I was comforted by Gail and Joan's words that they too were challenged as new teachers. I OFTEN feel like I could do more and question my practices on a daily basis! I think that I am headed in the right direction and it looks like the Daily Five is just what I need to bring it all together.
A few things I loved from the 1st chapter: (reading on my Kindle so I'm not sure how to find the page number!)
I loved the bulleted items that distinguish the Daily Five from other management models. Especially that it allows three to five focus lessons and more INTENTIONAL teaching. This is a great point! I already use Writer's Workshop in my room and have enjoyed much success using this model. I love it because the focus for the day really hits home for the kids. I can imagine (in my summertime rose colored glasses) that having the same type of focus during a literacy block will be so beneficial for students.
A question a colleague asked me today was, "What about AR?" (Ugh! I am NOT a huge AR fan!) So I will be looking into how I can incorporate a "testing time" into a different part of our school day and not interrupt that precious reading time!
Hi Heather!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up! I'm not familiar with AR. I'd love that you explain for me. I've seen Amanda Nickerson from One Extra Degree creating lots of goodies for AR. We are restricted by specific workshop models. My fingers and toes are crossed that I can complete Daily 5 without problems from the district. I truly believe we will touch on more than just an inch deep and mile wide.
Cheryl
Primary Graffiti
Accelerated Reading is a program that allows students to take comprehension tests on books. Students receive points for books read and have a quarterly reading goal. It can be a very motivating program for students and promotes at home reading too.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I have with AR are that books are leveled by grade and at our school and they are labeled in the library with "yellow dot", "pink dot", "green dot" according to difficulty. So many times I have heard students say, "I can't read that because it's a pink dot". Rather than focusing on the book or their abilities as a reader they focus on the color dot it is labeled with.
The second thing that makes life difficult with AR is the testing. Students will wander the room for 10 minutes writing their name on the testing board, switching out books to test on, and then the physical act of testing can take forever.
Within my school the workshop model is highly accepted so I'm not running into problems there. I already do a Reader's/Writer's workshop model in my classroom and I have wanted to switch to Daily Five for some time now. And AR is not necessarily a district mandated program anymore either. So I guess my concern comes from my own need to "do it all" I guess. Other teachers that use AR expect 1st graders to know how to "test" when they get to them and parents with older students are anxious to see their little ones testing. I am looking into the possibility of using our buddy read time (with a 5th grade class) to be "testing time".
I will check out Amanda's site, I am curious if she uses Daily Five too! Thank you for the information!
I enjoyed reading your blog Heather. I do not have AR but I do a similar program on an internet site called Book Adventure. The students read a book and then they go to the computer and take a test on the book. It is a free site and I love it for my students. Usually my students would take their tests during their Read to Self time which last year was a 30 minute block of time where all my students Read at the same time. The students would either turn a book in with their Home Reading Folder in the morning or they would wait until I had a free moment during D5 and they would bring it up to me and tell me they were finished. I would take their books, put a sticky note on it and the students would write their names. When it was there turn to take a test, I would call their name, hand them their book and they would go take their test. When finished, they would write down their score and hand the book back to me on the table. I would not visit with them at all about the book at that time. They also would not be able to pick another book until the end of the day. They would go back to their book box and begin working on another book. At other times, the students would ask to come in after lunch and take a test then go out for their recess. I allowed them to do that if I stayed in the room for lunch. This really worked for me this last year. Most of my students loved taking the tests. They were so excited if they passed. I loved it because I can't read every book that my students are reading and this way I can tell if they understood what they read. With you being a first grade teacher, your high achieving students should be able to handle doing this on their own.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tammy! I have pondering this all day and I wondered if something like you explained would be feasible. I've also thought about making my first 15 minutes of the day a time students could sign in to test and use this as an extra incentive to support the home reading log. Once I get "rolling" I envision the first 15 minutes as a book shopping time before they head to their morning work. It will be interesting to put all the pieces together! Thank you for your comment! ~Heather
ReplyDeleteHi Heather... Thanks for linking up...we have AR at our school and I quite enjoy it. It is NOT our reading program just an incentive. The kids loving using the computer and earning points with the books they read. We allow the kids to use the computer lab the first 15 minutes of school to take their tests. I will not let the kids use the computers during Daily 5 for AR testing either. The up and down and computer on and off sounds like a stress I'd like to avoid. Having them read and enjoy their reading time sounds fabulous. They can save their testing until the morning :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again for joining us!!
Lory
I am not sure how your day rolls, but my kiddos do their AR tests either before school (if they are hanging out) or they do it during morning work. However, they are still responsible to finish the spiral review page. On occasion some kiddo may get missed and they do it during SSR right after lunch. Not sure if this helps at all.
ReplyDeleteI just linked up as my bum was not in gear and I ordered my book late :) I enjoyed your post and I will be back soon . . .
Kelley Dolling
Teacher Idea Factory
Thank you Lori and Kelley for your feedback! I agree that the up and down takes away from reading. I love the idea of the first 15 minutes or during lunch. (I often have kids request this anyway.) It is good to see that this does work within the Daily Five for some. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHeather
I used AR more with my 2nd graders than with my 1st graders. Most 1st graders are learning to read so AR isn't really something I wanted to pressure them with. Not sure if AR is mandatory for you; it's not for me. I did have a few high readers (3rd & 4th grade reading level) that I had do AR every other week with their library books. I wanted them to be able to choose their books and enjoy what they were reading, and not just focus on taking a test. If it's something you really want to do with your class, then I would do it gradually throughout the year; don't start off with it the first month. Good luck with the Daily 5!
ReplyDeleteMarissa
WILD About First Grade!
Great advice Marissa! Thank you! I have been thinking about only doing AR with our 5th grade reading buddies. I'm hoping it can enhance the "Read to Someone" portion of Daily Five. I'm glad I have all summer to think about this! ~Heather
ReplyDelete