Last Chapter of Daily 5

Putting it all Together:

Now that we have read the whole book so how do you put it all together?  This is how I put it all together. First take it slow you don’t have to try everything the first day and you certainly shouldn’t. If your kids are building their stamina in read to self and then the next day they fall behind take a step back evaluate what went wrong, practice, and model again with the kids (can not stress this enough it is probably the most important thing that will set the tone for the whole year!) and try again. The kids will get there you just have to be patience and take your time teaching all the correct steps to Daily 5. Look back and read those first few chapters on how to get things started and know that this will work with time.

Once you get all 5 of your rotations down and everything is going smoothly let the kids pick their Daily 5. I know it sounds scary but I promise the kids will be so much more engaged and ready for the activity if they get to choose. Make it clear they have to pick different centers and they can’t go to the same one twice. My kids are accountable for the centers they have gone to and keep others accountable as well. In the pass I have written down who goes to what center but I really think it’s a waste of valuable time.

I love checking in with my students. During clean up time. Once I ring my chimes the kids know it’s time to clean up. I might have to remind certain kids or tap students who are listening that the chimes have rung but everyone knows it is a quiet clean up time to meet on the floor. I softly talk with my students about the books they read, what game they played, or what they were writing about. They love the individual attention. I also ask my class whole group how they did thumps up or down. They are very honest and we briefly talk about what we could do next rotation to make it even better. I like to focus on the positives! I’m going to be using Mel D’s Daily 5 necklaces this year to motivate my students to work hard during each rotation.

Check in chart. The Daily 5 cards are on the left and each kid chooses which rotation to go to and their picture gets moved. This is a great visual for the kids and I to see who is in which Daily 5 and if anyone leaves a mess we know who needs to clean it up.

When everyone is on the carpet I have students start choosing their Daily 5. Each student makes their choice and leaves to start quickly expect for the read to someone kids who wait to choose a partner and then go. I’m the last person to leave our check in. If kids are working with me they know to take out their book boxes and start reading until I get to the table. Some days when I need to do assessments I just ask one student at a time to come to my table. I pick students who are in read to self and eventually will get everyone checked off the list. Students know if I am sitting down at the table to not come and interrupt but this is a hard lesson learned at the beginning of the year. I am thinking that I need a special hat like I saw in Funky First Grade Fun.

I know it can be hard to fit it all in so make it work for your schedule and your kids. I have a 90-minute reading block each morning from 9:30-11:00.

Whole group reading 9:30-10:00

Daily 5/guided reading 10:00-11:00

This is what has worked for me in the past but every class is different and it may take longer in the beginning. If we ever didn’t finish during this time we would come back to it after lunch. The kids were very understanding or this and knew what was expected.

Thanks so much for reading about the Daily 5! This has helped me to think about the upcoming year and what I need to get ready for my students. I hope this information has helped you. Please feel free to ask any questions about the Daily 5 and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Our wonderful hosts for these chapters are Funky First Grade Fun and Surfin' Through Second. Check out their great ideas! 

A special thanks Mel from Seusstastic Classroom Inspirationsand Nicole from Teaching With Style for organizing this book study for everyone!  Please stop by to visit them as well.