Daily 5 Book Study

I LOVE using the Daily 5 (D5) in my classroom.  I linked up with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations for her Daily 5 Book Study.  Read my answers and then go check it out for youself!!!! :)

1. On pages 4-6, the authors present two different pictures of their classrooms. In thinking about and reflecting on your own practice, how would you characterize your literacy block?

I used to use literacy centers in my classroom because that is what my entire grade level was doing.  I spent a LOT of time creating items, setting up for the next week, etc.  It was becoming more time consuming that it should have.  When I started to implement the D5 in my classroom, my literacy block of the day became a lot more engaging.  My students undoubtedly became more independent as they were held accountable for their own rotations and making sure that they got everything in.

2. The typical teacher is very busy having students do lots of different activities. How is what you are having students do now in your classroom creating quality readers and writers? 

My students have become quite comfortable in finding a book to read to self and then to someone.  Just having that time to sit down and make that choice has developed quite a love for reading in my classroom.  The writing in my classroom has increased exponentially!  I was always giving them a prompt but I began letting them choose what they wanted to write.  We went from writing what pet we wanted to …a student write about a town who lost its sunset and what they did to get it back.  LOVE IT!

3. What sets the Daily 5 structure apart from what you are doing in your classroom?

I’m pretty much the only one in my school that’s doing the D5 but it has been such a great experience trying out what I like best and what works best for me and my students.  I made posters for my walls as to what my students could do and what they must do.  They turned everything in to a file folder with their number on it.  I had a checklist that I could attach to all of the work and send it home the following week.

Next week is Chapter 2. Questions to think about while reading Chapter 2: 

1 .What goals do you have for your classroom as you work to implement the principles and foundations  of the Daily 5 discussed in chapter 2? What support do you need to do this?

2. What stands out as the most significant aspects of this chapter? 

3. How do the foundational principles of the Daily 5 structure (trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina), align with your beliefs that support your teaching strategies and the decisions that you make about student learning?