A daily routine for reading
and writing…
So… what is “The Daily 5”
thing all about?
First of all, The Daily 5 will become a big part of your
day.
 It will allow you to do meaningful work independently.
 The Daily 5 includes: Read-to-Self, Read-to-Someone,
Listen-to-Reading, Writing, and Word Work (you will
learn more about those a bit later).

Now let’s dig more into The Daily 5…
The Daily 5
will help establish…
…A sense of trust
…A freedom for choice
…A sense of community
…A sense of urgency
…Stamina
…Routines for Independence
The Daily 5 will help establish…
…A Sense of TRUST
Think-Pair-Share
What is trust?
Share a time when someone trusted you.
How did it make you feel?
A Sense of TRUST …
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In terms of The Daily 5, meaningful learning will
require mutual trust and respect between the
teacher and you, the student.
Each of you is valuable and unique and worthy of
respect and caring.
It is trust that will allow you to become independent
learners.
It is trust that will allow the teacher to focus energy
on teaching, not managing behaviors.
The Daily Five will establish…
…A Freedom for CHOICE
Think-Pair-Share
Do you like having choices?
Think of your favorite restaurant or radio station.
Share a time when you have had choices. What did
you choose? What did you like about having a choice?
A Freedom for Choice …
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We all know and realize that we need and love structure and
routine. These are very much needed in the classroom.
In terms of The Daily 5, you will have a choice in your learning.
You will ask yourself questions such as “What are my goals in
reading and writing?”, “What will I do first?”, “Whom will I
choose to work with?”, “What will I accomplish?”, and “What
was I working on yesterday that I want to continue today?”.
Purpose + Choice= MOTIVATION!
It is choice that will motivate you and put you in charge of your
own learning!
The Daily Five will establish…
A sense of community
Think-Pair-Share
What does the word “community” mean?
How do you build community in the classroom?
A Sense of Community…
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What we experience together will weave the
tapestry that will create an environment of
learning and caring.
A sense of community provides everyone with
ownership to hold others accountable for
behaviors, effort, learning, order, and kindness.
In terms of The Daily 5, everyone rejoices in
each other’s progress. If a classmate is disrupting
others during work time, the community will join
together to encourage, support, and hold the
person accountable for his or her learning
behavior.
The Daily Five will establish…
…A sense of Urgency
Think-Pair-Share
What does the word “urgent” mean?
Share a time when you have had to use urgency.
A Sense of Urgency…
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In terms of The Daily 5, creating urgency in the
classroom establishes a community where every
moment of learning is important.
There is a reason “why” you do certain tasks,
and you will be taught “why” you do things. An
example of “why” is something like this. “Why
do we read?” Well… research says that reading
each day is the best way to become a better
reader- it’s as simple as that!
When a person understands the reason for a
task, it motivates that person to persevere.
The Daily Five will establish…
Stamina
Think-Pair-Share
What does the word “stamina” mean?
How do you “build up” stamina?
Stamina…
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In terms of The Daily 5, you will need to build
up stamina in order to be successful readers and
writers. Just think of the process as a runner
training for a marathon.
If you don’t have the stamina to read for thirty
minutes, you will not be successful. In fact, you
may even become frustrated and lose motivation
to succeed.
Therefore, it is important that you are taught
how to be successful at each of the five key
components of The Daily 5.
The Daily Five will establish…
Routines for Independence
Think-Pair-Share
Do you like being independent?
Share a time when you’ve been independent
and have been successful.
Routines for Independence…
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In terms of The Daily 5, once you understand
what is expected of you, have practiced strategies,
and have built up your stamina, it is time to
“show-off” your independence!
To be successful with The Daily 5, it is
important that you show that you can make
decisions on your own and monitor yourself
regarding your own progress.
By showing independence, you will allow your
teacher to work with students in small groups (in
other words, it’s your chance to show your
teacher that you can learn on your own!).
Other Daily 5 Essentials
Establishing a Gathering Place
Finding “Good-Fit” Books
Book Boxes
Anchor Charts
Signals & Check-in
Repeated Practice
Establishing a
Gathering Place…
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
Think-Pair-Share
Believe it or not, you are never too old to sit on the floor and
learn. A gathering place is an open space large enough for the
whole class to come together. Where might be the best place
for this in our room?
Now, let’s test out our gathering place…
How should you sit? What should be some guidelines to follow
to make sure learning takes place?
Finding Good-Fit Books…
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
Think-Pair-Share
How do you know a book is the right book for you?
How do you know the book isn’t too difficult for you?
One of the most important things to do to become a better
reader is to read “good-fit” books.
You should look for a “good-fit” book in five ways using the
acronym, “I PICK”.
I PICK
I answers the question…
“What book should I choose?”
Finding a book that is a great fit
for you will give you the best
opportunity for success!
I PICK
P answers the question…
“What is my purpose for
wanting to read the book?”
You should have a purpose when choosing a
good-fit book. Is the purpose for research?
Or, are you simply reading for some fun?
I PICK
I answers the question…
“What sort of book am
I interested in reading?”
Do you want a book like the one you just
finished? Do you want a mystery? Or are you
more interested in learning about sports?
Whatever the book, make
sure it is of interest to you.
I PICK
C answers the question…
“Do I comprehend the
book that I chose?”
Whatever book you choose, make sure that you
can comprehend it. If you find yourself asking a
lot of questions and things are sort of confusing,
then maybe the book isn’t a good-fit book.
I PICK
K answers the question…
“Do I know the words?”
Whatever book you choose, make sure that you
can understand the words. You should know
most of the words that you read. If you don’t,
then the book is not a good-fit book.
Genres…
To help in choosing a “good-fit”
book, let’s investigate genres…
Think-Pair-Share
What is a genre?
What does “genre” mean?
A genre is a “type” of literature. For example the realistic
fiction genre contains books about events that could happen
today with realistic people as the main characters.
Think-Pair-Share
What are some other types
of genres that you know?
Different Genres
in Literature…
Take a look around the room and find the classroom library
or take a walk down the hall to the school one. What kind of books
do you see? How are the books separated? Are they separated by genres?
Historical Fiction


