Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 1: "That was Then This is Now"

I was ecstatic when I heard Brenda from Primary Inspired was hosting a book study linky.  

And even more excited when she told me it was about Daily 5.  

I've been super interested in learning more about this reading structure and how to use it in my 2nd/3rd grade looping classroom.

So yours truly is curled up under her wedding quilt with her new favorite book and writing a weekly blog post!

#nerdalert

Without further a do... here's what I've gotten out of reading the first chapter...

After reading chapter 1, I was kicking my younger self for not reading this before I began teaching.  Lord knows I tried my best my very first year of teaching, but if I could change how I did things I would have been a better and much happier teacher.  

 While reading this chapter I doodled and highlighted to keep my thoughts straight... 

The sad and frustrated faces represents about how I felt at the beginning of teaching and when I taught straight from the basals.  It shows the exhaustion the women talk about teachers feeling.  But there is a break through once a structure (Daily 5) is implemented.  I particularly enjoyed the graph of busywork vs.  authentic learning.

The women who created this framework for reading instruction talk so much about their experiences and growth as educators.   They talked about how much busywork and management headaches they had their first few years of teaching.  I had flashbacks to my first year of teaching... and thought, 

"Thank God I'm not alone!"  There is so much busywork that I created for myself unnecessarily.  Instead of focusing on the kids in my small group in front of me I constantly felt like I was putting out fires with my off-task students.  But all that goes away with more structure, authentic reading and writing opportunities, and student choice.  Now, there is a gentle hum around the room. 

 I loved learning about the relationship between CAFE and Daily 5.  When the women described  Daily 5 as supporting the teachings in CAFE, I saw them like columns holding up the roof.  They can also be implemented in different ways to meet the needs of your own classroom.  As long as you're providing opportunities and structure you're helping set up students for reading success.  Below I only included one graphic of how the structure could work, but the book had at least 2 more!  

I think perhaps the most powerful part of reading this book was hearing that  Daily 5 is that it isn't something that you introduce on the first day and then begin your curriculum.  It's a process that takes time and depends on the group you have that year.  It is done by lots and lots and lots of practice.  It's done by repeated modeling and a great deal of structure.  "It's about creating instructional routines with students through focused teaching, student modeling, and practice."  I feel like it's giving the students the opportunity to mature into reading. 

Join me next week when I delve deeper with my friends into this wonderful PD book.