About Daily 5
Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new school year!
I am sure your first grader has come home talking about what they did during their "Daily 5 Time" and you are wondering "What is Daily 5 Time?" The purpose of this page is to try to explain what the Daily 5 structure is all about.
The Daily 5 is a way of structuring the reading block so that every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks, not busy work. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write! Students receive whole group instruction and are then independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to small groups of students.
When it is up and running smoothly (around Mid October), students will be engaged in choosing from the Daily 5 which are comprised of:
*Read to Self
*Work on Writing
*Read to Someone
*Word Work
*Listen to Reading
There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component. We will spend the first 6 weeks of school working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5, and fostering a community of life long readers and writers. I will also spend time learning about your child's strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan for each student's small group instruction at their level. Therefore, we will not start having parent helpers until mid October when this important work has been accomplished (thanks for your patience!)
One thing you may notice is a decrease in the number of worksheets that your child brings home. Instead, your child will be taught how to select "Good Fit Books" or books they can read, understand, and are interested in, which they will read during the Daily 5. They will be spending their time actually reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve reading.
As you can see, I am excited about giving your child the opportunity to be involved in a structure that will have a positive and long lasting impact on their education. I hope this helped to clarify any questions you may have about the Daily 5. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me or ask your first grader to explain it - they are the true experts!
Thanks!
Colleen Welch
First Grade Teacher
Ryan Elementary