Read to Self
Hi everyone! My name is Katie Klohn and I am from The Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher.
This past year was my first year of teaching and I know that teaching is exactly what I was born to do. I always thought that I would find myself in a 1st or 2nd grade classroom, but I have loved every minute in 6th grade.
I quickly turned to The Daily 5 in my classroom because I discovered that the whole group setting was not meeting the needs of my students. I spent many hours in the lower grades for my observations during my undergrad classes, and knew that I wanted to do something similar to guided reading/small groups. That is when I came across The Daily 5 and I have been using it ever since. So many people believe that something like this can only be implemented in the lower grades, but it can be just as successful in the intermediate classroom too.
If you have missed the first three chapters of the book study, be sure and catch up because they are great!
Chapter 4- Read to Self
"Having children read to themselves is the first step in Daily Five and is the foundation for creating independent readers and writers" (pg. 46).
Too often in today's classrooms, students are not given the opportunity to read independently. In my opinion, we are doing a disservice to them by not allowing them that time.
It is important that Read to Self is something that is introduced in your classroom starting with the first day of school. The Sisters mention in the text that they always begin this by gathering the whole class on the floor. The first thing that students must understand is that there are "Three Ways to Read a Book."
1. Read and talk about the pictures.
2. Retell the words.
3. Retell a previously read book.
In my classroom we created an anchor chart for this as well as adding it to our reading notebooks. I believe that it is important for students to have information like this available to them in several places so that they can easily access the information.
Discussion Question: How do you launch or plan to launch the Read to Self component in your own classroom?
The Sisters also mention creating I Charts with your students as you are launching the different components of each portion of the Daily Five. These I charts need to be created each school year by the students with you. In order for them to buy into the process of the Daily Five, they have to be a part of the "rule" making. I like to think of it as "What am I supposed to be doing during Read to Self time?" I also really like that part of the chart includes what the teacher is doing during Read to Self time. I think that it is important for students to understand not only what they are supposed to be doing, but what the teacher is doing too.
Modeling, modeling, modeling. This is mentioned several times in the chapter. Even though I teach 6th grade, my students absolutely love modeling for each other. Especially since I teach all of the Inclusion kiddos as well as several ESL students, this is a must for my classroom.
Discussion Question: How do you implement modeling within your reading workshop time? Do you always model, or do students model correct reading behaviors too?
So after students understand what they are supposed be doing during Read to Self time, what is next? It is important to then move into the practice phase of read to self where students begin to build stamina. Depending on the age of the children in your classroom, their stamina will vary. Very rarely can my 6th graders sit for more than 15 minutes while they are reading independently. This is a good time to also practice where to sit and how to sit while reading to self. My students do not tend to have a problem with this, but I would assume if you are in 3rd or 4th grade that your students might need a little more practice with this. In my classroom, I have a box of things that my students can use while they are doing Read to Self. In this box are questioning cards, storytelling cubes to check for understanding, as well as templates for reading response letters that they write about their books.
Discussion Questions:
How do your students choose their spots of read to self in your classroom?
Do you allow your students the opportunity to book shop during their read to self time, or when do your students have an opportunity to do this?
Is Read to Self something that you expect your students to do on a daily basis when they are picking their rotation spots?
I am excited to see how you all implement the Read to Self component within your classrooms!
Posts
62 comments:
I have not used the Daily 5 yet, but I am eager to try this upcoming year. I agree that read to self is the most important element. In the past I have had students complete independent reading time as one of the assignments when I was working with small guided reading groups. The problem was that I never taught expectations. I assumed the students knew how to read independently by fourth grade. Also I had too many students fake read, because they were not reading a just right book. Then of course I had students who would wonder around and spend most of their time trying to find a book. It was not successful especially for my struggling readers.
Now I intend to follow the plan that the sisters lay out. I will teach the different ways to read a book. I think I may even show them some wordless picture books like Wednesday by David Weisner.
I am going to explicitly teach expectations, and model, model, model. I also need to build stamina. I see how important this is yet never thought about doing it.
I just hope that I don't get discouraged when it does not work out perfectly as I imagine.
Woo Hoo, we are in the Meat and Potatoes of this. Read to Self is one of my favorites. I time for kids to read on what they want to read, but oh how it can be frustrating at times. I think I will just answer Mrs. Klohns 5 questions today:
1. I always begin Read To Self the way the book suggests. As a class (and each individual Class, I will have 3 this year) we create the I chart. Yes that means 3 I charts in one day. No I don't post them all, I combine to make 1 that gets posted. As you can see the Sisters give you what should be on there, so they all end up being about the same. Some years I add picture visuals, some years not.
2) I also do modeling with the kids. They think it is funny, but it makes my point. Even though I teach 6th grade, and a lot of my students have done this in the past, I still find it very important. Each teacher is different. My versions of a bubble space, silent, and appropriate seating spots may differ from the previous teacher(s). I mainly have the kids model. As for time, I don't always start with 3 minutes, but I never start with more than 5. Yes, they are 6th graders, but we don't want wrong practice and believe me there are years we don't make it past 3 minutes.
3. I let me students choose their spots to sit, of course this is after we make an anchor chart of where appropriate seats are. (Where I can see you, what is a bubble space, where you will stay awake, yes you can be on the floor, no more than 2 people at a table, etc)
4. I prefer book shopping to be done before Daily 5 starts, but with 3 classes and only 90 minutes each, a lot of time the book shopping has to be on the way to their spot. I haven't figured out a good way to do this. I will take any ideas that may be out there.
5. I think Read to Self is a DAILY must do. I am hoping to have a Daily 3, where Read to Self and Work on Writing are required, and then Read to Someone, Listen to Reading (don't do this very often), and Word Work as an optional the 3rd rotation. However to be honest, even after doing this 3 years, it is still hard to get it all in for me. I have also found that my Mini Lessons some times are 20 minutes (hey with 6th grade sometimes it takes that) and we can only do a Daily 2. I have also realized in order to get those grades, we all must have, I have to help my students understand that Read to Self may include an activity to do as well. Sometimes we need to record as we read to completely comprehend.
I can't wait to hear, okay read, everyone elses ideas and thoughts.
Till Friday, make sure you take some time for you to have READ TO SELF.
Nicole
Teaching, Stitching, and Parenting
I haven't implemented Daily 5 in my classroom yet, but I am so excited to do so. In the past I have just jumped in and had my students read silently for 30 minutes. Now I can see that I should have modeled behaviors and built up their stamina. I loved how they chose two different students to model the behaviors and then showed how the student who had problems sitting still did during the practices later on. The check ins are priceless. This again is something that I will be implementing in my classroom. Students should be giving input not just receiving procedures. I plan to follow the lessons in the book the way they are laid out. I think the Sisters know what they are doing, so why mess with what works. Besides, not having used Daily 5 before, I wouldn't know of any other way to teach Read to Self yet. Another great chapter--just reading it made me wish I could've been in the room with the class!
For the past two years I have followed Laura Candler's "Power Reading Workshop" model with outstanding results, and I think I can integrate Daily 5 very easily with what I am currently doing. Read to Self has always been "sacred" time in my classroom, with every student engaged in reading to self during that time period. (15-20 minutes) I am thinking that I want to maintain that time segment as "sacred" reading time, and then do the other 4 components as prescribed in the book. I welcome comments and suggestions from anyone who has already been using Daily 5. I teach 4th grade.
Katie, I love your discussion questions! I
I know from the past two years that it takes time to build stamina, and I really like the modeling of wrong as well as right behaviors. I allow the students to choose where they want to sit to read, but a student could lose that freedom and be sent back to their desk if they continued to display off-task behaviors. By following the Sisters plan during the beginning stages, maybe that will no longer be a problem.
I have the students make their book selections early in the morning (before the bell rings)or during our morning snack & restroom break. I don't want them to spend their reading time shopping for a book.
I'm really enjoying this book study group, and I look forward to implementing D5 in my classroom this year. I know one area I really need to focus on is using anchor charts created with the students instead of posters I created ahead of time. I'm also getting a little stressed out about implementing Common Core this year! Anyone else feeling my pain?
This chapter was somewhat an affirmation of what I do in the classroom. For that, it is good to know what I already do fits.
Reading the words is a strategy I teach for pre-reading. We use it to identify characters, setting, and plot of the stories we read.
My issue comes with re-telling a story as a method of reading. Two thoughts here . . . re-telling is a summarizing skill. That is something used to measure the comprehension of what was read, not reading itself. Secondly, if it is indeed a method of read-to-self, what do you do with a student who spends his independent reading time re-telling stories he has already read? If it is aloud, he will bother other students. It is done internally, how does one determine he is not procrastinating?
Modeling is always good. There are times when I could improve this, but overall I am pleased with the modeling we do in class. I am cautious of highlighting too many incorrect behaviors. I am reminded of our mathematics series that has work that occasionally asks the students to purposely write incorrect mathematics facts. I do not want students practicing that. I understand the purpose of modedling incorrect behaviors and sometimes do that, but I am cautious.
As for book shopping time, I am now re-thinking my approach to this. Students have shopped during their read-to-self time, but I am beginning to see merit in doing this differently. How that will materialize in the classroom this coming year I do not exactly know. I like the idea of having a handful of books on hand to move to. How they will be stored is what I haven't decided; I abhor clutter.
I plan to follow the suggestions in the book for launching Read to Self, beginning with modeling and Icharts with my 4th graders. Gathering grades has been on my mind too. I will need grades for Reading, Writing/Grammar, and Spelling for reporting on Progress Reports each nine weeks. In 2nd grade we gave weekly cold reading tests (teacher made) and had a system down for all of these areas based on the skills we taught weekly. I am not sure what's in place for 4th grade at my school, so I feel a bit overwhelmed in the grading area, as I try to use Daily3 this year. I look forward to learning more about the assessment pieces of this program. Thank you to all of the presenters and comments!
I would definitely let my students choose where they sit during Read to Self. If we continually have uses with certain students I would maybe tell them where to sit for a couple of days and then review how to do read to self and then try the process again. I also do believe that it is important to Read to Self once a day!
Please check out my summary of the chapter http://classroomcollective.tumblr.com/post/26901504978/daily5-chapter4
1. How do your students choose their spots of read to self in your classroom? I let the students sit where they want during Read to Self. Myy requirement is that they need to be at least an arm lengths away from each other, and if they are having a hard time then they need to go back and sit at their desk.
2. Do you allow your students the opportunity to book shop during their read to self time, or when do your students have an opportunity to do this?
No one is allowed to sit directly in front of the bookshelves, so as students finish their books they are allowed to take an AR test and choose a new book during that time. If they aren't doing either of those, then no - they have to be reading.
3. Is Read to Self something that you expect your students to do on a daily basis when they are picking their rotation spots? After trial and error last year, I realized with that group of students I needed to have Read to Self be a whole class activity - it was just too hard for some of my students to read without it being complete silence and no distractions. They had a hard time concentrating if there was read to someone, work on writing, and word work going on. I'm going into this year with the same plan since it worked so well with my schedule. That time of the day (right after lunch) will be another whole class read to self time.
I'm very excited about being able to implement the Daily 5 in my classroom, but a bit overwhelmed by the challenges . As a 6th grade teacher in a middle school, I have 4 classes of ELA - the largest one having 30 students. I also have a 60 minute block.
I'm almost certain (although I change my mind daily) that I will be actually implementing the Daily 3 (Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Word Work). I am lucky to have a "literacy lounge" which is where I will set up my Daily 5 activities. Since I plan to have my entire classroom library over there, my goal is to spend the next few weeks creating book bags for my students based on the current data I have.
Last year, I lexiled my classroom library, so students will be allowed to check out books once a week from my classroom library during our AA time and bi-weekly at the media center.
I have to admit that I had the same mindset as many of the members in the earlier post - I thought that my 6th graders would know how to read silently. Yet, I spent the entire year fussing at students who were either fake reading, roaming the room, or just grabbing any book - therefore wasting their time.
So it will be very important for me make sure that I correctly and continuously model the correct "Read to Self" behavior. My goal is to create my I charts on flipcharts (one for each classroom) and then create one paper anchor chart that we will post in the classroom. Students will also have a copy of key anchor charts in their interactive notebook.
Wish me luck!
I have never done the Daily 5 before but I do look forward to implementing it this year with my 5th graders. I keep wavering between launching the Read to Self component on the first day of school, or waiting a week or two until regular classroom routines and procedures start to take form and become habit.
What do you all plan to do?
I'm also very nervous about jumping into "teaching students" a.k.a. meeting with students or groups of students while the others are Reading to Self...especially if we begin with a 3-minute time frame. When the class and I create our chart I plan on adding, "Reading" to what the teacher is doing while the students Read to Self. This way I can loosely monitor class behaviour without hovering like an eagle all while modeling positive reading habits.
Katie, you said that your 6th graders very rarely sat for more than 15 minutes during Read to Self. Was this initially or after building stamina? Has anyone been able to work their way up to the prescribed 30-45 minutes of sustained independent work that the Sisters suggest? I realize that every group is different, but approximately how long did it take your students to reach that goal?
I have always done DEAR time (drop everything and read) and it's usually been a bust because I now realize that I just expected that my students knew how to pick a just right book and read to self. However, I did notice that the year I began offering students a choice of where to sit in the classroom, they tended to read for longer periods. I guess it's just like us - who wants to read sitting upright in the same hard seat you sit on all day long?! I have provided a sofa, a rocking chair, and a rattan lounge chair for reading time in the past...in addition to all the nooks and crannies they find under desks and in corners! What do you all use? I also found these cute little milk crate seats on Pinterest that I might try and make this summer: http://adayinthelifeofmisskranz.blogspot.ca/2011/07/summer-time-and-livin-is-easy-aka-too.html?m=1
Thanks, Katie, for another great chapter study! I also wanted to add that I followed your blog this year and got some great ideas from you! Although this was your first year teaching, you sound very passionate, and seem very innovative and reflective about what you do in the classroom. I think you have found your niche! :-)
Stephanie
(Quebec, Canada)
Oh, and out of curiosity... Those of who have said that you do a Daily 3 with your class, do you call it the Daily 3? Silly little detail, but I'm just wondering. And what are the Daily 3 components that you do? I'm looking more towards a Daily 3 for my 5th graders, too. Probably: Read to Self, Read to Someone and Word Work. I do a lot of Listen to Reading with technology and I also always set aside a 1/2 hour block per week (usually last period) where I turn the lights down and read to the students from a novel - sometimes I serve them a snack (like watermelon slices). They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! I'm thinking of leaving out the Work on Writing this year, simply because I feel that it is a big chunk andI want to get a feel for the Daily 5 stucture before I bite off more than I can chew!
Stephanie
(Quebec, Canada)
I have tried Read to Self before and I have not been satisfied with the results. I felt like I was the behavior police. Now, I realize that even though I have fifth graders, they need a lot of modeling and a lot of practice! I only modeled once in previous years and then I assumed they had it. I also fell into the trap of letting students convince me that they could read for longer than 3-5 minutes on the first day.
This year, I plan to only let them practice for 3-5 minutes then have them come back to the gathering area to reflect. After reflection, we can then practice for another 3-5 minutes and then reflect again. I liked how the Sisters said you could do this 3-4 times in one day. The 2nd day of school, I will increase the reading time. If behaviors are good, less reflection will be necessary and then I can concentrate on slowly building stamina.
@RDOwens - I too had my doubts about retelling the story as an appropriate use of read to self time, especially with fifth graders who tend to read novels without many pictures to rely on for retelling. Has anyone else used this strategy with success in the upper elementary grades?
Also, what does everyone do when they get a new student?
Wonderful discussion. I've done D5 for two years in my classroom, although my kids call it D6 because they argue the 6th center is working with Miss.
How do your students choose their spots of read to self in your classroom?
My students pick their own spots in Read to Self. They tend to go towards the areas I designated for Read to Self like the carpet, small carpet squares under tables, corner niches, etc. If they get off task, they are immediately asked to return to their individual desk.
Do you allow your students the opportunity to book shop during their read to self time, or when do your students have an opportunity to do this?
My students book shop once a week, or every two weeks as necessary. I teach 3-4 so they are generally reading chapter books and can sustain with 3 to 5 books in their book box for quite a while.
Is Read to Self something that you expect your students to do on a daily basis when they are picking their rotation spots?
With time constraints in a dual language school board, we do not do 5 rotations on a daily basis so no.
I'm new to D5. This book has become a great resource and has provided me a great opportunity to reflect on this past year. I think Read to Self is important. At my school, we had AR requirements. I required students to always have a book on them. There were times in the day I would set aside time for read to self and if students finished work early, they read. My frustration with my recent group was that they were really chatty and always wanted to sit by friends. I did not allow my students the choice of where to sit to avoid the chattiness. Looking back, we didn't discuss proper/improper behavior, which makes me realize how important this step is. I also had tons of fake reading and roaming. By making minor adjustments to my practices, I believe I can run this successfully. I made the huge mistake to assume (shame on me) that my fifth graders knew what to do.
How do you launch or plan to launch the Read to Self component in your own classroom?
I plan to do it just the way the sisters suggested in the book, slowly building the stamina at school, I found a form to send home for the kids to also work at it at home later on. We will use the I charts.
How do you implement modeling within your reading workshop time? ?
I let them model, model and model the righr and the wrong way.
How do your students choose their spots of read to self in your classroom?
Do you allow your students the opportunity to book shop during their read to self time, or when do your students have an opportunity to do this?
I already bought magazines boxes from IKEA SUPER EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm planning to have books for them for the first week and then maybe have an assign time to switch books.
Is Read to Self something that you expect your students to do on a daily basis when they are picking their rotation spots?
Ready to self I strongly belief its a non negotiable.
I will just need to adjust the time with my three classes.
Gabby
I'm translating everything to spanish, I just need to figure out how add it to my blog. :)
Thanks for all the ideas.
I teach 6th grade special education resource and am excited to try D5, but have had trouble finding resources for the older grades. This discussion has been super helpful. I too have had difficulty "trusting" students to read while teaching and now realize I never set the expectation. I plan to start this day one with at least daily 3 (writing, read to self and word work). I am debating on introducing this in my resource study hall time so I can use reading and language time to implement and teach mini-lessons. I think it will depend on how many of my teaching team want to try this with me. Has anyone seen this applied in the resource setting?
Thanks for all the great discussion.
Stephanie - I launch Read to Self starting Day 1. Even during that very first practice, I've found that it's important for me to build that expectation that I will be at my group table working while they are working. To me, part of building their stamina is training them to tune out the distraction of me at that table, since eventually my guided reading groups will be held there. So that's where I sit, and I try to appear busy while still surreptitiously watching for that "barometer child." I don't pull students at all until we hit a solid 15 minutes of stamina, and then I ease my way in by using that time to pull students individually for my initial Running Records.
I allow my students to choose where they want to sit, but for the first week I ask them to choose a different place each day because sometimes they don't realize how right a certain spot is for them until they have some basis for comparison. If a child is having difficulty in a particular spot during those launching days, we discuss it as part of the check-in process. Later on, a child who is really having a problem on a particular day I may move, but I try not to move him or her back to his or her desk. Two reasons: 1)I don't want to associate sitting at a desk as a punishment when it is so often a necessity. 2)More often than not, there are more distractions to be found at a desk than anywhere else in the room.:)
I do not allow my children to bookshop during Read to Self. They can choose books from the classroom library when they first come in in the morning. I do allow students to visit the school library as part of Read to Self, but I limit their trips to 2 per week by giving each child 2 laminated raffle-type tickets with his or her name on it in Sharpie. I have a container by the door near the library passes. In order to visit the library, there must be a pass available (I have 4) and the child must put a ticket in the bucket. We also make an anchor chart titled I Need to Go to the Library If. . . that hangs on the wall right there as well. If a child doesn't take advantage of those opportunities (and it does happpen), I ask him or her to reread something he or she currently has at hand. My fifth graders generally sulk about it the first time or two (especially if all they have is a social studies textbook or something). . .but they quickly start planning ahead to make sure they have books picked out before Read to Self time begins!
My students select books and magazines during the first day of school. As they complete their books I had them complete a BookMark..this year not quite sure I may go back to Book Projects. Any way they do have access to books at any given time. They know upon completion they can get a new one.
My students read during transitions along with right after lunch. As they read I am doing the same. I really think it is key to show the class that you are reading as well.
My question is does anyone have any good sites where I could find other activities that my class can complete every so often? This would build comprehension however I do not want it to be a constant paper pencil
task. I don't want them to feel that they are constantly writing something down every few minutes. However I know that there will be some students who will try to read the least amount.
Thank you once again for this great book study! Love reading all of your ideas and thanks for sharing! :)
This chapter was very usual for me. I have had read to self time in my classroom for many years, but I also had off task behaviour, which resulted in me not focusing 100% on the guided reading group I was working with. The sisters have made me much more aware of the need for repeated modelling and practice.
One concern I have is related to the 3 ways to read. I have no problem obviously with read the words, but my concern with read the pictures is that in 4th grade many of the books students read have limited amount or no pictures, so how do you manage this issue? As stated in previous comments I'm not sure about the retelling as a way to read either. Clarification on these issues or examples of how other teachers do it, would be much appreciated.
I take them on a tour around the room and show them where they can choose to pick for their book nook, as I call it. I also have several pillows and seats to sit on for them to select from. I have a rotation chart for the pillows and chairs, but they still choose the spot. I have chart that tells when each student can go to check out our class library books. They have about 5-10 minutes to do this once a week. Some that want to change more often ask to do it during their recess time. I expect my students to do Read to Self and Work on Writing every day. I can usually get in three to four each day. I have a split day with another class also. So I have to be pretty consistent and prompt to get it all in.
Debbie T. The comprehension part will come into play when we discuss CAFE! "C" is for comprehension! So that should help you in that part. I do small groups during their Read to Self, so I do not read when they are, but I always discuss the books I am reading or just finished, with them.
I have always done the "Read to Self" in my room, but not quite like the Sisters describe it. Our school pushes A.R. therefore the Read to Self time was called A.R. time. It was time to go to the library, read their books, and take A.R. tests. This will be my 1st year implementing the D5 in my 4th grade self contained classroom. I'm super excited about trying the D5 just as it is described in the book. I have discovered in the past that even though students had the opportunity to read 20-30 minutes each day in my room that not all of them were actually reading. This was evident in the number of students not meeting their A.R. goals as well as the progression in comprehension. I'm thinking the modeling, modeling, modeling will be kind of weird for me at first since it will be my first time but I'm willing to try it to give my students a better chance at being successful. I'm interested in what a detailed schedule would look for the first two weeks of school. For those who have done D5, do you have a detailed schedule of what the first couple of weeks look like? I'm trying to make sure I have enough planned since I'm allotting 120 minutes to Literacy.
I LOVE this website for resources!!!!!
http://mnwelementary-daily5andcafe.wikispaces.com/Daily+5+Resources
I'm new to 3rd grade AND D5 & CAFE...completely overwhelmed!
Mrs. K - Thank you so much for sharing that link. It makes it so much more manageable for me.
I will be launching the "Read to Self" component for the first time this year in D5...but it's not the first time my students have read independently. Since I'm new to this, I will be following the sisters' recommendations. I will teach 3 classes of 4th graders, and I believe that they really have to practice the reading behaviors to be successful throughout the year. I also wondered about how to handle new students throughout the year. We have so many moving in and out of our district.
I was thinking about the three types of reading, and even though I teach 4th grade, I still believe I have students at each of these levels. My ESOL students often read with pictures as they are learning the language. I resource students retell stories they've heard me or others read...it's real reading to them. I also thought about non-fiction text...we use images, charts, diagrams, etc...to read and comprehend the text.
My students book shop before school and after they complete they complete their journal writing.
I have tried having students select "read to self" as a rotation, but many complained they couldn't concentrate...I can really relate. So "Read to Self" will be something we do as an entire class. I know with my limited schedule, it won't be for 45 mins. Probably more like 25mins. Students have three minutes to find their spot to read. I hadn't thought about asking them to choose a different spot each day during the first week...that's a good idea.
I enjoyed the information in this chapter...looking forward to meeting again for Chapter 5!
Is there a difference between anchor charts and I charts?
C. Little
an I chart is a specific type of anchor chart. An anchor chart is a chart created by a group to help them visualize the concept they are learning. An I chart is an anchor chart that shows through I statements what students will be doing and what the teacher will be doing. I charts show what is acceptable to help students visualize a behavior rather than a concept. Hop that helps.
Mrsbuechi
Thanks! Yes, that helps!
Those of you who have taught older grades - third and above - do you still teach the 3 ways to read a book?
I believe read to self is an important component to every classroom regardless of subject. I had difficulties with students concentrating while other activities were going on in the classroom. We went to everyone reading at the same time because we could due to small class size. However, I could not read unless the room was completely silent until I was about 35 years old. There were many times that I wished I could have read in a noisy environment. I would love to teach this skill to my students, but honestly don't know how.
