Daily 5 Self-Management Necklaces

Daily 5 Necklaces is the answer to how you manage free-flowing choices during Daily 5. You asked. You guys wanted to know about my idea to use self-management necklaces. This is a management tool I give my students to empower them to take ownership of their learning during the literacy structure called Daily 5, which is what we do during our reading block.

What Is Daily 5?

Daily 5 is a structure based on the book The Daily 5. You can see how I do this in Kindergarten here. I first read this book in 2014 and my county adopted this structure starting in 2015. This is not a reading program or system.

What are the 5 Components of Daily 5?

The 5 components of Daily 5 are:

1. Read to Self
2. Read to Someone
3. Listening to Reading
4. Word Work
5. Work on Writing

Managing This Structure

To manage this structure, I created a free-flowing choice board where students are empowered to make their own choices and learn to manage their own time. This is taught and modeled and rewarded. And honestly, it has been a success every single year and my students don’t just like it, they THRIVE with this system.

Self Management Necklaces

To help my littlest learners learn how to manage their time and choices, we created a self-management necklace. This has been a huge success in Daily 5. It is working wonderfully with my class. First, how do I use a self-management necklace?

First, let me state that I use these self-management necklaces for free choices or free-flowing choices in my classroom. My necklaces are two-sided, just to take advantage of their greatness. One side is for Daily 5, which I call Great 8 because I run 8 stations, and the back side is for Sight Word Stations}

Each student has their own and they wear it around their necks or clipped to their shirts.

Here is a picture of the clip option.

Each student is responsible for their own necklace and they cross themselves off when they complete a specific task with a wet-erase marker. They keep their necklaces in their own book boxes.

One side of their card is used for Sight Word Stations. It is pictured above. All my stations are on color-coded tables in my classroom. When a student finish that station,  they take a Vis a Vis Marker and check the colored boxes on their own necklaces.

Why do I like these necklaces for my students?

My students get a picture of the activity choices they have as well as the ones they have already finished. The picture on the choice board matches the picture on the necklace. Some people may car these daily 5 rotations. This is on purpose to help with nonreaders. I still use a choice board like the one pictured below to MAKE the choices, but the necklace is their tool or resource. It holds them accountable.

At the end of the day or week, one student who is deemed the cleaner takes ONE baby wipe and wipes off the tags for all the students in the class. This takes 5 minutes or less. I have a quick conference with each student and talk to them about if they finished everything, how they spent their time, and how they did with their choices.

Students do not get in trouble if they don’t finish everything. I am aiming for 100% effort, not 100% completion. You see, I can teach students to work faster if they are giving me their 100% effort, but it is more of a struggle to get students to put forth more effort if they are focused on speed.

How to Make Self-Management Necklaces for Daily 5

You will need:

1. Scotch Self-Sealing Pouches. {They come in packs of 10.}
2. A Lanyard or clip for each student ( I reuse these for years.)
3. Vis A Vis Markers
4. The actual cards

{You can make a set yourself. Here is a link to the file I sell with my literacy workstation card.}

How to Prep These Cards for Daily 5

First, I print the cards out. These are the actual real Daily 5/ Literacy Station versions. This download prints 10 on each page. Keep in mind that I print Sight Word Stations on the opposite side, which is shown below. Then I cut them out. You can see both sides of mine here.

Next, I write my students’ names on the cards BEFORE I place them in the pouches.

 Now, I place the cards inside the pouches.

Here is the finished result.

After the cards are sealed, I use a strong hole punch to punch the whole in the BOTTOM of the card.

Why did I add a hole punch at the bottom? At first, I punch the hole at the top too! Look at this punch on the top. When your students wear the necklaces,  they will hold them up to see them by the lanyard. And it will be upside down for them.

It works best for your students to view if you punch the hole on the bottom.

Do Some Students Need More Help?

Lastly, I have a few friends that may need some extra help making choices during daily 5. How do I handle this? I take a Sharpie and write a number choice ON TOP OF the pouch.

The permanent marker will not wipe off daily, but it will wear out over time. I like this because I want them to get weaned off the support and make their own choices. This is exactly why I do not mark the cards with Sharpie before I put them in the pouch.

Looking for more Help with Daily 5?

 If you want to read more about my Daily 5/Literacy Stations, click here.

And if you want to know more about Sight Word Stations, click here.