Daily 5 is up and running...

As of yesterday we officially have our Daily 5 routine up and running (and I might add...somewhat smoothly).  It really does take an entire month to get all of the routines down and practice them separately before I let them go totally on their own.  I am SO glad when we get to this point because it means they are already becoming more independent (yay, yay)!

The way I run Daily 5 in my classroom involves colored necklaces!  There are five colors and each color group has a different order for the Daily 5 activities.  I hand these out at random each day so they are not grouped by reading level or in any specific way.  I do keep track of the color they have each day so they get a different color every day of the week.  This keeps the groups mixed and interesting!!  

 

(I got the cute little Daily 5 Frogs from Jennifer Tice)

They absolutely love using the iPads-although it will still take us some time before they can problem solve all the fun issues technology brings :-)  This is when I have parent volunteers in my room because they are a HUGE help in dealing with these types of things while I'm reading with a group.  

We usually don't get through all 5 Dailies every day - honestly, its probably about three maybe four if we're lucky.  The necklaces are nice for keeping them on track without me having to switch names or groups on a big wall chart.  I am all about simplifying things :-)

When I take them for guided reading they just skip whatever their necklace says for that round.  I know it's kind of a bummer for them to miss one round, but it's not that big of a deal and it allows me to mix up the groups instead of having them move together with their guided reading group. 

First few days . . .

We have officially been back for 8 days now and things are in full swing!  We have a GREAT group of Firsties this year and I am having a lot of fun getting to know all of them!

We started off the first days by learning the rules with David.  The kids love this story and always do a nice job coming up with rules to teach David.  

(See my post on it from last year for info on where I got the craftivity).

          

Daily 5 has started off really well this year.  About half of the class did it last year so they already know the routine.  We started with Read to Self and just today practiced Read to Someone.  I know that I go out of order from what the book says - but this seems to make the most sense for my little group of kiddos.  

To start off, I give them two books from Reading A-Z (my school has a subscription) that I know are within their independent level.  Once they are ready to start picking books on their own we read, Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopkins.

This the perfect story for a mini-lesson on finding your 'Just Right' book.

And, finally, because we have had a couple of long days with no specials: GoNoodle!

I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything better than watching a bunch of kids dance together without a care in the world.  They absolutely love brain breaks!

                               

                                       

First Weeks of School

We have been so busy, as I know everyone is during their first week of school.  We are finally settling into somewhat of a routine and I am so proud of how fast they have caught on!  

We are making great progress with implementing Daily 5 - so far we are chugging right along with Read to Self and I just introduced Read to Someone on Wednesday.  The kids are loving it and they are doing a great job at building their stamina!!

I know that I introduce my Dailies in a different order from the book but I find that with my little first graders it's easier to keep them in reading-mode for a while before moving on to the writing parts of Daily 5.  I will go on to Word Work next because I think it's also one of the easier things for them to understand and practice.  

Last week we also did a No, David project that I borrowed from Fall Into First.  It was a great way to discuss the rules of our class and the kids LOVE No, David!  After we read the story and brainstormed classroom rules they each picked out a rule that they thought it would be important to teach David.

    

*side note-this was a fairly difficult and time consuming project to do with first graders right away. BUT it can be done.  Just remember that they are not the first graders you just sent off to second grade, patience and extra time is key :-)