For the Love of Teaching : The Daily Five

What is the Daily 5?

The daily 5 is a system set up to give children the opportunity to work around the room in centers while the teacher meets with small groups or one-on-one with children on differentiated instruction. The centers and small group meetings occur after 7- 10 minute whole group lessons.

The 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence:

1. Identify what is to be Taught

2. Set a Purpose and Create a Sense of Urgency- Why are we doing this?

3. Record Desired Behaviors on an I-Chart- This is crucial for student success. These I-charts are where desired behaviors are recorded in front of the students and briefly explained. They are written as what we WANT the students doing and not what they SHOULDN'T be doing. Young children are still trying to build stamina so these are not all added to the chart on the first day.

Here are sample I-charts:

4. Model Most-Desirable Behaviors- Taking the desired behaviors from the I-chart and presenting them physically. Choose one or a few students to model these behaviors. Once you have gone through and modeled the behaviors follow up with a question like: "If __________________ continues to follow these behaviors will they become a better reader or writer?

5. Model Least-Desirable Behaviors, Then Most-Desirable Behaviors Again-Communicating expectations with a correct/incorrect/correct interaction model. Now have students model the behaviors in the incorrect way. This allows students to see and feel the expectations rather than just hear it. Explain to the students that these off task behaviors will not help them to become better readers and then have them explain which behaviors will again.

6. Place Students Around the Room- Have the students practice these behaviors around the classroom. This step teaches children to choose spots respectfully and independently.

7. Practice and Build Stamina- The first practice session should only last about 3 minutes because you are allowing students to build stamina. This could be an even shorter amount of time with younger children and we have to remember each class is going to be different when it comes to building stamina. As you go on through the weeks their stamina will build and sessions will become longer.

8. Stay Out of the Way- Teachers should stay out of the way during practice. If you go around the room praising the students constantly they will rely on this reinforcement to keep them on task and independent. Instead sit back and wait for the signs of student's stamina ending. After the launching period of the daily 5, teachers will begin to work with those small groups.

9. Use a Quiet Signal to Bring Students Back to the Gathering Place- As soon as we notice that a child has exhausted their stamina we bring the class back together as a group. We want them to begin to respond quickly to the signal and to know exactly what to do when they hear it.

10. Conduct a Group Check-In: "How did it go?"- This is time to reflect on personal success and the behaviors. Create goals for the students based on their reflections.

What Do You Need to Begin the Daily 5?

* Chimes or some kind of quiet signal

* Chart rack or interactive whiteboard: The I-Charts- Have I-charts as a permanent part of the classroom

* Tools (not toys)- These supplies will help students to build stamina. It can serve as extra support for the "barometer" students.

* Book Boxes- It should contain 3-8 good fit books. You could have students fill up their own book boxes as an activity for teaching students how to choose good fit books. These book boxes could also be used to differentiate the centers around the room. For example for the word work each student could have a set of word cards in their box that they are to work on at the word work center.

* A Gathering Place and Focus Lessons

* A Classroom Design: Set up spots around the room that will be comfortable and enjoyable for the children to read or write at.

The Centers/Stations of the Daily 5

The amount of time for each station depends on the student's stamina and literacy block. The rounds begin after a 7-10 minute whole group lesson. These are just the main 5 stations that are part of the daily 5, but as you begin to switch out or add stations try adding math, science or even social studies stations! Here are the five with some ideas of what to do at each station: