Week 1:

During Week 1 our teachers really emphasized building stamina for reading.  In first grade, they  were able to get up to about 3 minutes of independent reading, whereas second grade was up to 11 minutes, and our upper grades were up to about 15 minutes.  Since this is our second year of implementation, the first and second grade teachers are all seeing how comfortable the students were with Daily 5 and how much easier it is to get Daily 5 up and running.

This first week, all classrooms talked about the 3 Ways to Read and created posters for their students.

 

Teachers also discussed the importance of reading for a purpose.  Each teacher generated a list with their students so they could refer to it in future lessons.  The list below was generated with first graders.

 

Two strategies all the classrooms (1st-6th) focused on were the "I-Pick" chart and the Read to Self.  Teachers know the importance of having the students understand how to choose just right books for themselves.  Since this is year two, most of our students are well versed in understanding their reading levels and what are great choices for them as readers.  We utilize the DRA(Developmental Reading Assessment)school wide to know what level each student is at and to determine our instructional strategies for small group instruction (but we are not there yet...this is only week one...we are just getting the kids back into the routine of reading independently and choosing just right books- the DRA and small groups will come in future posts)

Both pictures are from our 3rd grade class!

 

I am also sharing a modified version of the I-PICK chart that my 4-6 SDC teacher uses.  She uses an individual chart for each student to refer to.  She uses more visuals and smaller groups for instruction, but the students are exposed to the same expectations.  ALL of our students are expected to become independent readers and thinkers- and we know they ALL can!