Historical Fiction stories are about a certain time period in the
past. The setting is described in detail, the characters are
believable, and there is a main problem that the characters must
overcome. The main clue is that some of the characters in the
story were not “real” people and did not actually exist.
Examples: Little House books, The Sign of the Beaver, The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Al Capone Does My Shirts…
Mystery
Mysteries are stories that have
something to solve. There are
usually clues that people
uncover that lead to the
answer to the mystery.
 Examples are: The 39 Clues

Series, Sherlock Holmes,
Encyclopedia Brown, The
Hardy Boys
Horror/Suspense
Horror or suspense stories
often contain objects or
creatures that are not real
(ghosts, talking toys, …) that
are used to scare the reader.
 Examples are:

Goosebumps, Fear Street,
The Old Willis Place
Fantasy

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Fantasy stories are created by altering one or more characteristics of reality.
Entire new worlds may be created or characters may have extraordinary
experiences in the real world. Characters may be extra large or extremely
tiny (Gulliver’s Travels).
Other Examples:
Preposterous Characters and Situations
James and the Giant Peach
Talking Animals
Stuart Little
Living Toys
Winnie the Pooh
Strange and Curious Worlds
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Time Warps
When You Reach Me
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction contains
everything in a realistic story and is
consistent with the lives of real
people in our world.
 The events in the story could have
happened. The characters and the
setting seem real, and the plot
focuses on everyday problems and
personal relationships.
 Examples: Hatchet, Dear Mr.

Henshaw, Frindle
Science Fiction

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The science fiction genre deals with probable events, is usually
set in another world, and is concerned with technological
advances.
Themes are the struggle between good and evil, the hope for
one peaceful world, and the brotherhood of man, space
adventure, space flight, and space vehicles are included in many
science fiction books.
Examples: Star Wars, Star Trek, Animorphs, Deltora Quest
Fairytales

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Fairytales are full of magic--giants, witches, magical tablecloths,
beans, and sticks--all sorts of magic.
These are set in a fantasy land, involve upper class characters-princes, princesses, kings, and queens, and frequently rely on the
pattern of three.
The conflict portrayed is generally life and death. At the end the
fortunes of the lowly, childlike, good protagonist and the adultlike, evil, antagonist are usually. Castles, journeys, mysteries, huts,
woods, rivers, bridges, a talking or otherwise helpful animal
frequently appear.
Examples of traditional fairytales are: Cinderella, Snow White,
Jack and the Beanstalk.
Myths
Myths are stories about gods and are sacred stories,
which supply "models for human behavior" and "give
meaning and value to life“.
 Western civilization has been strongly shaped by
Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, and Judeo-Christian
mythologies. Today we also possess African, Asian,
and Native American mythologies, which attempt to
explain the creation, divinity, religion, human nature,
features of the natural world, and death.
 Example: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The

Lightning Thief
Non Fiction
Non-fiction books contain
factual information about a
person, place, event, animal,
and/or thing.
 Some examples of nonfiction
are: biographies,
autobiographies, and
information books about
certain topics.
 Examples: Dinosaurs,

Volcanoes
Biography
Biographies tell the story of an individual’s life. The
book is written by another person.
 The books discuss the person’s life and achievements.
All the facts in the book are accurate and true.
 Examples: Young Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt,

George Washington…
Autobiography
Autobiographies are
stories that are written by
someone about his/her
own life.
 An example is: Small

Steps: The Year I Got
Polio by Peg Kehret
I PICK at Work…
“I PICK” Challenge
Now, let’s try out the “I PICK” strategy for
yourself in your classroom or the library.
Setting up “Book Boxes”…
Now that you’ve decided on a
few “good-fit” books, you
should put these books in a
place where you can easily
access them.
 Your teacher will show you
where to put your books…

