Revisiting Daily 5

Posted by FARRAH KILGO at 12/26/2010 4:00:00 PM

Revisiting the Daily 5

So, after one semester of sort of blending lots of great reading ideas together, I've decided to tweak them a little more...My current blend looks a lot like Readers Workshop, which I LOVE, but doesn't include enough "other" things like time at the computer, work on words, and reading response. I've been teaching our Scott Foresman in a format similar to Harcourt Story Town because in my district, the reading series adoption for K-3 is Story Town and 4-6 is Scott Foresman. Our kiddos were just having a difficult time making the program switch, so I started tayloring our program to look more like what they were used to. Currently my schedule looks like this:

8:05-8:30	Intervention/Literature Circles
8:30-9:15	Whole Group Instruction (question of the day, spelling, listening, speaking and viewing skills, copmrehension lesson, vocabulary)
9:15-10:00	Small Group Instruction/Independent Work: Students not in a small group Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Read, take AR tests, sometimes complete an activity on the Promethean board or computer.

*There is not a predetermined order in which students must complete any of these activities. It is pretty much free choice, and my students do a good job with choosing not to spend too much time on any one item.

This has really worked well for me this year because of the flexibility. My whole group lesson may run long or short, as will my small groups. I like that the reading block isn't regimented, and that students still have an element of choice. I also like that I've been able to incorporate Literature Circles and therefore have a dedicated time slot for Intervention (which a few of my babies always need).

So if it is working so well why change it, you ask? Well there are a few reasons:

While I LOVE the fact that my students are really reading, I regret that they're not doing more. I want to incorporate word work activities and reading response.
I was trying to avoid the many transitions that were occuring in the Daily 5, but realized that THEY'RE HAPPENING ANYWAY. Whenever I call a small group back to the table, even though the rest of the class is "still working" there is a disturbance. (Wouldn't you be disturbed if the person sitting next to you suddenly got up and walked away? I know I would.) It doesn't matter how softly I gather children, or how quietly they come to the table, it is still a transition. Why not make use of it? Furthermore, the frequent transitions will give students a much-needed brain and body break.
Although my students are used to the loooooong whole group lessons because of the reading program they've had in the lower grades, I DON'T agree with them. We all know what the research says about students' attention spans.

In light of all of this reflection, here is my newly tweaked reading plan that I'll implement in January:

Short, focused minilessons on the same material that I would have covered anyway in the long whole group session. (See my Reading Flipcharts page for our daily lessons). Each day's lesson will be broken down into 3 minilessons that will last about 15 minutes each (give or take). This satisfies my need to cover the required material in a way that research says is best for young brains.
Three rounds or "choices" as I've called them in the past of Daily 5. The choices will be Read to Self, Listen to Read, Read with Someone, Write about Reading, and Word Work.
I'm considering using this form that Mrs. Croak created to help students make their choices. (I also like her Word Work activities).
Because I have a separate Writers Workshop and want students to respond to their reading, I'll change the Work on Writing component of D5 to Write about Reading.
I'm still toying with the idea of creating a seperate "Read to Self" time so that I'll be able to conference with students and so that everyone will be reading at the same time. In my experience, students are more successful that way. They aren't distracted by people reading with friends, or with my small group.

Possible Schedule:

8:05-8:25	Literature Circles/ Intervention
8:25-8:45	Read to Self/ Conferences
8:45-9:00	ML: Question of Day, Listening/Viewing/Speaking, Spelling/Vocabulary
9:00-9:20	Choice 1
9:20-9:35	ML: Skill Instruction
9:35-9:55	Choice 2
9:55-10:15	Choice 3
10:15-10:20	Closure

Another Possibility (So students will have had all instruction before Read to Self):

8:05-8:25	Literature Circles/ Intervention
8:25-8:35	ML: Question of Day, Listening/ Viewing /Speaking, Spelling/Vocabulary
8:35-8:55	Choice 1
8:55-9:10	ML: Skill Instruction
9:10-9:30	Choice 2
9:30-9:35	ML: Review/Strategy
9:35-9:55	Choice 3
9:55-10:15	Read to Self
10:15-10:20	Closure

Yet Another Possibility (Longer "Choices" and ML's--No separate Read to Self)

8:05-8:25	Literature Circles/ Intervention
8:25-8:35	ML: Question of Day, Listening/ Viewing /Speaking, Spelling/Vocabulary
8:35-9:00	Choice 1
9:00-9:15	ML: Skill Instruction
9:15-9:40	Choice 2
9:40-9:55	ML: Review/Strategy
9:55-10:15	Choice 3
10:15-10:20	Closure

*I like this because there's a little "wiggle room" for longer/shorter lessons.