When students read in my classroom I let them sit where they feel comfortable. It wasn't really much of a problem with my students last year, but who knows with the students this coming year.
As for book shopping, I am so glad that you asked this question because it made me think about this procedure. Reflecting now on my schedule, it dawned on my how much time some students loose by finding new books. I think that I will allow students to come to my room before school to find books. They can browse the few minutes before I start class. But I don't think I will let them go during Reading to Self time. It's too important to me for them to get in at least 20 minutes of reading. I may need to build in some time once a week. This year I will also be using book bags, so making sure that they all have 2-3 books in their bags will help with this too. I only have on average 40 minutes to do a mini-lesson and provide time for them to Read to Self. So I really need to think this book shopping thing through to get the best use of our time.
I used D3 to a degree last year. I hoped to implement D5 fully this year. My question is: can all students concentrate on read to self when the others are doing other activities? Do you ever have students not able to concentrate when some are listening, word work and guided reading groups going on?
I think it is important to teach the 3 ways to read a book even to the older grades. There may not be pictures in chapter books but they need to be reading fiction and nonfiction books. It is very important to "read" the pictures and captions in the nonfiction text. They often skip them and miss important information.
I absolutely love the way the sisters describe in great detail how to introduce the Read to Self. This will be my first year in 3rd grade after teaching Kindergarten for 8 years. I thought I did a good job of introducing and modeling classroom routines, but I don't feel that way after reading this chapter.
I believe that I will introduce Read to Self with the same technique as the sisters this year. I will initially choose the reading spots for the students, but gradually release that control over to them. If I model the routines well enough, they should do well.
Question that I am still struggling with: What if you have a student that is still very disruptive? The sisters say that they stop the 3 minutes if a student is not following along with the IChart. I know that you check in and model agan as needed, but I am thinking of a student from last year that had a multitude of problems. (Aspergers, ADHD, and Behavior Defiance) Any thoughts?
Okay, I would like to answer a couple of questions/concerns I am seeing repeated.
Stephanie - Yes, start read to self on Day 1. Ibbeck1701 is correct, till you have a good amount of time to pull students or a group, you go to a spot and pretend to be busy. Trust me it all comes together.
For those of you that are overwhelmed, hang on. When we start CAFE, it will all make more sense and you can see how it all merges. I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and panicky after I read D5 the first time before I read CAFE. Once I read CAFE, it all came together.
As for retelling the story - yes this is something the lower leveled readers will do, and yes they do it by pictures, but a lot of times a Non-Fiction Text can be read by pictures and gain information. We read the captions for information, right? So I do teach all 3 ways to read a book, because I want my students to know you can get the information from more than just the words, especially in Non - Fiction Text.
Here is a couple of video's the Two Sisters have done regarding Read to Self and the "Barometer" Child (the one who tells you when to bring the group back).
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/1960.cfm?sd=104
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/1747.cfm?sd=104
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/164.cfm?sd=33
and some links:
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/120.cfm
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/334.cfm
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/291.cfm
http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/1354.cfm
I could just keep going. I just went to their website (www.thedailycafe.com), and typed in Read to Self in the search area. Then I looked for the public links. They also have member links. I hope this helps some of you.
Till Next Time,
Nicole
Like Kelly, what I'm most wondering about is teaching the 3 ways to read a book. Most of my 4th graders read novels without pictures. I guess where it might come in is when kids read non-fiction, which I want to encourage them to do more (maybe require them to keep at least one NF text in their book box). Also, when students retell a story, how exactly do they do that? Is it orally to someone or written or what? That seems like such a silly question to me, so maybe I missed it somewhere.
Other than that, I wish I could read along with the kids to model some more, but unfortunately that's the only time I'll have to meet with individuals or small groups.
I do think I'll have the whole class read at the same time though like other commenters suggested. I could see it being very distracting to students to have others reading to each other or moving around for whatever reason.
Bee
Bee Teaches
Jennifer, That is a good point - maybe if I use a good non-fiction book with pictures as the mentor text for the mini-lesson that will help! Thank you!
Mrs. K-I can completely relate. I am new to daily five as well and it is overwhelming. My biggest concern is finding the time to do as many components of the program as I can. We group for reading in 4th grade and I only have access to my ELA students for 80 minutes each day.
We usually have our DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time which would be like a "read to self" at a different time during the day. I implemented some DEAR time during my ELA block mainly because I needed to give them a time to find AR books from my library, record books read in the classroom binder, take AR quizzes, and work in reading response logs. Students who are not in my regular homeroom do not necessarily get time to look for books or take AR quizzes in their homerooms. However, not I am beginning to wonder if Reading Response Logs are a waste of time. I also need to do a better job implementing and modeling "read to self".
I teach the most advanced readers in the grade and one of my class requirements was to read 4 chapter books each month and complete reading response logs on two of the books. Students had to take AR tests on all books read so I could keep track of their independent reading. I haven't found suggestions on how much students are expected to read to self with the D5 but I still feel like many students need that goal. They are expected to read at home as part of their homework also but there are always some that slip through.
