The Daily Five

Most Recently Read Book:

The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades

By Gail Boushey and Joan Moser

This was a great book and I think an especially great book for an elementary school classroom teacher. I've never had a classroom because I have always taught itinerant, but I think I would definitely use this as the base of my literacy block if I ever were to have a classroom. I love the idea of modeling and taking time at the beginning of the year to teach students the habits you'll expect from them the whole year. I loved it.

As an itinerant, I still really took a lot away from this book. I have focused so much on getting my students to read at home this year. I've been more successful with some than others. With the really young students I truly feel that the idea of helping them build their stamina so they can read 30 minutes is important. Sometimes, as a reader, and someone who has been a voracious reader for a looooong time, it's hard to imagine not being able to easily sit down and maintain my focus for 30 minutes. It's amazing how much I am still a learner when it comes to relating to my students and their lives outside of school.

With the students who I have really pushed to read more this year, now I'm planning how I'm going to keep them motivated during the summer. I think they'll be okay, but I realized I need to reinforce their ability to feel confident in choosing their own books and finding books they'll enjoy over the summer. I'm so glad I got my hands on this book. The ideas were great.