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Well, here goes...

Posted by FARRAH KILGO at 8/1/2010 7:00:00 PM

Scott Foresman Daily 5 and CAFE:

Can they co-exist?

This post actually is a PAGE on my site that kind of took a turn in a different direction. It started out as being a place to post Scott Foresman reading resources and turned into a venue for me to write about how I would actually implement the program.

July, 2009:

Well, I've definitely tried to implement the new program (dare I say this?) to FIDELITY. In order to do this, I've foresaken most of the steps forward I had taken in the past several years. I just could not do everything I know to be great, AND everything in the manual. There has to be a balance between following the program to a tee and using teaching practices that research shows to be effective. This year I will attempt to find it. I'm re-implementing Daily 5 and adding CAFE. I think this will work very well because the strategies I'll be teaching come from the text book or from other areas. I'll still be teaching what is in the program (and course of study), but I'll be presenting the material and allowing students to practice it within the structure of Daily 5 and CAFE. The CAFE menu will allow me to use assessment data to teach each child what he or she needs to know at that particular time. It will also allow me to pull flexible strategy groups together for instruction. Using the CAFE menu format, I've found a way to combine SF skills, Toolkit strategies, and COS skills. (The breakdown is on the Minilesson page).

November, 2008:

As I've said before, this year, we adopted the Scott Foresman Reading Street program for grades 4-6 in my district. As with any implementation year, it has been a learning process. I have struggled to teach the program "to fidelity" and still incorporate what I know to be good practices, including using Daily 5 and lessons from the Comprehension Toolkit, because there aren't enough hours in the day to do all of those great things!

It's November 2008, and I'm still struggling, but here's what I know:

I must use the leveled group lesson plans within the SF plan each week, as opposed to making up my own lessons using other texts, such as science leveled readers. (This is actually less work on me, so it is a good thing).
As much as I hate to cut it out, I just can't fit the Comprehension Toolkit lessons into my day AS OF NOW. (Not if I'm going to teach science and social studies). I think there are some places where I can fit the lessons in later, as in after Christmas.
My reading instruction will look more like a reader's workshop and less like the Daily Five. (That's okay, too, because I love the RW model just as much as Daily 5).

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Reading Schedule:

Reading begins at 8:05 and ends at 9:50, but looks slightly different each day:

	Whole Group	Small Group	Whole Group
Mon.	8:05-8:45	8:45-9:40	9:40-9:50
Tue.	8:05-8:30	8:30-9:30	9:30-9:50
Wed.	8:05-8:15	8:15-9:15	9:15-9:50
Thurs.	8:05-8:30	8:30-9:30	9:30-9:50
Fri.	8:05-8:25	8:25-9:25	9:25-9:50

10:20-10:55-Intervention group using My Sidewalks program.

12:50-1:30-Grammar, Writing, Spelling using SF Teacher's edition

Although I try to stick to the schedule, it is a flexible one. For example, if whole group instruction takes a little more time one day, then I spend a little less time with each small group.

The whole group instruction follows the teacher's edition plan. That's why there are some days that I won't need as much time in whole group. The second whole group time on Wed. is a little longer because we give our selection assessments that day after SG instruction.

Small group instruction follows the directions given in the teacher's edition. I meet with every group every day.

Monday-read leveled readers and practice skill

Tuesday-main selection

Wednesday-main selection

Thursday-paried selection

Friday-reread leveled readers.

This was a new page dedicated to a revised version of my "reading plan" since september 2008. I've studied, and planned, and changed, and studied more, and planned more, and maybe I have something that will work. If you want to read about my previous plan click here.

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Putting it together?

Posted by FARRAH KILGO at 8/1/2010 7:00:00 PM

Putting it Together

Well, school is about to begin again and here I sit with yet another idea to "tweak" my reading plan. Aren't new beginnings great?! Last year I think I did a pretty good job of implementing Daily 5 and integrating the CAFE menu and Scott Foresman program. I used the SF skills as many of my minilessons (though not all of them) and CAFE board headers. I offered choices and taught independence, and have finally figured out what parts of the program are necessary and which parts I can skim over or skip. However, now I have another issue: there are things I'd like my students to do that don't necessarily take an entire D5 choice time to complete. So, I'm thinking now about a compromise between D5 and Reader's Workshop. I really like the idea of teaching independence and practicing all of the parts that I want students to do, so I'll keep that. I also love letting the students have choices because I feel that it encourages motivation and ownership of their own learning, so I'll keep that part of it. I'm even going to use the 20 day plan for implementing D5 and CAFE that I used last year. But, I'm thinking that when it is time for the students to make their own choices, I'll give them a list of things to do and let them choose the order in which to do them. (I realize that this is not a new idea, and actually was told about it by my friend, Dana.) I experimented with this idea at the end of last year, and loved the results! It was a great way to teach students to be careful with their time, plus it accomplished all of the things I hoped it would (independence, choice, engagement, etc...)

