The end of the school year is like the end of a Candy Crush level. Will I get enough points to beat my Aunt Mildred? Will I get three stars? This can be compared to: Did I move enough of my kids to be on level?
One star: A couple of my kids moved. Pat myself on the back
Two stars: Some of my kids moved. Give myself a hip-hip-hooray.
Three stars: A lot of my kids moved. Get up out of my seat and jump around! Jump around! Jump around!
I’ve been working in the inner city, which comes with its challenges. Needless to say, one year I had 3 kids enter my classroom on grade level for reading fluency , and I ended the year with 3 kids on level. Every year and class comes with its challenges. The achievement of a class is not necessarily a reflection of the teacher, but whatever I was doing wasn’t working. I needed to work smarter, not harder.
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I dedicated this year to The Daily 5. W
ith strict scheduling requirements, I couldn’t incorporate all elements, but focused on Read to Self and Word Work. We had Listening to Reading for a little while, but our old blue back mac computers plus unfamiliarity with a mouse, made for a tricky situation in my classroom.
Can I tell you something? The Daily 5 made my classroom a 3 star Candy Crush class! While some my class still struggled with reading fluency, they scored sky high on our reading and comprehension assessment.
We give the DRA (Diagnostic Reading Assessment) in our district. The kindergarten teachers give it at the end of the year. I had 8 out of 23 students come in reading on level. At the end of the year, I had 18 out of 25 reading on level! From 8 to 18! I think that makes this a 3 star year!
I’ve taught first grade for 5 years, and this past year I did man
y things the same. What I
changed was implementing The Daily 5. The Daily 5 had my students in books at their level for 20 minutes a day. It had them practicing sight words, and it allowed me to pull reading groups with minimal distractions.
All in all, The Daily 5 works people! If I could do an infomercial for it I would. Are you considering implementing The Daily 5 into your classroom next school year? Do it! You may just get your highest Candy Crush score yet!