A day in the life...Daily 5

In our classrooms, we use the Daily 5 as part of our literacy block. I love Daily 5 time. It encourages students to learn more independently, while giving me time for more one on one time with small groups. Students are held accountable for their work.
Here is how it works in my classroom! There are also several (3 I think) great freebies if you read closely;)
On Monday, students check in for their Daily 5 group order. I am finally getting to know their numbers better, so I move the ones who put themselves in groups with their BFF. That is just asking for trouble for everyone!

Students are given a folder for their Daily 5 activities. They are given the activities each Monday. Students have to finish their activities in the groups before they can do the regular group work. I know, confusing right? They have to get their buddy activity done (with a buddy) before they can just read to someone.  I write them on the board next to the group to save my voice a little!

Read to Self: In Read to Self, students are given an activity to do alone. Once they finish their activity, they keep it in their folder until I collect them on Friday. One of my favorite read to self activities is task cards. Students love being able to move around to do their work. I hang up task cards around the room, and students grab a clip board and get started.

Students work on vowel task cards. 

Students also can get on www.myon.com to listen to books during this time. Another option is working on AR. They have to complete their assigned work before they can work with the other options. 

Read to Someone: This is our buddy group. Students work through their assigned activity with a buddy in their group. When they finish they buddy read any book. It does not have to be an AR book. We have been working on vowel sounds lately. Students have been reading their decodeable readers and highlighting words that have the vowel sounds we have been working on. 

Students can also buddy read when they get their work done.  I don't make my students use AR books all the time. Our AR time is mixed in with morning work, so students can grab any book they decide on with their partner. 

Working with Words:This is my FAVORITE group to introduce to the students! There are sooooo many fun activities that the students can do during word work. We have one rule: You have to use your spelling words to practice first. Then students can use words around the room or words from the word wall. I have a group of cards that students can use to pick what they want to do. These cards are on a binder ring. This saves time and lets students see the options first!

My kids really like stamping their words this year. Last year, it was not so popular. I have one boy that really is working, but boy does he make a mess!

He always cleans it up when he is done, so whatever gets him to work is fine with me! Often I have students use my super word work packet! It has Superhero Hangman, Texting, Boggle, stamping page, and a dice word sort page for students to practice their words.  Here is a {sample} just for you! If you want to check out the whole pack, click the picture below!

Click here to head to my TPT store to check it out!

Listening to Reading:Students normally have to listen to our reading story on Journeys website and do a {response sheet}. When they are finished, they have several options! We use Tumblebooks a lot at our school. Tumblebooks is a site that has a ton of online books for students to listen to. They even have some chapter books I believe. We use the { Bartholomew County Public Library} site to access it. Scroll to the bottom and you will see Tumblebooks. When you get click it, the next click is story books. They you are off to read! Students can also get on {MyOn}. This is a FREE site provided by Glenda Ritz! The students LOVE getting on MyOn to listen and read books. The most popular ones are nonfiction, believe it or not! They can use the computers or one of our five iPads to access the site. 

The rainbow cart is where I store my Working with Words activities!

I hope you found the freebie hidden in the listening to reading paragraph! If you would like to check out the full product {click here}!
I let my students sit around the room to read. Their are specific spots that are off bounds, such as in front of door ways and under the counters, but the most popular spot is...

They love sitting under there! It is a race everyday to see who can get there first! 

At the end of the week, students turn in their Daily 5 folder. Each group is worth only two points. I want them be grow to be responsible for getting their work finished and work on time management. I don't want Daily 5 to make or break their grades. Since I use writing as a separate time, they also get two points for staying organized and having all their papers in the folder for a total of ten points. 

Click here to get your copy free!

How do you do Daily 5? I love getting new ideas and tips! Be sure to enter my giveaway for my Independent Reading Response pack AND my Superhero Word Work pack free!