I implemented Daily Five in the second semester of this past school year and saw a major change in my classroom. I have always done Reader's Workshop (all two years of my teaching, lol), but felt like I was giving my students "busy work" while I was meeting with Guided Reading Plus groups and Literature Circles. I always tried to find meaning work and activities to put in centers, but it was hard and time consuming to find really meaningful work. And then I felt obligated to look at every.single.activity that my students completed, otherwise, why were they doing the work.
Now with Daily Five, I felt like my students were working towards goals we had set in class--becoming more fluent and accurate readers, implementing writing strategies we had discussed, and becoming more accurate spellers. Daily Five cut WAY down on the busy work, and helped my students become more accountable for their learning. And isn't that what we want, anyway? Independent, self-sufficient learners and thinkers?
I could go on and on about Daily Five. Any probably will in later posts. But for now, if you haven't hopped over to We Read, We Blog, We Teach, do so now. You will love it!
Staying with our Daily Five theme for today, here is the Daily Five checklist I use with my students.
Throughout the year, I tried many, many different checklists with my students, but this is the one I finally settled on.
We only do three Daily Five rotations a day, which means at most, a student could complete 15 Daily Five choices, but since the students meet with me between 2 and 4 times a week, most only complete 11-13 stations.
Our rule for Daily five choices is that you have to complete one activity from each column before you can complete a second activity from a column. The students mark an X each time they complete an activity, which helps both the students and myself keep track of their choices. I've changed up my Work on Words since I took this picture, and the students now have choices of Word Study Game, Boggle, and Grammar game. I wanted to add the grammar games, since I also consider it word work, and it's a great way to reinforce grammar concepts we've learned.
You can get my Daily Five checklist for free at my Teachers Notebook store: http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/MissJillMartin/daily-five-checklist
Until next time friends!
Jillian
I am starting my third year of teaching and plan to use Daily5. Thank you for posting your checklist and good luck with your blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Just MJ. Good luck implementing Daily Five and be sure to check back for more resources!
ReplyDeleteWhen you do the listen to reading-- are you reading aloud to the students or are they at a listening station?
ReplyDeleteWendy,
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of iPod touches in my classroom on which I put audiobooks. My students choose a chapter book and read the book as they listen.
I have also used Tumbebooks through the Cincinnati library (it's free--http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp). This program uses a computer and allows students to listen to a book and read along.
Towards the end of the year, I let my students read longer chapter books with a partner. They really enjoyed that.