The Daily 5

Daily 5 is a literacy framework that instills behaviours of independence, creates a classroom of highly engaged readers, writers, and learners, and provides teachers with the time and structure to meet diverse student needs.

The staff and students have begun implementing these structures into the literacy block at St Michael’s. The Daily 5 incorporates five important literacy practices.

1. Read to Self  
2. Read to Someone
3. Listen to Reading
4. Work on Writing
5. Word Work

Reading Strategies

Year 5/6 participated in a session and have learnt the ‘Read to Self’ strategy which incorporates the 3 ways to read.

• Read the pictures
• Read the words
• Retell the story

We shared a book called ‘Two Summers’ by John Heffernan and the students helped to read the pictures. The teachers were impressed with the insightful comments and high level of thinking that the students displayed.

‘Two Summers’ is a book set in rural Australia. It introduces many of the activities that farm kids experience from the point of view of a farm kid and his city friend: riding motorbikes & horses, swimming & fishing, mustering cattle, feeding stock & poddies, pulling calves from heifers, branding calves, marking lambs. It gently touches on the effects of drought, both physical and emotional. The beautiful illustrations enhance the story with lots of details.

We then discussed the IPICK Good-Fit Book strategy to ensure books to be read reflect the following criteria.

I – I SELECT A BOOK - Look it over inside and out.

P – PURPOSE - Why do I want to read it?

I – INTEREST – Does it interest me?

C – COMPREHEND – Do I understand what I am reading?

K – KNOW THE WORDS – Do I know most of the words?

The students then made sure that they chose a good fit book and spent time reading. The teachers were able to listen to individual students and discussed reading strategies and goals during individual conferences.

Next session we will focus on desirable reading behaviours and discussing hot books.

Bridgette McCann