LITERACY
The Daily 5 (Reader's Workshop)
Our reading structure in third grade closely mirrors the Daily 5 Literacy Program. This means that students are involved in five independent activities throughout the week and will also meet with a teacher or literacy tutor at least a couple times a week.
The Daily 5 choices are:
Read to Self-- this is otherwise known as independent reading, where students will read books at their "Just Right" level and take Accelerated Reader quizzes to test their comprehension.
Read with Someone-- this is an important fluency-building activity where students will work with a partner and take turns practicing reading aloud.
Word Work-- students will work on the week's spelling assignment. They may also work in language centers that will require them to practice a variety of strategies, such as phonics, compound words, prefixes and suffixes, parts of speech, alphabetical order, and more.
Listen to Reading-- students will use technology to follow along with their favorite books, both chapter and picture varieties. This will not only model good fluency, but will expose them to new vocabulary and allow them to build their reading stamina.
Work on Writing-- this choice will have students continue to work on a lesson from Writer's Workshop or will invite them to write about a topic of their choice independently in their Writer's Notebook. This will not only build their writing stamina, but will allow them to explore ideas deeper in their writing and express themselves creatively.
Intermixed with these different choices, all students will be pulled in a small group once a day to work with a teacher or literacy tutor and work with specific, targeted strategies to help them become better readers. We practice reading using nonfiction texts, short stories, poems, chapter books, and more.Â