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I never thought it could happen, but they learned how to sit and read to themselves, with a partner, write and listen to reading for 20-30 minutes at a time. Lastly, this book offers a program that does away with centers. I used the daily 5 with my students this past year. One thing the author said made total sense. I cannot say enough good things about this book. Their reading scores went through the roof. Especially in the lower grades where silent reading isn't often part of the school day and it really is the most crucial time.
What I don't like about centers is all of the work involved in changing them and then what to do with all of the work that they didn't really have time to finish and they only kind of half did it. I have taught 1st grade for 3 years and this was by far the best group of readers. I know that Debbie Diller is a big advocate, and I used her book Literary Work Stations the previous year and thought it was great. A few teachers in our school used and loved this program and the principal was so impressed with the scores that we have been asked to introduce it to the whole school. How are they supposed to learn to read if they don't actually READ in school. This offers the children 5 activites that center around authentic reading.
I've adapted this to my high school classroom, making it the Daily 3: reading to yourself, reading to someone, and working on writing. Though this is a primary-oriented text, I found it working wonders in middle and high school. This is the MOST POWERFUL structure of creating reading and writing independence I've every seen. My older students needed the structure of reading and writing and I NEEDED the structure to conference on their work and process daily. I thought I was going to get to teach process and content from this book, but the by product was exceptional classroom management self-regulated by my high school students - all this I credit to the "2 Sisters".
I always hated giving out 'packets' or busy work to kids while I worked with small groups and this book has a nice way of dealing with that. I am a strong believer in if you want to be a good reader you have to read, read, read and if you want to be a good writer you have to write, write, write, and this book gave me tools to set up a workable independence in my students.
I can honestly say, it was worth all the effort. I bought this book last May, in hopes of implementing this school year (2008/2009). Like anything you try as a teacher, be willing to make this your own and be patient. By February, we finally were doing all 5. I'm excited to purchase their new book this month and look forward to attending their workshops in the future. Many of my students had stamina issues.
Now that I've had some experience, I can't wait to start a new school year with the Daily 5. Despite some early and long lasting bumps in the road due to the personalities in my classroom, the Daily 5 has really helped my students. It's so much easier for me to do running records and work with small groups and individual students. To make a go of it, we spent a long time just doing "Read to Self" and I gradually let students do "Read to Someone" as they showed they were ready for it. Even though I began the year with Daily 5, my second graders were only doing 2 out of 5 by December. I'm a member of Gail and Joan's Daily Cafe website and it's really helped me with reading instruction.
This book will change your teaching life if you put forth the effort.
This book is a great tool to help teachers set up their reading block and manage it more effectively for the teacher and for the students.
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