Regardless of the level of the reader, I agree that it is so important to provide time for students to read to self everyday in the classroom. I am confused about how many books to expect them to finish (I do not allow students to book "hop" after they have determined a book is at their level and interests them) or how to expect them to respond in writing to what they have read from their choice books.
~Sorry I deleted my post above-the paragraphs didn't turn out and I wanted to clarify a few things:)
Finding a spot in the room to "read to self" is a concern for me and my third graders. Most do OK, but there are a few who challenge and want to hide.
I think the review of the I chart will help a great deal. I may use some of that fancy duct tape to mark the spots that are a perfect place for reading.
I agree that this chapter is the "meat" of the reading instruction...Kids have to read. Our school has a basal and AR, so last year, I had AR/Read to Self so that the kids had the lingo common to the rest of the building, but they usually called it Read to Self in our classroom. I was not able to really get all of Daily 2 or 3 off the ground, but I kept Read to Self very true to what the sisters share in the book, like the modeling, the mini-lessons, the stamina (but the choice was just their book-not choices of other activities).
I too start on the first day. It is the one "academic" thing we do, and I have the random selections of books for kids to practice with the first few days. As they don't always like them, they are very excited for the IPick lesson and the introduction of the classroom library when they CAN finally pick what they would like.
I thought the 3 ways to read might not be appropriate, but as I did it, I changed my mind. The range of readers in my room from those on IEP and ELL to TAG covers a lot of different levels, and this gives power that it is ALL reading. The key is that they are engaged in the reading. The retelling is hard to imagine, but as someone said, when you read the CAFE book, it makes more sense. One of the Comprehension strategies is stopping to retell or summarize to yourself or on a sticky note or in a notebook at the end of a page or two. I am sure we all know those kids who "read" but really have no idea what they read. Also, I think of the pictures as also connected to visualizing what you are reading--if it is a chapter book, you are creating your own "pictures" as you read. You can tie those lessons to where different readers are. All create engaged readers, and that is what makes reading really happen.
Our book shopping is supposed to be done in the morning as they arrive, but this past year I was not sticking to it like I should...and I did have wanderers who kept trying to choose. This year I will model and reteach for the before school starts. llbeck1701, I loved the idea of having to read their text book or whatever they had if they didn't! That will teach them quickly. I have continued to try to decide about book boxes, and am thinking about having some available for students who prefer to have several books as part of a goal for choosing appropriate books, but not making it an everybody has to thing. Still thinking it through...
Thanks for all the ideas to think about!
I like the idea of requiring students to have one nonfiction book in their book box at all times!
Nicole, thank you so much for your insight! This can and does work 5th/6th grade classes!
I noticed last year that students who got up to take AR tests, or shopped for books during read to self time started making a habit out of always finding a reason to be out of their "reading space." My read to self time is only 20 minutes long, but every child must be engaged in reading--no movement, no library, no AR tests, no talking....this is where building stamina is essential.
Stephanie--meeting with students about their reading is the most extraordinary part of my reading day--don't worry, you and the kids will LOVE it!
JoAnn, yes, I am in 5th and I "retell" the story under the strategy of summarizing. We summarize all class novels that are read aloud, and we summarize in writing on a daily reading log.
I need HELP!!!!
Totally going to do Daily 5 next year, but I have five 52 minute class periods and I teach 6th grade. How the heck do I make this work?! I am also required to assess daily and teach a concept daily. So a lesson/mini lesson is a must.
ALL suggestions will be appreciated!!!
Can the Daily 5 work when you are required to use a reading series such as Scott Foresman?
Amber-- could you use the Text during your Listen to reading time? There is usually a set of CDs with the series.... and sometimes other teachers don't use theirs......just an idea....also the vocabulary in the focus story could be integrated in the Working with Words.
I know the motivation is all about the choices, but I know that I"m not going to have time to do all 5. So, I'm already planning to implement 3: Read to Self (daily), Word Work or Work on Writing (1 must be done daily). I found a D3 & CAFE launch plan that I plan on using for the framework (my writing plan will be different, but the majority stays the same. I found a TON of useful implementation resources on a wikispace I posted the link to in my previous post (but here it is again so y'all don't have to go searching for it: http://mnwelementary-daily5andcafe.wikispaces.com/Daily+5+Resources). Also, here's a great tool from Christina Bainbridge that you can use for retelling/check for understanding: http://www.willoughby-eastlake.k12.oh.us/classroom/technology/Daily%205/PDF/checkforunderstanding.pdf. For those of you who use reading series, you CAN use D5 with your series. There's a D5 board on proteacher.net (Peony Room) that has ideas/resources,etc on how to implement in a variety of situations. I have started reading CAFE (on chapter 5 now). The plan makes more sense, but now I have questions about strategy groups versus guided reading groups:(
@ Tina-- Been thinking about your 52 minutes-- you cant fit it all in in one day, but you could during the week--I would be more of a daily 2 and for me I would try to incorporate my listening to reading into my minilesson everyday-- whether it was a short poem or picture book--For instance--
Monday-- Minilesson- Read to self; mini lesson word work
Tuesday Minilesson -- Work on Writing; Mini lesson Read to self
Wednesday; minilesson- Work on Writing; Minileson; Reading to someone
Thursday Minilesson- Reading with Someone; Word Work
Friday--Mini lesson- Work on Writng; Read to self
Your daily assessments can be something as simple as your conference with students or an exit slip. Rubrics can be found to assess students on the read to self also. Good luck.