teach

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Seeking "Read-atopia"

Posted by FARRAH KILGO at 8/1/2010 7:00:00 PM

Seeking "Read-atopia"

Over the years I have read about and embraced many different methods for teaching reading: Four Blocks, Reading Workshop, Daily 5, CAFE, Centers, Literature Circles, and more (although not necessarily in that order). And truthfully, I love a lot about what each of these approaches have to offer, but the issue I'm faced with is this:

How do I take what I like from each idea and incorporate it into an effective, efficient, child-centered learning program that I can actually manage?

I think many of us are on this same journey, trying to balance what we know works best for our students with time constraints and other curriculur demands. In this entry I'll explore my new and slightly improved plan for teaching reading and how I arrived at this semi-spectacular plan.

Let me start by stating what things I LOVE and what I'd like to change about the afore mentioned teaching approaches.

Idea	Pros	Cons
Daily 5	promotes real reading and writing offers choice teaches independence allows time for small group instruction short, focused lessons nicely organized structure for meeting with groups and individuals	some activities I'd like for students to complete don't fit into the allotted time, or may not need the allotted time I feel like my students need more than the allotted "choice" time for Read to Self Many of my students can't concentrate on reading their books when their classmates are doing other choices. Lots of transitions Students may not practice a skill you've just taught (i.e. you teach comprehension lesson and student chooses Work on Words). very difficult to fit in basal story
Four Blocks	Before, During, After structure for Guided reading lessons Students practice the skill taught immediately after it is taught Easy to integrate Science and Social Studies into lessons MANY fabulous teacher-made resources available for support. All students work on the same subject at the same time---easier for collaboration among students	I need more time to meet with small groups than just the "Guided Reading" portion allows Not so much choice unless you do a 3-ring circus during Guided Reading block
Centers	Can offer independent practice of skills	Many aren't "real" reading and writing activities Difficult to keep students on task Lots of transitions
CAFE	Like a focus wall: post what students are learning and refer to it frequently easily adaptable to the required basal makes goal setting easier (students know what skills they still need to master)
Reader's Workshop	lots of "real" reading and writing LOVE the reading response students do like the idea of an organized reading notebook	a little difficult to fit in whole group basal stories (which are required) Not sure how to manage what students are doing...rotations or choices?
Literature Circles	REAL literature! (need I say more?) choice is valued collaboration among peers resembles adult book clubs	Fitting it in---could be Read to Someone in Daily 5, but then they'd all have to do it at once, which negates the "choice" factor for Daily 5

So, with all of that in mind, I think I've come up with something I want to try for next year. It is my own "blend" of many other people's fabulous ideas:

Literature Circles first thing in the morning during Intervention. Yes, I realize my Intervention group will not get to participate in literature circles, but I can take time with them to do occasional circles. (Thank you, Kim Beck, for your FABULOUS explanation of how you use them with your third graders!)
Reading Workshop for the next 65 minutes. The structure will vary, but will consist of at least one whole group minilesson, independent and partner practice, and share time at the end of the session. While I meet with small groups, students will have a list of items to accomplish in any order they choose. These items will be directly related to the lesson they were just taught.
This next part is still up in the air. I'm thinking about having a separate Read to Self time in addition to items 1 and 2. The good thing about this would be all students would be reading without any distractions while I confer with individuals. In my experience, it just works better that way for my students. (I've also considered doing this first thing in the morning, and doing literature circles during this time).

Here is my schedule:

8:00-8:30	Literature Circles/Intervention
8:30-9:35	Reader's Workshop
9:35-10:15	PE
10:15-10:40	Read to Self/Conferences
10:40-11:40	Math
11:40-12:05	Lunch
12:05-12:50	Grammar/Writing
12:50-1:30	Science/Alabama History
1:30-2:00	Computer Lab
2:00-2:35	Read aloud/Spelling/Handwriting/Prepare for Dismissal

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Last Modified on December 26, 2010

KILGO, FARRAH-Fourth Grade

Revisiting Daily 5

Well, here goes...

Putting it together?

Seeking "Read-atopia"

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