Newsletters and Daily 5

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DAILY 5!

For those of you that were with either me or Mrs. Shue last year, the Daily 5 routine sounds a bit familiar.  For those of you that are new, here is a little information.

The Daily Five is a way of structuring the literacy block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research-based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster the love of reading and writing.  The Daily 5 is set up so that the students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.  When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in five different tasks, which are comprised of:  Word Work, Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone and Listen to Reading.  

The first component of the Daily 5 that we begin is Read to Self.  So Read to Self sounds pretty self-explanatory but there is a little more effort needed than just sitting with a book.  First things first, we let the children "shop for books" on Monday before we begin. The children get to find a few books that are a perfect fit for them.  These are simple books that contain many sightwords that we have and will study.  Other books may be books we use for guided reading and they can practice fluency throughout the week. 

During Read to Self, we expect the students to get started right away, stay in one spot, read quietly the whole time and work on stamina.  They can expect us to read with students one-on-one in small groups and also do so quietly.  There are many locations around the room for the students to read in.  We have a Book Nook, bean bags, bowl chairs, bean bag chairs, crates and even a few spots outside.  The children really enjoy this time and remember there are three different ways to read; read the pictures, read the words and retelling the story.  Here are few pictures to show you just what it is that we are doing.