Video

It was interesting to see how much time was spent learning the preliminaries for Reading to Self. Once the students have this down, it should go smoothy....... Donna

O.K. I'm new at this blogging thing so I don't know if I'm doing it right - but the upper right hand corner said compose so that's what I will do. I thought I would respond to the video we watched last Wednesday. Usually I like videos that take you into the classroom and really show you how things are done but I really felt like this was drawn out too long for my attention span - which is normally pretty long! Anyways I got the idea of the "I" chart and how to "SHOW" what reading to yourself looks like to the class. I was thinking that the classroom shown was huge compared to our classrooms and that we do not have all the options for space. All the classrooms I see in books and on videos lately have kids at tables instead of desks. How would that work here? Where would we put all their stuff? I think I have rambled - I mean blogged long enough. Let me know if anyone out there is reading this.

I read the book...now what???

Greetings my fellow D-5ers!

I feel like our blog has come to a halt.  Please give me some insight.  Have you completed the book?  Do you want me to break it down chapter by chapter?  Most of you are able to create your own post, in order to get the answers or conversations you are looking for.  I would like to see more comments and conversation on the blog....

In talking with some of my NC D5-ers, I have come to realize a lot of you may be sitting and wondering, "NOW WHAT?"  Meaning, you have read the book, but are uncertain what to do next.  Yes, I do realize it is March and starting something new this time of year in the elementary in feels like something you may not be up for, but consider this...

1. What if you sign up to observe Mrs. Mickelson's room just to see how she is operating it?
2. What if you just introduced the D-5 like they suggest in CH. 3 of the book (pg. 27-42)?
3. What if you took on just one or two of the five parts?
4. What if you just decided to take a small risk and see what happens?

, Thinking back to when I started D-5'ing,  one of the key parts to getting my going was having a binder-err pensive (as the Sisters called it back in 2008 @ the Minneapolis Conference.)  This binder was your guide...your lifeline to D-5'ing.

• I had tabs for each child with sheets on their individual goals and things we had worked on.  
• I had tabs for the small groups with planning sheets on what to work on with them.  
• I had cheat sheets with the various components of the D-5.  
• I had cheat sheets for my cheat sheets! (ha)
• I had a monthly calendar inside the front cover where I would set up, "dates" with my students for when I would meet with them next.  

This really helped me keep the D-5 program organized, as well as me!!

The thing to remember about teaching is this, "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten."  If you are ready to take the plunge, just do it one step at a time.  We are a team and we will support each other.

Comments...thoughts...
Those of you not implementing, what are you thinking or feeling?
Those of you implementing the D-5, how did you get going?  What is your best advice to others?

Is anyone following this blog??? :o)

proteacher.com

Hey there!

If you guys go onto proteacher.com and create an account (which is free) there is SO much stuff for the Daily 5. You can't get to it unless you create an account. Once you do you click on "Home" and down towards the bottom there is a whole room (called the Peony Room) dedicated to the Daily 5 and different discussions. Or if you simply search Daily 5 on that site it will bring up all different resources and discussions with other teachers. I hope this helps.

CH. 2 From Management to Principled Habits: The Foundation of the Daily Five

It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants.  The question is:  What are we busy about? 
                                                                                                                   Henry David Thoreau

This quote really made me stop and think the first time I read it.  Wow!  It sort of felt like a slap in the face the more I pondered it.  I began to reflect on my teaching style and the way I had been taught.  Oh, my...I had some serious revisions I needed to do.   Maybe it is just me, but have any of you sat down and really reflected what you have students do on any given day?  Is it truly meaningful work?  Work that helps your students grow?  Work that allows your students to take ownership of their learning?  When I reflected honestly, I discovered a majority of my work was busy work for the students which in turn came back to me as busy work 20-fold!  (Ouch!-Yep, definitely a slap in my face!)
So now that I discovered I had revisions needed in my style of instruction.  How was I going to make it-err...them- all work.  When I say work I mean meaningful work that will help each child grow and develop at their rate and speed and also take some ownership of their learning.  
I believe that the Daily Five core foundations truly helped me develop into the kind of teacher I really wanted to be!  I slowly forced myself out of my comfort zone and into the D5 zone by doing the following:

• Trusting Students
• Providing Choice
• Nurturing Community
• Creating a Sense of Urgency
• Building Stamina
• Staying out of students' way once routines are established

What are YOUR thoughts?   Have you reflected on your instructional style?  Do you give the students BUSY WORK?  Do you tend to teach the way your teachers taught you?  Am I alone out there?

What does your literacy block look like?

WHAT DOES YOUR LITERACY BLOCK REALLY LOOK LIKE?

• Basal?  
• Seatwork? 
• Centers? Reader's/Writer's Workshop? 
• A combination of these?

Is your focus on more of a teacher-driven model than a student-driven model?  Why?
What parts of a teacher- or student-driven model do you like?
What parts of a teacher- or student-driven model will be most difficult to implement?
Is there any part of the student-driven model that intimidates you?

If you need to refer back to the book-see pages 12-13

Are you already doing some of this?

Which parts of the Daily 5 are you already implementing?  How often?

1. Read to Self
2. Read to Someone
3. Work on Writing
4. Listen to Reading
5. Spelling/Word Work