The Daily 5

You have heard WCS teachers and your children refer to “the Daily 5”. In case you are wondering about features and purposes of this very effective literacy tool, here are some details.

According to their website (thedailycafe.com), the Daily 5 is a “literacy framework that instills behaviors 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.”  Because it is a framework, teachers can insert curricular content   for their geographic / educational region (Ontario Ministry of Education & Ontario Christian Schools) and   make it work well.

 Often, when we read such claims, we are sceptical. When it comes to the Daily 5 at WCS, we love it and   support those claims! Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Word Work, and Listen to Reading   are the five tasks that make up the Daily 5 structure. God has gifted humans with words and language and it is wonderful to see students grow in communication skills. Teachers schedule several literacy blocks   throughout the week and students work through a rotation of tasks. These are routine periods during which   students read on their own, practicing old and new skills, but throughout there is focused instruction that   introduces new skills and guides student practice. And there is choice! Students have personal book bins   loaded with print material specifically geared to their reading level. When we host our WCS Education Week open house, or if you wish to make arrangements to come and observe, try to catch your child’s literacy block. Seeing students engaged in Daily 5 literacy work is seeing beautiful teaching and learning happen.