Jennifer Hayes

Dr. Gentry
READ 4310 020
10 September 2015
The Daily Five Chapters 1 4 Summaries
Chapter One
Before Gail Boushey and Joan Moser implemented the Daily 5 in their classrooms,
literacy time for their students was absolutely chaotic. The teachers could never do group
conferencing because they were constantly correcting other students and managing students
behavior. The students were not actively engaged during literacy time, and the teachers spent
countless hours printing off worksheets to keep the students busy.
After realizing how ineffective their literacy block was, the teachers began
researching different ways to engage their students in meaningful, independent literacy time.
Their research led them to begin integrating routines and a basic framework, called the Daily
5, into their literacy blocks. The teachers decided that they would no longer separate their
literacy curriculum from their management routines.
The Daily 5 includes five tasks: read to yourself, read to someone, work on writing,
listen to reading, and spelling/word study. It is important to note that the Daily 5 contains no
content; it is merely a framework designed to establish basic routines during literacy time.
These basic routines teach the children how to build their stamina and independence as
learners, so that they may engage in meaningful, authentic reading and writing experiences
for an extended period of time.
The Daily 5 begins with a whole group focus lesson in which the students learn
specific strategies to increase comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and vocabulary. Students

also learn about the form, process, traits, and conventions of writing. After the lesson, the
students break-off to complete one of the five Daily 5 activities, while the teacher holds
individual and group conferences. When time is up or students begin to break their focus, the
class puts their supplies away and regroups for another focus lesson. This process repeats for
another four rounds.

Chapter Two
The core beliefs of the Daily 5 are trust and respect, community, choice,
accountability, brain research, transitions as brain and body break, and the ten steps to
independence.
Many teachers have the tendency to underestimate their students abilities to be
independent while reading and writing. By trusting and respecting students, teachers create
an environment in which meaningful learning can take place.
Community in the classroom is a key component of the Daily 5. The teacher spends
time getting to know his/her students which allows him/her to create a classroom community
based on shared experiences and values. This sense of community empowers students to hold
others accountable for behaviors, learning, respect, and kindness.
The Daily 5 is grounded in choice. Students have the opportunity to practice the skills
highlighted in the Daily 5 framework in a self-chosen order. This helps the students practice
autonomy and raises student achievement due to an increase in motivation.
With the Daily 5, students learn how to be accountable for where they choose to
work, how much noise they make, and managing their own behaviors. In order for students to
demonstrate accountability, they must be allowed to participate in meaningful independence.
Brain research has revealed that there is a direct parallel between childrens age and
instruction time. The Daily 5 encourages short instruction time in order to support braincompatible learning. By keeping lessons short, students are more likely to focus on the
content, and they will have more time to engage in independent reading and writing time in
which the apply what they learned in the focus lesson.
Transitions in the Daily 5 provide students with a physical break from work sessions,
the kinesthetic movement students need before continuing to work, time to refocus, and a

natural time to provide another focus lesson. These transitions prevent behavior problems
during the literacy block because as soon as students begin to lose their focus, the teacher
makes a transition to a new focus lesson and sets the stage for another round of the Daily 5.

Chapter Three
The ten steps to independence are a critical part of the Daily 5 foundation. The ten
steps to independence are: identify what is to be taught, set a purpose and create a sense of
urgency, record desired behaviors on an I-chart, model most-desirable behaviors, model
least-desirable behaviors, then most-desirable behaviors, place students around the room,
practice and build stamina, stay out of the way, use a quiet signal to bring students back to
the gathering space, and conduct a group check-in.
Step 1: Children are better able to focus when they know exactly what it is they will
learn. It is best to make an I-chart to identify what is to be taught by writing the Daily 5
choice being introduced and adding to the chart by completing subsequent steps.
Step 2: The teacher should be sure to clearly articulate and post why the classroom
participates in the Daily 5 activities. This establishes a classroom culture in which every
moment of learning and practicing counts.
Step 3: Instead of brainstorming desired behaviors with the class, simply record
desired behaviors on an I-chart and explain the behaviors as they are written. Brainstorming
makes the whole group lesson too long, and the students will begin to lose focus. If the
students lose focus during critical step, they will be less likely to exhibit appropriate Daily 5
behaviors. The desired behaviors for the Daily 5 are: read the whole time, stay in one spot,
get started right away, work quietly, and build stamina.
Steps 4 and 5: These steps give students the visual input of correct behaviors, and
physically modeling these behaviors creates muscle memory for the students. Modeling
wrong behaviors allows the students to visualize how these behaviors impede the learning
process. Modeling the correct behavior directly after the wrong behavior highlights the

