Daily 5 Chapter 2

1 .What goals do you have for your classroom as you work to implement the principles and foundations of the Daily 5 discussed in chapter 2? What support do you need to do this?

• I know that at times I have been mistrustful of my students when it comes to their learning and self management.  I have felt the need to micromanage every detail of the classroom down to the cap of the last glue stick.  Now that I have a few years under my belt- literally three years- I am learning to let go.  To set the expectations, teach the routines, and then let the kids take responsibility.  I still have control freak days, but they are few and far between.  And the trade off is that I can spend more of my energy on what really matters- students' learning and growth.  My goal here is to continue trusting my students to meet high expectations.  
• The section on choice really spoke to me.  I love the idea that purpose + choice = motivation.  I know that when I am forced to do a task it is much less meaningful to me than when I make the choice to do so.  I have paid the concept lip service, but the fact of the matter is that I have been swallowed up by the curriculum and the pacing guides.  One of my major goals for this year is to provide as much choice in the classroom as I reasonably can.
• Building a positive classroom culture is one of my strengths.  I love giving each child a sense of importance and belonging in our class.  I think this is vital not only to learning, but to building healthy, stable people.  Each child that comes into my class has a right to feel like she or he is a part of the community and that we are all in this together.  
• I love the story here about the child who asked the VP to keep it down so she could concentrate!  What a dream come true for any teacher :)  My goal with this principle is to really focus on giving kids the feeling that their work is important and they are capable of success.  
• This section is, without a doubt, my favorite part of this chapter.  I love the idea of taking the mystery out of building stamina and just having a frank discussion about strengthening the mental muscle.  Kids need to know that they will become successful once they have learned to practice a skill.  And learning to practice is itself a skill.  My goal here is to really work with my kiddos to build their strength and focus so they become independent learners, while I work to target specific areas for growth.  

2. What stands out as the most significant aspects of this chapter? 

"What meaningful activities does research say my students should be engaging in that puts them in charge of their own learning, is self motivating, is worth of their time and effort, and will improve skills?"  I love this quote!  The part that really stood out for me is "worth their time and effort."  I know that when I do something that I feel is worthwhile I commit to it 100% and I feel that my students will also develop enthusiasm for work that helps them feel worthwhile and productive.  

 3. How do the foundational principles of the Daily 5 structure (trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina), align with your beliefs that support your teaching strategies and the decisions that you make about student learning?

The principals of the D5 really resonate with my beliefs about children and learning.  They offer a sense of dignity and trust for individual learner and for the learning process.  I feel that by implementing these principles, I am honoring my students as whole people, not just as test scores.