Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 2

First of all, to family and friends waiting for and expecting to see exciting pics of our Spring and Summer...they are coming, I promise! Still cannot upload pics from this Ipad...grrr!
Also, family and friends, feel free to skip reading these book study posts (I DO LOVE being a part of this!) but beware, there will very soon be a post on BATHROOM ADVENTURES...there might be a quiz...so read about the exciting escapades on our bathroom renovation as soon as it gets done (only on day 3...12 to go?) side note: had to go through the pouring rain to use the bathroom in the RV...it's going to be a looooong 2 weeks ( 4 weeks in contractor time?)

http://kindergartensmiles.blogspot.com/2012/06/daily-5-chapter-2-linky.html
1. Do you trust your students? How do you build this trust? Are you able to trust them and allow them to be independent throughout all aspects of your day? Are you going to be able to stay out of their way?

I do trust MOST of my k kiddos MOST of the time! I need to work on the proper practice of procedures if I am to let go of control more.

I currently build trust by giving them valid jobs to keep our classroom running smoothly. Raising 6 kids of my own has taught me the more responsibility kids have, the more independent they become.

Can I stay out of their way? I know I will need to work on being quiet during stamina building, as stated in the book, I do not want the students to become dependent on that positive reinforcement that seems to flow so freely in kindergarten! In other areas of D5? Hmmmm....I am excited to try!



2. How much choice do you give your students throughout the day? Do you go over your daily schedule with your students or is it just 'posted' in the room?

My kiddos get about 30 minutes free choice and 30 minutes of academic choice. One of the reasons D5 was intriguing to me was I was looking for more structure during this academic choice time. I realize I will need to add to the length of time. I am not willing to give up free choice, you know plain old fashioned PLAY time....dolls, blocks,art station, thematic items....any thoughts?

I do go over the daily schedule mostly at the beginning of the year, on return from breaks, and when we have a deviation from the norm...I also go over a target skills chart on most days during group time.



3. How are you going to create that sense of community where students will hold each other accountable?
Oooh ooh, I LOVE THIS ONE! I have been using Resposive Classroom for at least 5 years...I truly buy into their program which has very similar traits as D5: trust, responsibility, knowing our kids, community building...so much of our first six weeks is based on community building activities. Empowering kids is what it is all about!



4. Student ownership in learning? How do you instill this in every child?

Kids do need to know WHY we are reading a particular book or learning specific skills, I need to sloooooow down and say why more often. Just being empowered with the knowledge of WHY can lead to increased ownership of learning and the ability to make good decisions.

On a more general level, at Open House we have the parents write their hopes and dreams for their k kid for the year. The kiddos also journal a hopes and dreams page in the first few weeks of school. I often refer back to them..."Katie, you told us your hopes and dreams were to become an actor. Did you know that actors have to read really well? And be good direction followers? We can work on those skills this year together!". Or "Tommy, your dad wants you to have a great k year filled with friends, fun, and learning!...we will work on all of those things this year!"




5. Stamina! How are you going to build stamina with reading? independent work? Will you use a timer? Will you set goals?

I love the many ideas I have read on your blogs....setting a timer, celebrating, recording goals for all to see. I just love the word STAMINA, cannot wait to teach it to my kiddos. It goes nicely with SELF CONTROL, another k skill!