Introducing Daily Five

Welcome to a new school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer and enjoyed spending quality time with your child. I know that each year of your child’s schooling presents new expectations and routine for you and your child to become familiar with. I will be introducing classroom routines and structure in a way that removes all of the guesswork from the child and allows them to concentrate fully on learning. In reading, the classroom structure I use is called Daily 5. Soon your child will be talking about “the Daily 5” at home. The purpose of this letter is to explain to you what the Daily 5 is and what you should expect to see at home.

The Daily 5 is a literacy structure that teaches independence and gives children the skills needed to create a lifetime love of reading and writing. It consists of five tasks that are introduced individually. When introduced to each task, the children discuss what it looks like, and feels like to engage in the task independently. Then, the children work on building their stamina until they are successful at being independent while doing that task.

These are the five tasks:

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

When all five tasks have been introduced and the children are fully engaged in reading and writing, I am able to work in small groups and confer with children one-on-one. This structure is effective, the results are amazing, and the children look forward to Daily 5 time.

One thing you may notice is a decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home. Although worksheets keep students busy, they don’t result in the high level of learning we want for your child.

Ask your child about Daily 5 and see what they have to say. I anticipate your child will tell you about the class stamina and how we are working toward independence, and maybe you will even hear about some of the fantastic things your child has written, read, or listened to during our Daily 5 time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your continued support!