that the process is extrelmely time consuming and would need to be started from day one of a new school year to see the best benefit.  I would say it could work very well.DP

I appreciated the fact that all of the different parts are explained and modeled.  I especially appreciate the troubleshooting Q and A section.  I know that we all look at these programs and wonder what they do with the unruly, the unmotivated, and the below grade level students.  It's nice that "The Sisters" admit that these children exist.  AJR

Ch.4:  I enjoyed the discussion on training children's "muscle memories" and how it is essential to stop and regroup, as often as it takes, when any given child is unable to focus on his or her book for the specified amount of time "stamina" is being practiced.  And by the way--who is providing the sofas and lofts?  (Just kidding!)  Back to the real world.......(CE)

Ch.5:  While I like the generally practical procedures of "Read to Someone" focus lessons, I am concerned about the on-going success of children choosing their own reading partners by simply making eye contact and using silent signals and a rehearsed question to locate a potential partner.  I see the possibility of wasted time and needless hurt feelings and chaos in settling down to read to someone when teacher pre-selected partners works just as well.There might be special instances where this type of choice would be beneficial, but not when crucial time is of the essence!  (CE)

Ch.6:  I like the Daily Five "Work-on-Writing" strategy of allowing children to focus on sustained writing of their own choice as compared with the actual "Writers' Workshop" process of asking students to write to a particular prompt, strategy, or genre being taught.  Both are valuable techniques in producing quality MAP responses.  The modeling approach of correct/incorrect writing procedures is great!  (CE)

Ch.7:  I appreciated the inclusion of real-life scenarios and problems where not everything always runs smoothly (as is the general case).  The writers give practical, workable tips for getting off-task kids back on track with minimal disruptions and time loss.  I like the "team-teaching" ideas these two sisters employ.  I only wish the "real world" classroom work space and time to accomplish these marvelous goals could more closely approximate the "pie-in-the-sky" classroom pictured in the book.  We'll see how it goes when we try some of these great ideas!!  (CE)

This concept "Daily Five" reminds me of when I had a son in a first grade classroom with his teacher, Sabrina Skaggs.  She has "preached" this concept of teaching reading for years.  I was very lucky to have my son in her classroom.  To this day (he is now in sixth grade), she is still his favorite teacher.  She had those kids working/reading/writing in the same fashion as this book details.  I know that is a bit off the subject, but that is the image I got in my head when I looked at this section.  (SR)