A big part of our literacy program is the use of a framework called “Daily 5”. Daily 5 was started by two sisters who came up with the idea that each student needed to learn to read to themselves, read to another person, listen to what good reading sounded like, work on expanding their knowledge of words and then practice all that had been learned by writing.
Which means that the components are:
- Read to Self
- Read to Someone
- Work on writing
- Word work
- listen to reading.
We have been slowly establishing the routines of Daily 5. This is so stamina is built up so that each student focuses on the task without getting distracted. Each day is an opportunity to train muscles how to stay focused on task, like a runner does training for a race.
The students have progressed to Read to Someone, which is the most popular component of Daily 5. The students pair up and sit Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee (EEKK). The reason is that when they are in close proximity to one another, their voices can be lowered. A lot of training goes into how students read to each other, so that they improve.
A key part of the process is the Teacher’s Pensieve. This is the recording system used by the teacher to help keep track of students reading strategies, their strengths and goals.
We have been very fortunate at MACC because we have been receiving support for Daily 5 from the organisers themselves. In a recent conversation, Mrs Boushey suggested having the students enter their own notes into the Pensieve. It was a great suggestion!
In preparation for this, I had the students pair up with their good fit books, a notebook and a pencil. They were instructed that they would take turns to be the teachers. They were going to write notes about their reading buddy and record it just like the teachers do when they are conferring.
In their notebook, they had to record the name of their partner and the name of the book that their partner was reading. They then had to write answers to two questions:
- What was their partner doing well?
- What did their partner need help with? What do they need to improve on?
The high level of engagement spoke volumes and many of the students set goals, by writing a reading strategy down for their partner. The opportunity where they could be the one giving guidance and instruction, allowed them to be a support for one another.
Our next step will be to type their notes into the Pensieve. It will take some time, but it is a wonderful journey to be on as we grow and improve in our reading and writing.
What do you know about Daily 5? What are some reading strategies that you use? What are some other ways that you can help teach a friend?