contrast between the two behaviors and decreases the possibility of misunderstanding
appropriate behaviors.
Step 6: In this step, the students should be allowed to transfer the behavior models to
a practice situation. Initially, the teacher should tell the students where to sit, and allow the
students to begin determining where they can and cannot sit during Daily 5 activities.
Step 7: Allow the children to practice and build stamina. When beginning the Daily 5,
have the students read or write until they begin to exhibit off-task behaviors. As soon as the
students lose their focus, have them put up their materials and regroup for a focus lesson.
Step 8: The teacher must remember to stay out of the way. Do not walk around the
room to observe students or encourage them. Allow the students to be independent and
motivate themselves to remain on task.
Step 9: When regrouping the students for a focus lesson, use a quiet signal to garner
their attention. Loud signals can lead to noise escalation and raise students energy levels.
Step 10: After completing the student choice activities, check-in with the students by
having them hold up hand signals indicating their success in the Daily 5. Allow the students
to write their goals on a piece of paper and share them with their peers.

Chapter Four
The Daily 5 does not call for an extensive list of materials. The basic materials
needed to successfully implement the Daily 5 are: a quiet signal, a chart rack/interactive
whiteboard, tools, book boxes, a gathering place for focus lessons, I-charts, and a classroom
design that allows students to successfully participate in the Daily 5.
Quiet Signal: The teacher should save his/her voice and use a quiet signal such as
chimes to obtain the students attention. A strategy such as Above, Pause, Whisper is an
effective way to help students get ready for a transition. The teacher uses a sound that is
different or slightly above the background noise, pauses to give the students enough time to
give the teacher their attention, and then whispers further instructions.
Chart Rack/Interactive Whiteboard: These materials will be used to create I-charts
that will be used as a reference all year.
Tools: These tools, not toys, are for children who are slower to build stamina. Some
tools teachers may choose to put in students tool boxes are: sixty-, ninety-, and two-minute
timers, manipulatives such as pattern blocks or Legos, stop watches, and alternative reading
materials, such as I Spy or Guinness World Record books.
Book Boxes: All children should have three to ten good fit books in their book boxes.
On the first day of school, the teacher can allow children to put books in their good fit boxes
until the teacher gets to know the students better. Every classroom should strive to have at
least 1,000 books in their classroom libraries.
Gathering Place: The gathering place should be an open space for the whole class to
sit on the floor. In the gathering place, there should be a chart rack/interactive whiteboard,
class-created I-charts displayed for the students, a projector/document camera, and a CAF
Menu board. The biggest payoffs for having a gathering place are: behavior management

through proximity, enhancing deeper thinking through interaction with peers, and elimination
of distractions kept inside desks.
I-Charts: These class-made charts help students construct memories, schema,
background knowledge, and experiences that become multidimensional layers they use to
create meaning and understanding in their educational lives (p.61). These I-charts should be
placed around the classroom to allow the students to use the charts as references throughout
the school year.
Classroom Design: The classroom design should be comfortable in order to allow
students to build up their stamina. Possible classroom features are: low tables for floor
sitting, regular tables with chairs, high counters for standing, comfy chairs, couches, or love
seats, area rugs for sprawling, a loft with seating above and below, and single seats and spots
for privacy and reduced distractions.