Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Daily 5, Chapter 2

D5

Here’s chapter 1’s post.

With the end of the school year drawing near (even though it’s going by so slow) reading Chapter 2 in The Daily 5 was not at the top of my priority list. However, I did do my reading homework last night and am set to participate in Week 2’s link up.

This chapter introduced managing a Daily 5 classroom and how that management will eventually lead to “principled habits.

1 .What goals do you have for your classroom as you work to implement the principles and foundations of the Daily 5 discussed in chapter 2? What support do you need to do this?
An autonomous classroom is always the goal, regardless of the program being used.  Using this independence to create ample time for the kids to practice their reading and writing in the way that best suits them was the a-ha for me in this chapter.  The author also asked the question, “What do you do that you could trust the kids to do?”  That was a great question to get me thinking.  I’ve started a list of procedures and times of the day that are essentially led by me that could very well be student led.  Since this chapter was more like an overview of the independent time, I will need to read further and have a better understanding of the daily 5 to find out what support I will need. 

2. What stands out as the most significant aspects of this chapter?
Again, I felt like this chapter was just surface information that would be discussed further in subsequent chapters.  From the overview however, creating readers with stamina is what I’m most excited about. Stamina is the piece that is missing from my program.  I also look forward to finding out more about creating that classroom community where the kids are given the tools to monitor each other’s behavior so I don’t have to do it all the time. 

3. How do the foundational principles of the Daily 5 structure (trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina), align with your beliefs that support your teaching strategies and the decisions that you make about student learning?
The structure very much aligns with my teaching ideals.  The last couple of years though have been a little brainwashing towards testing so I had to stop myself from saying, “Ya, but what about testing?” while I read.  I’m glad the author did address the testing culture a bit.  I know that the kids really learning will lead to the good test scores, but balancing that with the pressure put on us to get those good scores will be the issue I will struggle with.   

Nicole at Teaching With Style, who is one of the book study’s hosts, created this cute (and free) stamina chart. 

Here’s this week’s linky thingy…

21 comments:

  1. Lol, love your blog title!!
    I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how your kids will develop stamina. I read this book in February and implemented what I could. I followed the lessons that they suggested and I was amazed how my kids did and were really reading:)

    Aloha,
    Corinna

    Surfin' Through Second

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    1. @corinne - thanks for coming by. Increased stamina is what I'm most excited about. Looking forward to implementing what I can next year.

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  2. I know what you mean about the testing conundrum. My school didn't make Adequate Yearly Progress for the past two years, so when i was moved up to a testing grade this year, the pressure was on! But, i felt so confident that my students would perform well because they were actively involved in authentic reading actiivties while i worked one-on-one or in small groups to hone their comprehension skills. Not eveyone passed the test, but they all made growth, and to me, that's what its about: personal growth. Thanks for linking up!
    ✿Nicole
    Teaching With Style

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    1. @nicole - seeing growth in their reading is far more telling than test scores. My plan is to take that philosophy with me into next year. Regardless of what's being told, I know in my heart that I what is right. Only time will tell if I crack under the pressure of it and revert back to teaching the test. :)

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  3. BTW, I updated the stamina charts and included two different colored options. I'd love for you to download a new version!
    http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Stamina-Chart

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  4. My kids are pretty independent...we will see how it transfers to first grade...will have to look into the book. Off to work- will blog hop later :)
    Happy Thursday!

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  5. I cannot really comment, not having kids I've no direct dog in this fight. And I'm having difficulty with the notion of self ordering eight year olds. But I do believe that this happening is core to the future of society.

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  6. After Saturday, I realized I suck as a teacher.

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  7. @Marey - Ya, my kids are independent in that they know how to be in the classroom and do certain things with out needing me. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, right after bringing my kids into the classroom to start the day there was a little emergency outside. While I stood outside with the door open I saw and heard that the kids had started the morning on their own. It was one of those moments that I remember reading about in Harry Wong books. However, I have not yet let go of what I want them reading or writing, for fear that they won't do what they need to do to get better. But this chapter really emphasized the need for choice and I get it. I'm more successful at things I choose to do than those I am made to do.

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  8. @Vince - I know! It's seems like a lot to ask of little kids (some arrive in 2nd at the beginning of the year and are only 6 years old). They can do it with practice, but I've never handed curriculum over to them. Yikes!

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  9. From personal data, sending kids to school out of their age cohort is perhaps one of the worse thing that can happen. You rarely have a natural win. I was two full years behind mine. They wanted a third teacher and the parish tried to finesse the numbers. So bad enough as going in Sept and having a birthday in June I was sent in waster and did K1 between then and July.

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  10. @Vince - What!?!?!That's crazy! You were a baby! I'm sure you were bright enough to handle the academics part, but the younger ones usually lack the maturity and social skills to stay focused and sit in a desk for any length of time. Sometimes it's ok, but there's nothing wrong with giving the kids another year to make sure they are ready. Teachers agree that those later bdays just need to wait. Most states here have a cut off date of 5 by Sept 1 for Kinder. In CA it's been by Dec. 1 which makes them 4 for a about half the school year when we start in August. CA just passed the Sept 1 cut off this year, but it doesn't go into effect for another few years.

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  11. That's just it I wasn't. I was a full year behind my class in reading but I could hide it since in those days reading started with kid #1 in desk #1. By the time it got to me in desk #5, I had the reading off-by-heart.
    But it's more than that. This travels up. At eleven/twelve you are fully two years behind in the growth spurt.
    Frankly, parents should plan for post Sept 1st. And get their practice in in Dec.

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  12. @Vince - That's a big gap. I have a late bday so I was always about a year younger than my classmates, and that was rough socially as far as I was the last allowed to do everything - date, drive, drink. Two years is a big difference in those tween/teen years.
    What do you mean about the desk #s?

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  13. This http://www.stsalvage.ie/product/miscellaneous.html
    two kids to a desk, with the rest of the class ranked behind so by the 5th desk I'd listened to the nine kids before me. I had the sixty or so words of the reader down pat.

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  14. or this is closer, http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/photolib/misc/Old%20Wooden%20School%20Desks.htm

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  15. @vince - I've not heard of that method before. It must have been as boring as hell. Amazing how kids learn to cope though. And seating by levels? I don't think we'd be allowed to do that. With that experience I'd imagine that the choice and independence offered in this program sounds awfully willy nilly.

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  16. I hear you on the "what about testing" comment. Us Cali teachers have been given the beat-down in this silly department. I am so glad I found you . . . it will be so helpful to hear a perspective from my state. See you for Chapter 3 :)

    Kelley Dolling
    Teacher Idea Factory

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  17. @Kelley - Thanks for coming by. Teaching in this state is such an oxymoron really...they pile all this pressure on us to get good test scores but put the least amount of money towards education of any of the other states. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works in my classroom. Gotta this year finished with first though. :)

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  18. I really like the idea of building stamina. Another book, "On Solid Ground" uses reading workshop, conferences, guided reading, and word work (large group only). After reading workshop, the students share what they read, the reading techniques they used. It is an amazing program! What I like about Daily 5 is that it is a stepping stone to that program. I think sharing what students read and talking about their reading strategies in a group setting gives students the motivation to use the best reading strategies. I might even ask the students to share their own strategies of who they are able to have enough stamina to read for 20 minutes and share. Good luck!

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