I decided to jump in this week with a post regarding behavior during Daily 5. Now, you may be thinking, "But, wait! Daily 5 is all about students engaged and on task. They will never, ever, ever, ever, ever misbehave during Daily 5. You are absolutely able to work with small groups without worrying about the others in the room."
Okay…if you're thinking that, and you've never had a problem with behavior during Daily 5, then you deserve a gold medal!
No matter what we try, our little friends sometimes just can't get along with their group mates, or they can't find that perfect "Level 2" partner work voice. Or, they have an issue with truly staying on task, no matter how much time YOU put into ensuring each activity's meaningful and engaging nature.
So…I thought I'd pipe in this week's linky to share a couple of ideas that I have found super useful during Daily 5.
The first one: CLASS DOJO!
A lot of teachers use this as a whole class management tool. This year, I utilized it during Daily 5. Rather than each individual student having his or her own characters, each Daily 5 group had its own. In our classroom, we have numbers as Daily 5 groups - groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (don't panic - this year, I plan to spice things up a bit).
Anyway, during Daily 5, the above image was projected on our screen. While I worked with a small group at the back table, I had my trusty wireless mouse next to me. If a group was on task or off task, I was able to click a group, indicate positive or negative behaviors, and the computer took care of alerting the class for me. There's a nifty little sound for positive and negative, and the kids quickly learn which is which. Based on our T-charts that we make during our introduction of Daily 5, I preload the behaviors, and the groups can see specifics of what made them gain or lose points. The best part of this is — I don't have to break away from my small group AT ALL. So many times, teachers are pulled away from their small group because they're yelling across the room or snapping their fingers to redirect students. And, that's not fair to your friends at the back table OR the other students in the room.
Once a group reaches five points, they get to "kick of their shoes" during Daily 5 the next day! Talk about a simple incentive! And, powerful, too. We make a big show of it, of course - the group gets to stand at the front of the room and literally KICK off their shoes! Then, we reset that group's points, and they restart their journey to shoeless Daily 5 glory.
My first graders this year LOVED this. They were very quick to remind me to pull up the "monsters." I'm positive that they started to think of these little furry guys as part of the family!
The second idea I've used is pretty similar, but isn't dependent upon technology.
It's super simple:
On the main whiteboard in my room, I list each group's name (or number, if you're lame like I was this past year). Then, at the end of Daily 5 for the day (we have three rounds each day in my classroom), I choose my STAR groups. Then, I place a…you guessed it…STAR next to that group's name. Multiple groups may earn a star, or no groups may earn one! When a group earns three stars, that group gets to KICK off their shoes! Yay!
As a side note: I'm all about self-reflection, and my students have the opportunity to do this at the end of each round, as we wait for all of the groups to clean up. Students sit on their desks (yes, this is super exciting for them) and give a quick "self-check." This is three fingers, two fingers or one finger, depending on how they feel that they did during that round of Daily 5. If we have time, I ask for volunteers to share a "proud moment" (something that they feel they did great during that round), a "wish for next time" (a goal for the next round) or a "star for someone else" (if they noticed a classmate making excellent choices). This is just a great way to include a little self-assessment and community building during our Daily 5 rounds!
So, those are my quick and easy ideas for Daily 5 behavior management. What do you do for Daily 5 behavior? Or, are you one of those who deserve a gold medal?
I'm a new follower and also use The Daily 5. I find that there is always that one students who isn't necessarily a talker in class, but whose voice just carries over the others! I can't seem to "fix" that. You have a really cute blog!
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