In 2016 we were deeply engrossed in discovering what research says most benefits students as they become readers, writers and lifelong learners. As a result, we changed the structure of the literacy block in every classroom. In 2020 you will notice a seamless approach as all teachers use the Daily Five structure to establish a love of reading in your child. This structure looks and sounds a little different to the way the literacy block looked previously, and this allows every teacher to spend quality time teaching children the reading strategies that make them life long readers. 

You may have heard your child talking about “The Daily Five.” The purpose of this article is to fill you in on what The Daily Five is all about, so you don’t have to nod your head while wondering what in the world your child is referring to.

The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while teachers provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.

Students are engaged in activities titled:

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

There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component. Your child spent weeks working intensely on building their reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and fostering the classroom community. Teachers also spent time learning about your child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan for each student’s instruction.

Your child has been taught to select “Good Fit Books” or books they can read, understand and are interested in, which they read during Daily 5. They spent most of their time actually reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve reading. We have seen the motivation and enjoyment of reading skyrocket as this gift of choosing their own books has been accompanied by extended practice and specific reading instruction for each individual child.

As you can see, we are all excited about giving your child the opportunity to be involved in a structure that will have a positive effect on their education.

As teachers, the greatest gift we receive is when we hear students asking for a book as a gift for their birthday, Christmas or any special occasion. We hope you can join us as partners in our quest to make your child a reader, writer and life long learner.

For ways you can assist your child with their reading journey, have a look at our Parenting Pipeline suggestions.