D5: Chapter 4

Thank you Daily 5 blog hoppers for including me in my very first blog hopping book study! The blog hoppers have inspired me in so many ways. I may not always comment on a blog but I try to visit every blog every week.

This week hostesses of the blog hop is:




Launching D5
I have followed the sisters word for word in kindergarten and it worked! I recommend following the launching guide entirely! USE THE GUIDE IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK! Put that in your lesson plan binder for quick reference.  I can't put in words how effective it was with my inner city children. This is a very thoughtful process. Use it or loose it!

Three Ways To Read A Book
Oh how I will miss my kindergarten song for the this lesson. For my kinders I had made up a little tune sounding like Frère Jacques that was an echo song it went like this: There are three ways (echo), To read a book (echo), Read the pictures (echo) Retell the story (echo) and sound out the words (echo).  I liked echo songs in my kinder class because it helped my ELL's access the language in the song much easier. If I am to use this in my third grade class it will need some updating. First it doesn't really need to be an echo song for these English only kids, second sound out the words needs to be changed back to read the words.  My kinders would go home on the first day of school knowing that they were already readers because they could read the pictures, and retell the story! I never had students who said "I can't read." That was amazing! I hope third graders will like my D5 songs!

Book Trader Time
One of my activities I added to my D5 kindergarten day was book trader day, also library day.  Once a week I would have students join me at carpet with their book boxes. in a cup I had Popsicle sticks with areas of the room on some of the sticks (one might say semi circle) or if it was not a location it was a shoe! Each student would draw a stick. If they got a shoe they were considered traveling traders, if they got a location they were to set up shop in that location. I had students set up shop by spreading out the books they were finished with and were wanting to trade for a different book. Traveling traders would travel from shop to shop and swap books. Book trading time was a favorite time for many of my students. It gave us an opportunity to access our book boxes every week for an upgrade of selections and gave an opportunity to separate their school library selection from classroom library selections. I would never make a student trade. This was a great way to help my kinders with social issues too. Often I would have kids say "do this or I wont be your friend!" After book trading was in effect often the children would transfer the experience into their everyday dealings with other children. It was no longer "if you don't play on the big toy with me I won't be your friend" to a new way "I will play on the big toy with you if you play on the monkey bars with me." This is part of my D5 classroom that is rally invaluable! This also needs to be launched and I charted too!


I Charts
As a teacher I am almost embarrassed to admit the following statement, I have terrible handwriting. When I was in kindergarten my teacher and my 4th grade teacher mom made a terrible decision. They decided the world was made for right handed children and quit letting me be a lefty! I have to word process my I Charts to make them more accessible to my students. We do write them but, I want things to look neater to my students. Last year I had a smart board and it would turn my writing into type. This year I will not have that to help me.

Stamina At Home
I encourage my parents to add time to the kids at home reading time. I recommend 67 minutes a day minimum of reading. However, I also tell parents that is the goal,  not the immediate reality. Time reading at home needs to be built up just like we do at school. We start out small and work our way up a minute at a time. Why 67? I read a research article in my masters program that said that we have statistical evidence that suggest those students who score highest on "the test" read a minimum of 67 minutes a day. Also, what I as a parent require from my own children, who both are exemplar students.

Happy Hopping!