Launching

Launching the Daily 5 is the most critical component.  By frontloading and putting in the time, teachers will reap the benefits for the rest of the year.  I heard someone say at the first training that at the beginning of the year they were frustrated with their students' ability to succeed in Daily 5.  It was because they were comparing them to the students from the previous (end of) year.  I had the same feeling!  Sometimes we forget how much our students grow in a year.  As we continue to implement Daily 5 in our classrooms, students will be used to the routines and have increased stamina from year to year.

The I-charts in Daily 5 are one of my favorite activities.  As students describe what they should be doing, they love to come up with more acronyms (EEKK elbow, elbow, knee, knee: is the one given for read2someone).  For example, one they came up with for listen to someone read was LAM (Lips Are Moving): meaning they read along as they listen if they have the text in front of them.  We come back to these charts daily and students love the ownership they have in creating them.  I found a link to another teacher's blog that incorporates building stamina into the I-Charts.  It would be a great progress monitoring tool for stamina as the Daily 5 is being launched.  It can be found at:

http://fisforfirstgrade.blogspot.com/2011/04/daily-5-charts.html