C OMPREHENSION AND T HE D AILY FIVE Newstead PS & Harcourt Valley PS March 24 th, 2010

What’s happening with Daily 5 in your classroom? What have you introduced? What’s going well? What are your questions? What’s happening with comprehension in your classroom? What have you introduced? What’s going well? What are your questions?

“The way teachers structure the learning environment and the way students spend their time influences the level of reading proficiency the students have attained at the end of the academic year.” (Cooley, 1981) The Daily Five is not a reading program but “....a structure for developing shared awareness and instructional routines with students, through specific, focussed teaching, while balancing students’ needs for choice and independence.” (Moser & Boushey, 2006)

1.Read to yourself The best way to become a better reader is to practice every day, with books you choose, on your just-right reading level. 2. Read to someone Reading to someone allows more time to practice strategies, helping you work on fluency and expression, check for understanding, hear your own voice, and share in the learning community. 3. Listen to reading We hear examples of good literature and fluent reading. We learn words, thus expanding our vocabulary and becoming better readers. 4. Work on writing Just like reading, the best way to become a better writer is to practice writing every day. 5. Work on words Correct spelling allows for more fluent writing, thus speeding up the ability to write and get thinking down on paper. This is an essential foundation for writing.

E SSENTIAL FEATURES FOR GETTING STARTED WITH D AILY F IVE Establishing a ‘community’ gathering place in the room Choosing ‘good fit’ books Setting up classroom libraries Organising student book boxes Creating anchor charts Frequent, repeated, ‘good practice’ to build stamina

E STABLISH A MEETING PLACE

C HOOSING ‘ GOOD FIT ’ BOOKS

S ETTING UP CLASSROOM LIBRARIES

O RGANISING STUDENT BOOK BOXES

C REATING ANCHOR CHARTS

F REQUENT, REPEATED, ‘ GOOD PRACTICE ’ TO BUILD STAMINA 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence 1. Identify what is to be taught 2. Setting Purpose – Sense of Urgency 3. Brainstorm behaviors desired using an I chart 4. Model most desirable behaviors 5. Model least desirable behaviors then desirable 6. Place students around the room 7. Everyone practice and build stamina (3 minutes) 8. Stay Out of theWay 9. Quiet Signal – Come back to Group 10.Group Check In – “How Did You Do?”

C OMPREHENSION Teach and use the language of reading and comprehension on a daily basis in your instructional time: Shared reading Guided reading Read aloud

R EADING WORKSHOP Whole classIndependent or groupWhole class Mini lesson Modelling a strategy Demonstration Independent reading Individual conference Response to reading Small group focussed teaching:  Oral language  Read aloud  Shared reading  Guided reading  Reciprocal reading  Literature circles  Book clubs Reflection Share time 20%60%20%

D ICTOGLOSS S TUDENTS WORK IN PAIRS OR GROUPS TO RECREATE A TEXT THAT HAS BEEN READ ALOUD TO THE CLASS. S HARED RECONSTRUCTION OF A TEXT. Listen for the key ideas and words in a text. It will help us to reconstruct the text in our own words.

D ICTOGLOSS Listen to the complete text. Work alone to record key words or ideas as the text is being read aloud for the second time. Work with a partner to recreate the main ideas from a paragraph in the text. Write these ideas in sentences. Share with the group. Listening comprehension precedes reading comprehension.

P LANNING FOR TERM TWO Set yourself two SMART goals: S – specific M – measurable A – attainable R – realistic T – timely Remember: When students aren’t learning it’s because the demonstrations they are seeing are not adequate, meaningful or necessary to them. (Regie Routman, 1991) What do I most have a sense of urgency about?