Getting settled with morning literacy routine in elementary classrooms is essential!

Literacy Routine- Daily 5/CAFE

The Daily 5™ is a framework for structuring literacy time so students develop lifelong habits of reading, writing, and working independently.

The second edition was released in spring 2014.

How does it work?

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. These choices include

• Read to Self,
• Work on Writing,
• Read to Someone,
• Listen to Reading, and
• Word Work.

MRS. ROWAN TEACHING GOOD FIT BOOKS- I- PICK 

1) First and foremost, we teach some form of the I-Pick Good-Fit Books lesson to our children every day for the first two weeks of school. Sometimes this lesson is as simple as asking a child to share the good-fit books in their book boxes. As the year progresses, we move to a weekly good-fit books review. Choosing well is a skill that takes some children a long time to master.

2) If children are allowed to enter the classroom before school starts, it is a great time for book shopping. They can do so independently or with our assistance, if necessary.

3) If we have a time to go to the library each week, we often split our class in half, sending one half to the library to have support from the librarian to find books in our school library. The other half of the group stays with us so we can support these children finding books in our class library. The following week, we switch the groups. This allows our children to get to know the two libraries with smaller numbers in their group. It is very powerful when the librarian uses the same I PICK language!

4) Each time we confer with students or meet with them in a small group, we talk about good-fit books. It becomes evident quite rapidly who is struggling to find books they love and can engage with and also books that are not too difficult. Once those children bubble up to the top, we make daily appointments with them at the start of Daily 5 and be sure to help check their book boxes for good-fit books so they are set for success. When we check-in with students frequently about their good-fit books, the process goes quickly.

5) Once children get the hang of how to use the I PICK method to choose their books they can make better use of their time browsing for a book.  After all, think about going into a bookstore, library or even looking at books online, it takes time to peruse, browse, and try out books to see if we like them.

We think it is important to remember that choosing a good-fit book is a necessary part of being a reader. We have found that if behavior seems to be a bit bumpy during Daily 5, we check to see if perhaps books need to be changed.

Mrs. Throndson 3rd grade class gets establish listening to reading time. 

Listen to Reading provides pronunciation and expression models that can only come from hearing fluent and expressive examples. Because of this, Listen to Reading is especially beneficial to our older struggling readers whose listening comprehension exceeds their reading level. Listen to Reading is a great option for our English language learners. It is a popular favorite of most primary students as well. 

Mrs. Baltes 2nd graders pause for a brain break during Daily 5: just finished word work routine.

A brain break is a short period of time when we change up the routine of incoming information that arrives via predictable, tedious, well-worn roadways. Our brains are wired for novelty. We know this because we pay attention to every stimulus in our environment that feels threatening or out of the ordinary. This has always been a wonderful advantage. In fact, our survival as a species depended on this aspect of brain development.

When we take a brain break, it refreshes our thinking and helps us discover another solution to a problem or see a situation through a different lens. During these few minutes, the brain moves away from learning, memorizing, and problem solving. The brain break actually helps to incubate and process new information.