The Daily 5 in Action: An Intensive ESL Teacher’s Experience
So you’ve heard of the Daily 5 and, maybe you’ve even seen the Daily 5 Intensive Talks! web event. How about speaking to a teacher who has successfully implemented this literacy model into their classroom? Just recently, I was given this opportunity and I would like to share it with you.
I visited Rosalie Proce’s grade 6, Intensive ESL class at Ecole Le Tandem in the CSDL. I was delighted (but not surprised) to watch the students at the stations working independently (of the teacher), on-task, and in English. The only intervention was on the Interactive White Board which gave students the signal to change stations at the end of 15 minutes.
I wanted to find out about Rosalie’s approach to the Daily 5 and she was happy to share her experience with me in the following interview:
1. What led you to implement the Daily 5 in your class?
Rosalie: I had taken the Daily 5 workshop in the Spring of 2015 and a colleague of mine had read the book, so we decided we would give it a try.
2. How long have you been practicing the Daily 5 in your class?
Rosalie: I began implementing the Daily 5 in September 2015. It has been almost a year. It is effective and my students love it.
3. What do you like best about the Daily 5?
Rosalie: The Daily 5 gives me time to observe my students working and learning! Working with a partner is a good way to practice new lessons. The Word Work and Work on Writing stations are related to the concepts I teach for the week so on Friday, I give a quiz to verify that the concepts that they practiced in the stations are understood. And usually, the students are successful!
4. What is the most difficult part of implementing the D5 into your classroom?
Rosalie: Getting the stations ready. It is important to me that the materials are related to the concepts I am presenting for that particular week so I, and my colleague have created and are continuing to create and search for materials for the students.
5. What do you think the students like most about the D5?
Rosalie: I think that some students appreciate the opportunity to work with a partner, but all enjoy the aspect of choice. Giving them choices motivates them to work. They feel they are in control. They choose an activity within each station and choose to work wherever they want to in the class.
6. How long until the students were ready to work on their own? How long was the launch (training) period?
Rosalie: It didn’t take too long. The students were eager to try this new method of learning. We practiced Read To Self for a week. By the second week, they were practicing Read to Self, Work on Writing and Word Work. I had to wait til March to implement Read to Someone and Listening to Reading because there are very few books in the class. Eventually we got iPads for all the students and ordered the Raz Kids readers. The students, (and I) love them!
7. Did you go through all 10 Steps to Independence?
Rosalie: No, I didn’t think it was necessary with this group. I did explain though, that, this model would only work with their cooperation. I explained, “If you do it properly, you’ll learn.” and they did!
8.What changes will you make for next year?
Rosalie: For next year, I would like to create a comfy reading corner and I will definitely order Raz Kids again.
9. What do your students say about the Daily 5?
… it helps us practice grammar and when we have the test on Fridays we get excellent marks.
…we get time to read in class.
…it is cool because we can use iPads and learn at the same time.
…we can work with our peers.
…there are fun activities in the Daily 5 to help us better understand English grammar.
… the freedom of choice.
…in Work on Writing we like the prompts and writing activities as opposed to writing anything of our choice.
Thank you, Rosalie. I really appreciated this visit and you taking the time to share your experience with us!
—
Elizabeth Alloul
LEARN Consultant
ESL Special Project