I am really enjoying all of the great ideas everyone is sharing! I'm looking forward to the CAFE book because right now I'm leaning toward not including the retell process in a way to read. I appreciate the different links and videos that have been shared. I'm a visual learner, so they really do help. Waiting until students reach the 15 min. stamina before meeting with students is a huge relief for me. I was wondering how to do any group or individual meetings in only 3-5 min. Love the "book nook" idea and choosing a different place each day the first week! I'm getting anxious to use your good ideas! Keep the suggestions coming!
Im not sure if this is where I should ask my question, but someone told me that the next book you would be studying is the CAFE model. I have also been reading the book wanting to incorporate it into my class this coming year. I am needing some advice on how to use this model with our basal. Our district uses Reading Street for our reading curriculum. Does anyone have any suggestions our ideas on how to incorporate the basal into this model?
I'm curious about the templates for reading response letters. I've tried reading response letters in past years, but eventually it turned in to the same old letters each week. . .I was bored reading them, and the kids were bored writing them. How can I keep reading response letters fresh?
I also want to throw in my two cents against having the whole class doing Read to Self at the same time. Initially, yes, until I launch some of the other components of D5, my class does Read to Self all at the same time. I usually launch Word Work second, and after a couple of days of everyone doing Read to Self together and everyone doing Word Work together, I start letting them choose. For me, building stamina includes focusing on reading while other things are going on around the room. Two reasons: 1) Eventually there will be Guided Reading groups and/or Literature Circles meeting during this time. 2)Once I've launched more components, the class has to divide up or there are simply not enough materials. (For example, only 6 kids can fit at my listening center). A good-fit book can be really engrossing. . .I've found that kids that are looking distracted are often bored with their books more than truly interested in what the other kids are doing. Besides, since they want to do their homework with an iPod blaring through earbuds, I believe a little classroom "background noise" shouldn't throw them. If I have a kid that really struggles with the noise, I just let him or her wear a pair of headphones while doing Read to Self.
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1. I plan to launch read to self using the framework outlined in the book (this will be my first year using D5).
2. Our school believes strongly in "I do, We do, You do" (gradual release) so I always model behaviors first, then we model together (examples and nonexamples), and finally students work independently.
3. Students are free to sit anywhere in the class as long as they are not distracting others (I'm OK with students sitting under tables or laying on the area rugs)
All students have a bag of books. They have opportunities to trade books before class, during "brain breaks", when they have completed their assignments, or after conferencing with the teacher.
Students read daily. I look forward to having my students read for extended periods of time using the D5; I anticipate great reading success this year.
Ibbeck1701, I include my reading response letters through interactive student notebooks. I call them reading journals, and tell students this is where they share their thinking about reading with me, and keep all their notes about strategies (Cafe'). These are composition notebooks that students use all year. This is where the anchor charts can be copied and pasted...where notes on comparing characters, author's purpose, text structure ....can be found by the student. This is also where students write a letter in response to an essential question, or write an opinion about something we have read. I pick them up and grade them using a rubric once a week. Students write and edit their letters to me so that conventions, grammar....are all correct. Here are a few websites that you can view these on, and pintrest has tons of stuff, especially if you look up foldables.
http://interactive-notebooks.wikispaces.com/
http://www.teachtci.com/interactive_student_notebook.html
http://www.ateacherstreasure.com/2012/04/interactive-student-notebook.html
hope this helps!
I am very excited to implement the D5, however, having only 50 minutes per class for reading, I will probably implement the D3(self, listen to someone, and word work). I believe modeling is the key to effective teaching. I have taught first grade for 11 years and I modeled what I wanted my students to do or how to act daily. As a result my classroom ran smoothly. Reading to self will help foster independence and help students gain comprehension skills.
Wendy, thanks for the ideas!
My students only work on the same component of Daily 5 while we are learning the component. After that, they are free to rotate to any of the components as they wish, with the exception of Listen to Reading. I use that time for my small, leveled reading groups using the district mandated basal program. My biggest challenge is teaching the mini lessons at the most advantageous time. Last year I tried starting with writing or grammar lessons and then beginning our D5. With everyone switching to different areas the mini lessons have to be taught either first thing in the day or the previous day. Also, a struggle is when we have ALP students coming and going, SpEd students leaving for reading or writing which does not coincide with ALP writing times and of course, the pull out speech students. It is tricky to make sure those students make it to the small group Listen to Reading sessions. Any thought from anyone on this? I am anxious to read the CAFE book!
Thanks for all the great ideas. I am behind and catching up. I am moving to fourth grade and want to do more than just teach from the basal. I am bad. I put little time into the read to self even though I knew it was important. This year, I have a better schedule and looking forward to using the Daily 5.
I've often had students who can't concentrate during Read to Self so I keep old headphones (the large primary ones, with cords cut off) around. They slip these on and are able to check out of the activity around the room. It works like magic.
Excellent point, Jennifer! Thank you.
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