Welcome to the next step in our Daily 5 Book Study.
This amazing book study is hosted by favorite gals at Freebilicious
and focuses on the book The Daily 5: Second Edition
{Some people have asked if this book is worth purchasing if you already have the first.
My opinion is YES! And if you have never read either book, this book is complete on its own.}
And if you missed last week,
you can catch up by reading last week’s post here…
So let’s dive into the next chapter…
Reading the title tells you a LOT about the focus of this Chapter…
Teaching and Learning Independence.
I think this chapter is awesome
because it covers EXACTLY what we teachers are thinking in our heads…
because it covers EXACTLY what we teachers are thinking in our heads…
You want them to do WHAT?
How can they handle that?
INDEPENDENTLY??
How do I get them THERE?
We often think kindergarteners can’t do these things… but they CAN.
I tell my first-grade teachers… your students KNOW how to make choices during daily 5 because they did it ALL last year.
We often think kindergarteners can’t do these things… but they CAN.
I tell my first-grade teachers… your students KNOW how to make choices during daily 5 because they did it ALL last year.
Here are the 10 Steps of Independence
{YEPPER, you can grab this file and print… free.}
{YEPPER, you can grab this file and print… free.}
Literally, the whole chapter breaks down these steps and
tells you how to teach them to your students.
I know I will be reading and rereading this chapter
again
and again…
again
and again…
and again…
and again!
My goal is to refer to this chart for myself and my assistant.
If we can master these steps, our students can master these steps.
The biggest tips I can contribute are these:
Leave them alone when they have it…
praise them at the end but don’t interrupt it.
If they don’t have, STOP and reteach the structure they don’t have. {The activity you have planned isn’t more important than the structure.
If they learn HOW to behave it is more important than that activity completion.}
If they learn HOW to behave it is more important than that activity completion.}
THEY WILL GET IT.
I know you think they won’t, but they will.
They REALLY will!
Let’s make a list of what you need to start the Daily 5 in your classroom…
1. A Quiet Signal–
I use a wind chime.
You can also use a sound effect on your phone or iPad if you like to get slightly techie…
Plus if you need help with timing reminders,
you can set the timer function on your phone and let that do the work for you.
2. A location to post charts
in the room or on IWB (Interactive White Boards.)
I post my charts ABOVE my choice board.
You don’t need anything fancy…
just a little bit of space to display charts in your room.
3. Tools
When they say “tools” they mean tools to help build stamina.
Examples include sand timers, manipulatives, stopwatches, and even i-SPY books.
{I was excited to read this because I have been using these types of books for a while to build stamina, especially for those students who are non-readers.
Another tool can be “offices” to help those wandering eyes focus.
One book I really like starting the year and Reading to Self with is…
{It was a $1 book from Scholastic last year so maybe they will have it cheap again this year.}
I loved it because it was an ABC book but on the Cc page,
there are c images on the page for the students to find.
My students would easily build stamina over MULTIPLE days using this book.
4. Book BoxesWhen I first read about these, I thought I didn’t have to actually get these… but you do. Some teachers start with gallon-size baggies.
I use these boxes from Really Good Stuff, but I use the clear ones because they go with every and any classroom color scheme and decor.
We store our book boxes in our cubbies.
I also use these for our classroom library.
You don’t want all your book boxes stored too closely together.
When you tell them to grab their book boxes… you want them to SPREAD out to grab them, not BOTTLENECK to get them.
5. A Gathering Place
We use the large rug in my classroom.
This one is pretty easy.
6. I-Charts
Here are my charts with the directions already on them.
The Sister recommends making the directions with your students,
so I have a set that allows you to do that as well.
{Even though my charts are already set,
we DO DISCUSS the steps and why we should take them.
I take the “You Make the Charts” and
use them to write down what the students are saying.
The students often will tell you steps out of order, so that is why I
“rewrite” them and pull out the “Ready to Use Charts.”
When I show them the ready-to-use chart, we talk about the order of the direction.
We also “play” or act out following each step.
For example, I will read step one of Read to Self and they do it.
INSTANTLY
Then I read step two, and they do it.
We continue on.
When they have it, I leave them alone.
When they don’t, we stop and gather together again.
7. Classroom Design
This sounds scary.
I don’t want you to think for a moment that you have to rethink your entire classroom setup…
Actually, I want you to think the opposite way.
I want you to think about the BEST places to assign these stations before your talk to your students.
What?
Let me explain a little more… but def read the book.
I had 22 kids in my class last year.
I didn’t want more than 4 students at a station,
except Read to Self and Read to Someone.
