Daily 5 Chapter 4

I feel like it has been forever since I have had some good quality time with my computer.  Last weekend we went camping and when I got back my mom put me to hard work on her pool.  Thank God we are almost done with that thing! Yesterday I was sad that I didn't get on here, in fact, I missed some great sales and an awesome flash freebie :o(  Now I am ready to post on this week's chapter for the kindergarten book study on The Daily 5. (better late than never)

A big thank you to Krissy Miner from Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business for hosting chapter 4!
   1) How far into the school year do you think kinders need to be to be able to begin the process of Read to Self? What is realistic? When do you plan to begin implementation?

This part really scares me. I understand why The Sisters say it is important to start the process right away but I am having reservations.  I think that I will probably start the beginning of second semester.  I only have my kids for a half of a day and getting in "every day routines" takes a lot of the time. (I know, I know this is going to be every day too.)  I will have to spend much of my time in the beginning of the year teaching the kids how to color in the lines and cut on the lines.

Let me just insert here... THAT is why I want to use the Daily 5.  When I spend so much time concentrating on coloring, cutting and gluing I start to lose my mind and wonder why in the world I had to go to college for that.  So, by using the D5 I will feel like I am doing more meaningful things.

Back to Q1: Realistically, I know that they will not be reading, even in November, but they can practice those book handling skills and they can look at the picture and retell a story.

2) How will you make sure that each child views him/herself as a reader (whether they are reading words or not)?

I want to incorporate some alphabet book,  books where kids can just look at the picture and know what the word is that goes with it.  I also want to stress the three ways to read a book so that kids know that by looking at the pictures and retelling a story are reading.

3) What are some ideas you have about "Launching Read to Self" in kindergarten? How will you go about it and what are some ways to make sure it is "kinder friendly"? 

I think I am going to do exactly what the book says.  Model, practice, review, repeat. I can't wait to see my kids all over the room with books in their hands. :)  As far as my I-Charts go, I would like to take some pictures of the correct models and add them to the chart so the kids and look and remind themselves of what they need to be doing.

4) How will you/do you build the children's belief that this IS important? What can we do to encourage the ones who do not value it and create disruptions for others?

I think that by modeling and practicing then talking about all the good behaviors, some of the problems will take care of themselves.  I like the idea of not drawing a lot attention to the negative behaviors and reminding the kids that they can do well because they did while modeling for the class. 

5) How valuable is Checking In and Reviewing with kindergartners? How often will you do it? When will you do it? What are some different ways to "check in"?

Starting off I will be checking in and reviewing often.  Once the kids build up their stamina and are doing well independently I will only check in and review as needed.  I don't want to fix something that is not broken.  If I see a problem, I will stop the class and them gather back at the carpet where we will review our I-Chart.

Here is a great anchor chart from Mrs. Richardson's Class

And some great reminders from Mrs. Miner.  I am going to print me one (or two) of these to put in my room as a remind to myself when I start to get frustrated.

Don't forget to check back next week for chapter 5 as we discuss Read To Someone and Listen To Reading