Creating Anchor Charts
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As we learn each component of
The Daily 5, we will come
together and make an anchor
chart (or “I” chart for
“Independence”).
On each chart, you will be asked
to come up with learning
behaviors and expectations for you
and your teacher.
Now, let’s see who can model
these behavior…
Signals and Check-in
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Your teacher will have a signal to
get your attention.
Maybe it’s a yell, a bell, or a siren.
Whatever it is, you should adhere
to the signal. Let’s try it…
To be self-reflective, you will be
asked to give a thumbs-up or a
thumbs-sideways in regards to how
you did.
~Muscle Memory~
Repeated Practice

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Don’t be surprised if we go over
and over and over some of the
expectations for the components
of The Daily 5.
The reason we do this is to train
your muscles to do the right thing.
To be successful, we’ll follow 10
steps to muscle memory…
~Muscle Memory~
10 Steps
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Identify what is to be taught.
Set a purpose and a sense of urgency
Brainstorm behaviors using “I” chart.
Model the most desirable behaviors.
Model the least desirable behaviors.
Everyone model and build stamina (3 minutes).
Independent work (teacher stays out of the way).
Quiet signal to come back to group.
Group check-in (How did you do?).
Repeat steps 1-9.
Read to self
Read to someone
Listen to reading
Work on writing
Word work
Scene One:
Read to Self
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Being able to read to yourself is
the foundation of The Daily 5.
The “launching” of read to self is
based on the gradual release of
responsibility- eventually, you will
be able to do this independently
the right way!
Steps to Take
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Let’s find our gathering place.
Discuss the three ways to read a
book:

Read the words

Read and talk to yourself
about the pictures

Retell a previously read book
Model read to self, practice read
to self, talk about read to self…
Fill-out the “I” chart on read to
self.
Build your stamina. Model,
practice, talk, and repeat…
Scene Two:
Read to Someone
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Being able to read to someone will
help you become less reliant on
the teacher for assistance.
Reading to someone will allow you
to share your thinking and learning
with a friend.
Like all of the components of The
Daily 5, the “launching” of read to
someone is based on the gradual
release of responsibilityeventually, you will be able to do
this independently the right way!
Steps to Take
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
If you’re not there already, let’s
find our gathering place.
Think-Pair-Share: “Why do you
suppose that reading to someone
everyday is so important?
Model and practice EEKK
(elbows to elbows, knees to
knees).
Brainstorm “I” chart on read to
someone.
Build your stamina. Model,
practice, talk, and repeat…
Scene Three:
Listen to Reading
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Listening to reading is another way
to develop fluency and vocabulary.
Listening to reading will allow you
to relax and listen to a good story
and learn new strategies.
Like all of the components of The
Daily 5, listening to reading is
based on the gradual release of
responsibility- eventually, you will
be able to do this independently
the right way!
Steps to Take
1.
2.
3.
4.
If you’re not there already, let’s
find our gathering place.
Think-Pair-Share: “There are
several ways to listen to reading.
What are some ways to listen to
reading?”
Brainstorm “I” chart on listen to
reading.
Build your stamina. Model,
practice, talk, and repeat…
Scene Four:
Work on Writing
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Work on writing will allow you
time to spend on writing that really
matters to you:
 Persuasive writing
 Letters to a friend
 Reports on topics of interest
 Poetry
 Other
Like all of the components of The
Daily 5, writing is based on the
gradual release of responsibilityeventually, you will be able to do
this independently the right way!
Steps to Take
1. If you’re not there already,
let’s find our gathering
place.
2. Think-Pair-Share: “Why do
you think it is important to
write everyday?”
3. Brainstorm “I” chart on
work on writing.
4. Build your stamina. Model,
practice, talk, and repeat…
Scene Five:
Word Work (Words Their Way)
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Having time during a reading block to
focus on words is critical to your
development as a reader, writer, and
communicator.
With word work, you will work on:
 Experimenting with spelling
patterns
 Memorizing high-frequency words
 Generalizing spelling patterns
 Adding to your knowledge and
curiosity pf unique and interesting
words
Like all of the components of The
Daily 5, word work is based on the
gradual release of responsibilityeventually, you will be able to do this
independently the right way!
Steps to Take
1.
2.
3.
4.
If you’re not there already, let’s find
our gathering place.
Think-Pair-Share: “Do you know any
spelling patterns?”
Brainstorm “I” chart on word work.
Build your stamina. Model, practice,
talk, and repeat…
Bibliography
Boushey, Gail and Moser, Joan. The Daily
5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the
Elementary Grades. Stenhouse
Publishers. Portland, Maine. 2006.
 Daily 5 image taken from:
http://www.catawbaschools.net/schools/
oxford/staff/rachel_lamb/web%20page%
20library/reading.aspx Oxford
Elementary School-Lamb, Rachel-Web
Page Library-Reading
