Daily 5- Chapter 2 Book Study

In Chapter 2 of the Daily 5, the sisters outline the core principles that make the Daily 5 a success. They are:
1. Trusting Students    
2. Providing Choice
3. Nurturing Community
4. Creating a sense of urgency
5. Building Stamina
6. Staying out of the students way once routines are established.
I'll speak to each of these and how I think they did/did not work in my classroom and the changes I look forward to with the Daily 5.
   
Trusting Students- this has been a concept I have been working on for years. Most students are easily trusted...they are your 'people pleasers'. The students who are so eager to make you happy they end up in tears if they feel they have disappointed you. The hard part of trust comes with those students who will do ANYTHING to seek negative attention. We all have them...or sometimes a few of them. These babies have hard lives outside of school and many other factors that play into their behaviors. I've found that if I pull them aside, have a private talk with them about how proud I am of their choices (when I find the appropriate moment) and how I am counting on them to continue making good choices, it usually gives them a sense of trust no one else has ever put in them. Yes, they will test the boundaries. Yes, they will try your patience. Yes, they will drive you to drinking. But giving them a safe environment to earn trust (or show them people can lose trust in you based on your choices) is what they need and the key to this principle.

Providing Choice- I have never had a problem with this. Maybe its because I have a slightly different view of this principle. Some people equate providing choice with less structure. Not true. Not true at all. You can still have a VERY structured classroom while giving students choices. Some people have a problem letting go and letting kids make choices. Kids LIVE to be able to get to an age where they can make their own choices. Besides, if you have anything out you are worried about them doing or not doing, then you REALLY need to question why its out in the first place!!

Nurturing community- I have to admit, that since splitting our kids up by need, I am seeing a stronger sense of community among my kids. I believe it is because of the mix of kids. The 'higher' kids (ones that have fluency, phonics, comprehension and are working on advanced questioning and expanding vocabulary) tend to get very competitive....they are the people pleasers by nature and when they are in a classroom together, they tend to want to 'outdo' each other. We have watched this group have HUGE gains off the pure competitive nature in their learning. Meanwhile, my sweet 'n' lows finally feel safe. They come out of their shell and are not afraid to answer questions, participate in class, have a wrong answer, celebrate a right answer because little Tommy Edison is no longer in competition with them and they are all in the same boat to speak! Their growth also amazed us last year. I look forward to even more when implementing the Daily 5!

Creating a sense of urgency- I totally agree with the sisters on this one. When students know the WHY of what they are learning, they will take ownership of that learning. Not only do I make sure my students know why they are learning something, but I try to use occasion where I show them where in life they will use this skill or concept. Why would ANYONE want to learn something if the only reason behind it is " It may be on the STAAR test next year??" Real world learning and application is the key! DON'T even get me started on the testing!! Ugh!

Building Stamina- This is the most practical approach I have ever seen! I had a professor in college who's favorite saying was " You teach them where you find them!".....taking them from where they are in their stamina and workng daily on building it up is just common sense!!!

Staying out of their way when routines are in place-- again, DUH! The whole point of this management system is to foster independent learning (not playing, not busy work) so you are freed up to conference, small group or assess students. It makes you useful.....as something other than referee!!!

Here's my CAFE menu incase anyone is interested:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_e4qdTe5UmOajFqZ3dLZEhlNEk

This is a Blog Hop!

3 ways to read a book!!

As I posted earlier, I totally plan to use the Daily 5 in my classroom this year. Now to clarify,let me explain the approach my team has used for the last few years (and been quite successful with) for Language Arts.

Two years ago, our team was new...I had moved up from teaching/team leader for 1st grade for 9 years. We had another teacher who was a new addition to our school and in her 2nd year of teaching (this was her first year in 2nd grade) and an experienced teacher who was coming out of a pull-out program to the classroom and even with all her experience it was her first year in 2nd grade.

The spring before my move, we had voted on and accepted a new adoption for Language Arts. (McGraw-Hill Treasures if you're curious). So EVERYTHING was new. We had an unusually LARGE group of already identified Gifted/Talented (my district calls it PACE--don't ask me what that acronym stands for) kiddos. We had an equally large number of those kids who didn't make PACE/ weren't tested for PACE or were needing to be 'watched' for PACE. Ironically, we had also an unusually large number of low-babies. My one advantage with this group is since I had taught them in 1st grade, I knew them well.

That spring I had also attended a district team leader meeting in which we somehow got on the topic of Language Arts and how you serve ALL the kids and ALL the needs and get it all in. One of the ladies at my table mentioned how her team splits the kids up depending on their need. The ones that need intense phonics work/word work/sight words are in one group, the ones who need fluency in another, comprehension another, advanced work and expanding vocabulary in another....and they use the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress assessment...DON'T get me started!) and the TPRI (Texas Primary Reading Inventory) to determine who fits in which group. Their groups are dynamic...meaning when a kid starts 'catching up' on one need and another becomes greater, they may switch him/her to another group to meet that need. It was truly a slap my head kinda moment! WHY hadn't I thought of that?

So, I went back to my principal , sold the idea as one of my original ideas so she would know what a genius I was,  told her how the other schools were meeting the needs and being sucessful, and she gave me a big fat "GO AHEAD" and I nervously took the idea to my team. I have to admit I was nervous....what if they didn't buy into it? Luckily, these resilient ladies were all for trying it. So, I took the low babies---which is basically the phonics/word work group, we had a 'fluency' and  'comprehension' group and two advanced expand vocabulary groups. VOILA!!

We called our divided up groups "Colleges" and took on the emblem of our Alma Maters.....So we had Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UT, Baylor and TCU. The kids LOVED it! WE  LOVED it! We saw huge advances in kids...it was SO much easier than trying to work around all the pull-outs that occur during language arts time and try to fit in ALL levels of reading groups with equal quality given to each of them!!

Well, THIS SPRING I got wind of the Daily 5. I read up on it. I bought the books (e-book versions)  and decided THIS would make our 'college' group approach EVEN better!!! Teaching a strategy to use and practice on self-selected books, in my opinion, is pure GENIUS!!! (Another head slapper moment!) I can picture this working even with our divided groups. It allows us to focus even more on what they need to work on, allow THEM to pick their goals and work on that goal independently.

SO....all that to say, I have been busy preparing for the Daily 5 version of my college group!! And since I am going to use this in conjunction with my Western theme, I have been making  a few posters to go along with it. THIS one I have made to show the 3 ways to read a book. I think I am going to put it on my "WANTED" bulletin board.....as the center piece....and will let the kids make a "WANTED" poster of themselves to show what their reading goal is ....should make a cute bulletin board....or at least it does in my head!!
SO, here it is. I'm going to convert it to a pdf  in Googledocs because it just does really funky things with my fonts in powerpoint and I haven't had time to troubleshoot and figure that out yet!! Feel free to grab...and if you want/need something changed on it, let me know and I can email you a non-pdf version!!!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_e4qdTe5UmObjcxSDJmaXdWQzA

Hold the Alarms, please!!!

Yesterday I posted my Daily 5 (tweaked version) posters that will go with my Western Theme. I laminated them yesterday and put them up on my favorite bulletin board ....the 'cow hide print' one! They looked SUPER cute! Still have some 'tweaking' to do before it's where I want it to be and picture-worthy, but it's coming along....or was....until I realized that yesterday was the last day for office staff to be in until JULY 23rd!!!!
GASP!!
 THEN our office manager broke the REALLY bad news to me.....our precious janitor isn't going to even be at the school until then!

WHAT?

That means if I want to come up to the school to work, I have to ....gulp.....DISARM the alarm.

Now I didn't tell many people last year about my alarm fiasco....and I hesitate to do so now...but it is quite funny....well, not really.....I'm still bitter over it....but I'm trying to laugh in spite of it all.
LAST year, about the 2nd week of school, I knew I was getting WAY behind....so I decided I would come up on a Saturday and take my time working in my room. I'm a team leader. I had the alarm code....complete with step-by-step instructions on how to disarm and arm the alarm.
I mean, how HARD could it be??? I can operate a three ring circus of seven year olds while documenting RTI, supporting my SpEd accomodations, and conferencing with a parent on the phone all at the same time. A simple seven digit alarm code should be NOTHING, right???
RIGHT?...WRONG!

So, I go into the building and head into the office....I punch in the code and ......NOTHING.....still beeping. GULP......I do it again...maybe I missed a number....NOTHING. I start sweating profusely...picturing the police busting through the door at any moment, throwing me to the ground and handcuffing me for wanting to organize my stations for the week!
I try it a third and fourth time....knowing that precious window of beeping is about to be up.
NOTHING.

Just about the time I determine I am probably Huntsville-bound for breaking into my own place of employment, I get the bright idea to call my office manager. No ANSWER!!! WHAT????
So, I get ultra-desperate and decide to bite the bullet and call.........THE PRINCIPAL.

Now I had known her all of 2 weeks. Literally. The old principal,   I would have had NO problem calling....we'd have laughed....she'd have driven up to the school from her house a block away and ....well, heck, she'd have been up there on a Saturday anyway.....but she wasn't the principal there anymore...and my new principal....had a LIFE....like outside of SCHOOL. Which meant she was NOT up there on a Saturday.

I call her and she answers right off....turns out she's sitting at her son's soccer game. I tell her the problem....she tells me to punch in HER code. I do....NOTHING. Hmm....head scratcher. She says try it again....I do. NOTHING. She says she will call security (instantly spawning pictures in my mind of Bon Qui Qui and 'sah-cur-it-ee').....and let them know my dilemma so they can call off the SWAT team. Phew!