{I actually run 8 groups but don’t worry about that…
I am CRAZY and it totally works because it spreads my kids out.}
I decided to read-to-self and read to someone around my room,
but not by the in and outdoors or loft.
I decided to have my listening-to-reading station on the carpet because I had a CD player there.
Plus, this location would allow for more than 4 students at that spot.
I also choose to assign my Work on Writing station at a specific table in my room,
which is close to the word walls.
Think about where the things they need are in your classroom
like word walls, traffic flow, and working materials like pencils and such.
You are setting the station up for success as well as yourself.
I learn how to do this better each and every year.
And sometimes things work for some groups but not for others.
Children are VARIABLES that we can never fully predict but we can help set up for success.
Here is one example…
in the previous year, my student did awesome at reading to self and read to someone.
This year was a HUGE struggle.
We HAD it when we ALL did read-to-self and when we all did read to someone…
We did not have it when we mixed it in our stations…
So this year we ALL did read to someone FIRST.
Then, when each pair finished reading together, they would go to the choice board.
They could go back to read to someone later on or stay at read to someone longer.
But that worked for us.
We also left read to self-open during our choices,
but we all would finish with some read-to-self time.
I think you will also need to think about a few other things…
like your classroom library…
I start off with only a few bins in my library.
{I think it is easier and better to start with a few and build up on more.}
Each time I read a book to my class,
{I think it is easier and better to start with a few and build up on more.}
Each time I read a book to my class,
I show them where to put the book in the correct bin.
The books start to build up by the time they are ready to start choosing their books on their own.
{Usually, by the 3rd week of building stamina, they are ready.
They only read to self for a few minutes a day and
with the awesome book I showed you above,
they can use just that book for a while.}
They only read to self for a few minutes a day and
with the awesome book I showed you above,
they can use just that book for a while.}
After a while, I add a second shelf of books.
I also make and print easy readers for them to read.
This helps when I don’t have a lot of actual books to give them.
AND… I think it is critical to have a choice board.
Here is my old choice board from last year…
Here is a shot of my new choice board for this year.
I love it and I can’t wait to show it to my little wonderfuls.
And I added more stations than just The Daily 5 ones because I run 8
and I know others run different stations.
I have a teacher station, a learning station (for my aid),
I also have a technology, computer, and workspace station available.)
And I also love using a cross-off sheet
for my students to be responsible for where they go.
I teach my students to use their sheets as a tool to know
where they have gone and where they need to go.
Here are some examples of cross-off sheets from this pack:
{Remember there are more than one way to do this.}
The top one can be used monthly, each line representing one week.
The bottom one shows a weekly cross-off sheet.
Then we have a picture version where the students cross off the station they visited.
Or you can use a clip to show where they need to go.
{This works great if you follow The Sisters tip of selecting a station before lunch and going there after lunch.}
Since so many of my little loves NEED visual help,
I have found that these cross-off sheets are a HUGE help. Plus, my little learners have a chance to think about where they need to go before they head up to the choice board.
My library labels are here:
I love these because they have several sizes of lables for baskets and the Really Good Stuff bins AND matching labels you can print onto Avery Labels and put inside your books.
If a student doesn’t know where their book goes, the label will help them.
My Starting Literacy Work Stations set is a HUGE HUGE HUGE time saver.
Here is the NEW look.
{I updated my old file so if you bought the old one
you get this one FREE by redownloading it! SCORE!}
And everyone who downloads the preview file on TPT
will get this chart FREE.
This is used to help teach your little wonderfuls HOW to pick a book to read.
Don’t forget to grab BOTH freebies from this post AND check out the linky to see what everyone else is saying about
Oh my goodness!!!! Tons and tons of great stuff in this post Mary. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Marsha
A Differentiated Kindergarten
I am an Inclusion/Resource teacher. At first I thought 10 steps, that is WAY too many for my students to remember. I went back and looked at the steps from their perspective and realized, all of us do these but they need to be retaught with expected behaviors so they can be generalized. Thank you for the great ideas and tips!
Stacey
I am so curious about The Daily Five…but I feel like I finally have the whole literacy station thing down! How do you incorporate that into your rotations? Thanks! Traci
Great share! Tons of great info!!
Jennifer
First Grade Blue SKies
I love this post! I see a lot of things that I would like that I am sure make it easier for me this year. Thanks!
Great job. I am learning a lot by Reading Daily 5 but your Blog Post is a huge help. Thank you so much for your work.
Amy
I'm new to your blog and I'm adding you to my blogroll. I will definitely be reading and re-reading your pointers about using The Daily Five!
KT
http://www.sneakerteacher.blogspot.com