What is the Daily Five?

Daily 5 is a literacy framework that instils behaviours of independence, creates a classroom of highly engaged readers, writers, and learners, and provides teachers with time and structure to meet diverse student needs. Because it holds no curricular content, it can be used to meet any school, state, or national standards. Daily 5 classrooms at Pacific produce productive, highly engaged students who develop a true love of literacy.

During Daily 5, students select from five authentic reading and writing choices, working independently toward personalized goals, while the teacher meets individual needs through whole-group and small-group instruction, as well as one-on-one conferring.

The 5 parts of the framework:

1. Read to Self– This is essential to our literacy block. During this time students are each equipped with books, seated alone, and read independently on texts that are best suited to their learning needs. We spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year building the stamina needed to be successful.

2. Work on Writing – This is a highlight component for many students.  Students have been provided with a Writers Notebook where they can select to write texts based on their interest levels. We also use our Literacy book when we focus on writing genre and structure.

3. Word Work – As part of our school agreement, we use the Soundwaves Spelling Program for our word work component. Throughout the week students participate in a whole class sound introduction workshop and then work independently or in a small group on activities to support their learning.

4. Read to Someone – We complete this rotation twice a week. This has been particularly beneficial for developing fluency and comprehension skills. Students really look forward to these sessions.

5. Listen to Reading – Throughout the week students listen to a variety of texts sometimes read by the teacher, another student or on an electronic device. Recently we have incorporated a ‘shoulder buddy’ system within the classroom where we listen to each other read and answer questions based on a specific comprehension strategy.

Using this framework has been very beneficial in growing students’ literacy independence, across P-5.

Mrs Sue Zweck, Head of Teaching and Learning K-5