The Daily Five

This past summer I participated in a summer book study with my colleagues using the text The Daily Five by "the sisters." This tool and way of teaching has totally transformed my ELA block. Previously I had used a workshop model but the Daily Five just enhances it. What I have done in my classroom is kind of a mixture of ideas I have found on fellow teacher blogs as well as the standard model of using the Daily Five in the classroom. So far, this mixture has worked really well for me.

The Daily Five consists of five rotations or centers that students go through each day. This provides them with structure and a limited amount of time at each activity. The five activities include: read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, word work, and work on writing. In my classroom, my students participate in: read to self, word work, and work on writing. I changed my structure to also include reading response and guided reading group time. This allows me to meet with students while the rest of the class is working independently. My students rotate through four activities each day and they spend 15 minutes at each rotation. So yes, my guided reading groups are short but students have time to practice after I meet with them when they go to read to self.

Also, in the original Daily Five, students have their choice of what activity they do each day. I have altered this to ensure that students are completing activities that are necessary. For example: my lowest reading group meets with me each day, then goes to read to self, completes a reading response, and typically goes to word work to practice. This may differ for your classroom.

This management system has totally transformed my classroom. We spend the first 3 to 4 weeks of school mastering the routines and procedures and building stamina in each of the four activities. This limits disruptions and issues later on in the year. I have asked my students what their opinion of the Daily Five is and almost all of the students love it. They enjoy having several activities to go to each day and the routine is helpful too.

Below are some links to fellow teacher blogs who have implemented The Daily Five as well as the website that outlines the Daily Five in greater detail.

Buggy for Second Grade

Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

School is a Happy Place

The Daily Five