The Daily 5
By Gail Boushey & Joan Moser "The Sisters"

The Purpose:

"The Sisters", Gail and Joan's (Above) First Book

I first heard of The Daily 5 during my internship year. A new teacher was talking about this book like it was The Bible. When we asked her about what kind of program it was, she exclaimed, "It is NOT a program!" I never really understood what she was talking about until I finally picked up the book and read it over the December Holiday Break during my first year of teaching. The decision to read this book was the single best decision that impacted my teaching to the highest degree during my first year of teaching. 

The Daily 5 is not a program; it is the management, procedures, and routines that teachers need to keep the rest of the class actively engaged in meaningful, independent, work so that they are better able to meet with individuals and small groups on a regular basis. This book answers the question, "What do I do with the rest of the kids when I need to work with a small group?". The Daily 5 does not tell you what, content-wise, to teach, but rather tells you how to manage students and teach them to become independent learners who are responsible for their own learning. 

The Daily 5 is the foundation for your Readers' Workshop. The five parts of The Daily 5 include: 

• Read to Self
• Read to Someone
• Work on Writing
• Word Work
• Listen to Reading

This book is written by two elementary teachers, for teachers, and most of all, for children. The authors have included an instructional calendar at the back of the book that explains to teachers the order and extent that the authors recommend you teach your students the material beginning on day one of your school year. The best part is that the teaching is authentic and realistic. It follows data from Harry and Rosemary Wong that say children need routines and procedures and the only way is to have these expectations and procedures clearly established from day way. Additionally, students must be given multiple opportunities to practice these procedures repeatedly. One of the best parts of "Launching" The Daily 5 is that it follows research that confirms what we know about kids and learning. They do not expect your students to sit still and listen for 25 minute mini lessons. In fact, the sisters say that research says that students can only attend for the number of minutes that they are years old. 

The best lesson in the entire book is how to choose Good-Fit Books. The sisters use a system called I-PICK:
I-I choose a book 
P-Purpose: Why do I want to read it?
I-Interest: Does it interest me?
C-Comprehend: Am I understanding what I am reading?
K-Know: I know most of the words. 

The lesson compares choosing books to choosing shoes. It is INCREDIBLE! Whether you decide to read the whole book or not, you should teach this lesson to children. Here are 2 videos. The first is a video of the 2 sisters themselves, teaching the lesson. The second is a video of a 1st grade class who is singing a song written by their teacher to help them remember I-PICK:

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The Daily 5 is launched one activity at a time beginning with Read to Self. 
CLICK HERE to read the lesson for Launching Read to Self. Once the entire Daily 5 is launched, you have options. Click HERE for the Daily 5 Structure!
The other elements include Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. Read to Someone involves actually teaching our readers to be reading coaches. Buddy reading is no longer a passive activity, but rather an active coaching process that children love and benefit greatly from. Listen to Reading teaches children to independently work the technology available for listening to fluent readers read on a recording at books that may or may not be at their "just right level". Work on Writing is a writing choice time for students to help them foster a love for writing and to practice the different forms of writing. Word Work practices language and spelling skills. 
Overall, this book provided my classroom with the structure and procedures needed to be able to meet with my students individually and in small groups while assisting me in managing my time to work in large group lessons and activities. This format will truly allow you to provide your students with the 90 minutes of reading time that Richard Allington says that children need. Read this book. You definitely will not regret it!

Let the kids tell you!...

The Daily 5 in an Intermediate Classroom

Technology Integration and The Daily 5