I sit down and look around the office....and THEN notice ANOTHER panel....like inside the foyer door. I walk over and punch in the code and ....the beeping stops! "ALARM DISARMED".....good grief!
 I had been punching in the code on the FIRE PANEL....not the alarm. When they renovated they moved it....and I didn't pay attention or didn't care or wasn't told because I wasn't important enough.....either way, I felt like a MAJOR IDIOT!!!! I'm sure school security got a major laugh out of watching me punch in a code and sweat it out on the FIRE PANEL.......

So now, I have an adversion to going up to the school if I have to be the one to disarm the alarm.
Which means, in short, I am homebound until July 23rd......

No fear....I brought my TEs home (snuck them out past the office manager)....so I could get some planning done! SHHH! Don't tell!

All this to say.....I created locker tags. I know....I should yell "Squirrel" because really that story had nothing to do with my cutesy western locker tags other than the fact that the laminator will be getting a break until July 23rd.

The font I use is called " Alpha Rope" and is, by the way, available FREE through dafont.com
Which I use to get most of my cutesy fonts. LOVE that site!!! You have to download that font to see the names in that font....if not, Googledocs does something funky with the font....way beyond my tech savvy understanding!

Anyway, I created these in power point and put in a sample First name Last name spaceholder so I could make sure everything fit okay!!!
Feel free to use....assuming I post them correctly!! Still new at this....bare with me....at least this blog is not alarmed!!!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_e4qdTe5UmOa1FibWhIbUdjbnc

Yeah, I know....two in one day!

I'm breaking the Golden Rule of blogging, but I didn't have access to this earlier today when I posted. I'm doing a "Western" theme this year and incorporating the Daily 5 (or my 'tweaked' version) so I made these Daily 5 signs to go with my theme. I'm not creative and innovative enough to bother with a TPT account, and have no desire to profit from this, so feel free to grab these up if you want them. (Hopefully I can post these correctly!)

Click on the link below to access them:
The Daily 5- Western

Daily 5

I'm excited this year about using the Daily 5! I've done something similiar in past years, but after reading both of their books, I decided that I would implement it full-force because it just made sense! Some teachers have difficulty 'letting go' or not making a zillion worksheets or stations to change out weekly. I don't have that problem...work smarter not harder, I say! I do plan to 'tweak' it to fit my needs,though. I plan on making my 5 be:
1. Read to Self/Someone else
2. Word Work
3. Work on writing
4. Computer literacy (which will be either keyboarding or listening to books on our website links)
5. Craftivity- I NEVER have time to get these cute little things in , so I am going to make it part of the block because I feel that following directions and some of the fine motor skills that come with making 'cutesy', (but educationally sound) stuff is essential !!!

I love the idea of breaking the block up and teaching focused mini-lessons. I also love the idea of teaching a strategy instead of the ol' "everybody grab the same reader and let's echo read even though YOU need phonics work and YOU need comprehension work because you're on the same reading level" idea! Phew!

Saddle up!!!

After much debate and a lot of valuable time spent on Pinterest (doing research of course)....I finally decided on a 'theme' for next year and got started. I'm going WESTERN! Yee haw!!! I imagine it won't be much of a stretch for me, being as I'm definitely the country girl at school and this theme puts me SO in my element!!!
I started off my theme makeover with a trip to Joann's Fabric. I found a cute "wild west" print, a "cow hide" print and for my BIG bulletin board, black glitter felt.

Once paired up with a cutesy border, I think they are going to make really cute bulletin boards.
The one above I think I am going to make into my 'reading corner' and it's going to eventually say, " Wanted: Really Good Books". I am going to make up a cute paper they can fill out in place of a book report and we will display it here.

This one, I have to admit, I'm kind of at a loss for what to do with ......I was thinking I would use it for my Daily 5...but I found a cabinet that will be much more accessible and will work for that. So, I'm throwing around the idea of either 1) a focus board or 2) another place to display work.
So, consider that a work in progress.

This one turned out a LOT cuter than it looks in the picture. Its black felt with glitter.....which immediately made me think of STARS....which immediately made me start singing in my head, " The stars at night, are big and bright (clap clap clap clap) Deep in the Heart of Texas......"
Yeah, I know..total dork. Hey, at least I wasn't singing it out loud!!! Anywho, I'm planning on using that in the title somehow and taking the kids pictures and putting them on 'stars' (or stars that resemble sheriff badges....still debating) and displaying their work. I hate using this board as a word wall because is so hard to get to....(notice the computers) which thankfully were pulled away from the wall so they could vaccuum.....talk about hitting it at the right time!!!

And another super-cute pinterest inspired find (actually I made it!!)....The banner for my window....still a work in progress....Incase you can't read it  says, " Welcome Ya'll" (did you read that in your best Paula Deen voice like I do?)

I'm thinking that window is gonna need some 'spicing up'....but the summer is young.
And I've only just begun......