Daily 5 Chapter 3

Hello Bloggy Friends! I'm a little late with posting this (ironically, I got sucked into reading a really good series, and couldn't put my Kindle down), but I hope to catch up with everything soon.

Chapter 3 was all about the routines, concepts and materials for doing the Daily 5 in the classroom.

One of the first things that the Sisters mentioned was to have a gathering place for mini-lessons (focus lessons). I try to always have a gathering place, I'm a big fan of Morning Meeting (which I'll post about it a few days), and think kids can learn a little better sitting on the rug in a whole group (less fidgets in their desks!). 

The rest of the chapter was dedicated to picking good fit books, having a place to store the books, and important signals (which should be a put of any classroom routine).

Now, while I agree that children should be reading at their level, they are interested in and can understand what is going on, I also think that at times, children should not only be reading Just Right books, they should also be reading easier books and more challenging books.

Sometimes, our brains just want a break. We ask a lot of our students, and I feel, that sometimes it's okay to have the 4th grader read a picture book. It gives our brain a break, but allows us to keep practicing our skills (hence the reason I have almost 200 romance novels on my Kindle :).

I also think that students should challenge themselves. If they are really interested in a book or topic, but it is above their reading level, I think they should give it a try. I think it stretches their brain to maybe think outside the box, and they can learn from it.

Now, I do think children should be reading Just Right books most of the time. But sometimes, it's okay to read that really cool, but really easy picture book or the harder book about that really cool topic. But those are just my thoughts. :)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn