9/29/2021
Daily 5
By now, you have likely heard about Daily 5 from your child(ren). We use this structure from Kindergarten all the way through 6th grade and I am so pleased to say that these little learners began this week!
What is Daily 5? It is a management system that allows for small-group, differentiated reading instruction. Essentially, this means that Daily 5 provides five activities for students to work on independently while the teacher is meeting with small groups. The components are:
- Read to Self
- Work on Writing
- Work on Words
- Listen to Reading
- Read to Someone
When your child gets to 4th grade, the Daily 5 becomes the Daily 4, as we drop Listen to Reading. It is also recommended that Read to Someone is turned into a more interactive Reader’s Theater, but the choice is left up to the individual teacher.
By 5th and 6th grades, they use the Daily 3, which consists of Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Work on Words.
This independent time is then focused practice time for differentiated reading and writing strategies, shared in small group meetings. September assessments (going on now!) will provide the teachers with a look into what each child knows and gives the next steps in what to teach in these small groups.
These activities require practice, so through the next few weeks, you may hear your child saying they were practicing "Read to Self” or one of the other components. This is because we do truly want your child to be independent in this endeavor--which means no input from the teacher to correct or monitor behaviors! By practicing and building stamina (aka muscle memory), your child will work up to independently attending to reading and writing tasks for an age appropriate amount of time between 15-45 minutes. Ask your child which Daily 5 activities they have practiced--I believe Kindergarten is up to seven minutes of Read to Self!