Since the end of practicum, I have not been able to write a final blog about my experience at Lakeview, my students and what I learned. There is just too much to be thankful for, too many lessons that I learned, and too many amazing people that impacted my teaching to write one post about. Also, I knew that my learning was not finished and I was right about that.
On Tuesday I went back to Lakeview to see Daily 5 in action in Mrs. McKnight's Grade 1 classroom. I had spent a PD session learning about what it was and how teachers incorporate it into their classrooms. When I first heard about it I thought that it would be this scary program, with all these rules and procedures. I soon realized that it was nothing like that- the goal is to make your students successful by increasing their ability to read and write through numerous strategies. As I was in the classroom, I was able to both observe, ask the students questions and assist. I loved that the students would get working on their tasks of reading to each other, read to self, writing, word work, and fluency. The classroom flowed smoothly as the kids transitioned several times throughout the morning to different areas. Mrs. McKnight's work with the students previously on expectations and procedure was evident as each student knew what to do and how they should do each task- some students needed coaching getting organized or staying on task but they knew what was expected.
Daily 5 in action:
The 5 Reasons for Daily 5:
I am excited to make Daily 5 apart of my classroom one day!
Staff appreciation week at Lakeview- As a school, students and teachers are
encouraged to wear the rainbow colors of the Lakeview rainbow. In support,
I have color coded my blog post.
On Tuesday I went back to Lakeview to see Daily 5 in action in Mrs. McKnight's Grade 1 classroom. I had spent a PD session learning about what it was and how teachers incorporate it into their classrooms. When I first heard about it I thought that it would be this scary program, with all these rules and procedures. I soon realized that it was nothing like that- the goal is to make your students successful by increasing their ability to read and write through numerous strategies. As I was in the classroom, I was able to both observe, ask the students questions and assist. I loved that the students would get working on their tasks of reading to each other, read to self, writing, word work, and fluency. The classroom flowed smoothly as the kids transitioned several times throughout the morning to different areas. Mrs. McKnight's work with the students previously on expectations and procedure was evident as each student knew what to do and how they should do each task- some students needed coaching getting organized or staying on task but they knew what was expected.
Daily 5 in action:
- Checking in with the teacher- Takes a few minutes as you work through the class list and students find their bookmarks and where they what they want to work on.
- Staying on task- Maintaining high expectations will lead to success and continuous reinforcement of expectations is what makes this successful.
- Transitions- Mrs. McKnight had a bell that she rang than had students find their bookmarks and move to another area to get busy working.
- Setting this up in my classroom- Just from being in the classroom, you could see the hard work that Mrs. McKnight has put into setting up this program. She has thought out all the details and maintains her high expectations of her students throughout the morning. When I set this up in my classroom, I have to remember to set up my expectations, explaining each activity (remembering to chunk activities initially), and monitoring on task behavior while maintaining high expectations.
The 5 Reasons for Daily 5:
- Students were able to choose the task that they wanted to work on- with the expectation of moving through each of the activities throughout the morning.
- The activities were continuously changing as every 20 minutes chimes would go off and the students would switch allowing for movement, breaks and new tasks.
- Reading and writing tasks were accomplished as an activity and the students enjoyed doing these tasks.
- Students had to opportunity to build leadership skills, teamwork skills and learn how to work independently.
- Being able to quickly evaluate where students are struggling and succeeding allows for easy progress updates to show parents where their child is in the learning process. As well as parents can help at home as they can work with their child on a specific areas and celebrate the areas of success making reading and writing a fun activity at home as well.
I am excited to make Daily 5 apart of my classroom one day!
Staff appreciation week at Lakeview- As a school, students and teachers are
encouraged to wear the rainbow colors of the Lakeview rainbow. In support,
I have color coded my blog post.