Thursday, July 17, 2014

July 15- 21: Posts or blogs on Chapter 4- What Do You Need to Begin the Daily 5? & Ch. 5- Launching Read to Self: The First Daily 5

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6 comments:

  1. As I read the Tools, Not Toys section of Chapter 4 I am puzzled about the bin of tools (sixty second, ninety-second, and two minute sand timers, small sandwich bags full of manipulatives, such as pattern blocks & legos, etc.) to have on hand for barometer students. For those of you who have used these tools, would you please share how these tools can be used? Thanks!

    After reading Chapter 5 I realize that one of the things I need to do in preparation for teaching the Daily 5 is to redesign the flow of my classroom so students will have ample space for independent reading.
    I love how the sisters have shared some great ideas with their readers for teaching children about choosing good-fit books by comparing book selection to shoe selection.They also have come up with some catchy phrases to use with students like "hips and lips - hands on hips - lips closed" as students walk in hallways and in line.
    One idea I will put into practice right away in both Listen to Reading and Word Work, is to start teaching/modeling the expectations of how students are to set up and clean up materials. This will help children become independent with all of the materials they use throughout the day.
    A list of materials is suggested to use when teaching the first foundation lesson for word work. Included in those materials are beans/shells, clay on lids, and stamps. For those of you who have used these tools, would you please share how these tools can be used?
    The sisters end Chapter 5 with the comment "Trying to reteach something midyear is very challenging because of the phenomenon we call 'beginning-of-the-year-imprinting.' Just as ducklings will become attached to the first creature they see when they come out of their shell, so students will become attached to classroom procedures they learn at the beginning of the school year!" This is a great reminder for me as I start the school year!
    Cathy

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    1. Hi Cathy! I have used the two minute sand timer for my barometer child in the beginning of the school year. When I have a child that just can't sit and read I put them in a spot they cannot see other kids , (and other students hopefully can't see them). Each time we practice Read to Self I tell that child where they are sitting, and I also give them a goal. The goal is to read the words or read the pictures for two minutes and I use a two minute sand timer. When they complete the two minutes they can tip the timer and quietly use a white board to draw a character (or anything that keeps them quiet so our class can gain stamina minutes). Then the student tips the timer and reads the words or pictures of the next book for two more minutes , then they can use the white board for two more minutes ect. I have other teacher friends that use clay and Legos but I think the white boards are an awesome way to keep them engaged with their books.

      Jenn Tverberg
      Loomis Grammar School
      First Grade Teacher

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    2. Thanks, Jen. I loved your reply to Cathy. I always had some play dough or a squishy gel filled tube and timer for the barometer child, along with a square fabric sit-upon. When I noticed a child having trouble attending during read to self I would whisper to him/her sometime after the session that I would like to help him/her at recess for 2-3 minutes during recess. I would show them the materials and explain that they would tip the timer and spend time with their books until the sand ran out Then they could take a play dough by flipping the timer over and when it ran out go back to books. We would practice and then off they went to the playground. Later that day they would be ready with their books and tools for breaks.
      Another trick I learned from the sisters is on the first day if you sense a barometer child as you observe that first hour, choose that child to help model the 2nd time when you are acting out the I chart behaviors. Example:
      Josh just showed us the acceptable way to get his book box, go to his spot and begin reading right away the whole time. Who can show us an unacceptable way of Reading to Self? You then pick that child (Emily) who might be a barometer child and she is more than happy to come up and give us the show of our lives. She stomps over to book boxes, grabs it noisily and drops them all on the ground. The class is giggling. The she grabs them and stomps over to her spot and begins looking around the room rather than starting right away and reading the whole time. So we settle down and ask the class what behaviors need improvement. After the discussion you say to Emily...now you can show us the acceptable way to Read to Self Which she happily does. Then you say...Awesome modeling, You are an expert in read to self. We will remember to ask you what to do when reading to self in case some of us forget. Thanks for helping us today!
      You also asked about tools for the Word Work Center. I introduce 5 word wall words during the first week of school and every week thereafter. These words appear in the poem/song of the week which we read daily and keep in our poetry folders that go home over the weekends for practice. They are also kept in book boxes for read to self. Those word wall words can be practiced during Work on Words using letter stamps to stamp the words,
      magnetic letters to spell out the words on cookie trays, or by using a small golf pencil and writing the word in clay that has been molded into an inverted stove cover or similar small tray. The beans are used to form the letters to spell out the words. Of course, time is spent modeling these tools to know how to use them as tools, not toys. After using the tools for practice the children can then write their words three times each on a white board or in their Word Wall Books (described in Judy Lynch's Word Wall book, publisher: Scholastic). More materials for Word Work will be discussed in a later chapter.

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    3. Thank you for those Ideas! They are great examples of helping kids truly be independent, something I think I am struggling with.

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    4. Thank you for your thoughtful answers and suggestions to all of the questions I posed regarding the "Tools, Not Toys" section of chapter 4. It is so helpful to have strategies that have worked with students shared by expert teachers!
      Kindergarten Cathy

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  2. In years past following the first edition of The Daily 5, it was at times overwhelming and too much to fit in during the course of the day, five days a week. Reading the new edition, I have some insight on what to let go of and what is important to hold onto. Doing the rotation three to four times a week seems more realistic. This rotation works well with second graders.

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