Have you read this book by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser?
The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy in the Elementary Grades

I can promise that it will transform the way you teach in your ELA classroom. The premise of this must-read resource is “students select from five authentic reading and writing choices, working independently toward personalized goals, while the teacher meets individual needs through whole-group and small-group instruction, as well as one-on-one conferring.”

While it has been a few years since I originally wrote this blog post, the concepts here are still relevant today. Even in my 7th grade classroom, aspects of the Daily 5 are still implemented. I believe every language arts teacher can find inspiration from the work of Boushey and Moser.

The Daily 5 Choices Include:

Read to Self is a time where my students focus on their own independent reading of a text and incorporates novel units, close reading passages and poetry. While we utilize novel units, close reads, and poetry for whole group instruction as well, students need to be able to read independently and engage with text that is at their reading level for age-appropriate periods of time. I have created as many novel units as I can create in order to engage my students in their Read to Self time.

Read to Someone is a favorite time of my students because they have the chance to interact with a text and a peer. They can share ideas, insights, and discuss the text they are working to navigate through. I LOVE walking around the classroom during Read to Someone and listening to the thoughtful commentary taking place between my kiddos. I will have students partner read novels and other close reads.

Listen to Reading is essential for my 6th graders. I utilize reader’s theater scripts, picture books that I share, and novel read alouds for Listen to Reading. While many of my students are on-grade level readers, hearing fluent reading and listening to text being read aloud enhances their listening comprehension and imagery skills. I LOVE when we are getting ready to switch classes and my students are bummed and wanting me to “just read one more page!”

Word Work incorporates both spelling and vocabulary in my classroom setting. Word Work begins our class with morning or bell ringer work and is a focus in various texts we read. Students need continued work with vocabulary-using context clues, identifying synonyms, antonyms, prefixes, suffixes, and roots in order to tackle more difficult texts and comprehend what they are reading. For Word Work I target instruction with Word of the Day, Context Clue Task Cards, and a BOGGLE board.

Writing is always taking place within my 6th grade classroom. There is always a piece in progress, a response getting evidence gathered, or a prompt being considered. It is necessary for students to be able to respond to text, respond to prompts, and share their ideas and insights on paper. I utilize end of book projects, writing units, and journaling in order to cover all of the elements of writing my students must grasp before moving on to the next grade.

I am certain that you are incorporating each of these components into your daily ELA work with students…the tricky aspect is allowing students to have the opportunity to choose what they want to work on during a given amount of time, which is a Daily 5 concept to promote independence and choices. This aspect continues to be a work in progress for me as well. I continue to experiment with ways to help my students work to become more independent with their Daily 5 choices. I need to feel as though they are working and not wasting the time that is given…I, like my students, am a work in progress…

While I am still working to implement all of the components using the choice method with my students, what I have nailed down and want to share are the resources I have created to coincide with my work with the Daily 5 in my classroom. I want to make sure students are getting all 5-components and are finding success through their growth as readers, writers, and listeners. You can click on the cover image and grab the preview…