How to Set Up Your Classroom for the Daily 5
I get it - you’ve learned about the Daily 5 and you’re super excited to implement EVERYTHING you’ve learned about the Daily 5 in your classroom.
You can’t wait to get your students started in their Daily 5 centers…
And you’re THRILLED for the opportunity to meet with reading groups. (It’s like a dream come true!)
There’s one more thing you need to tackle before you can get started - setting up your classroom for the Daily 5.
But what does an effective classroom set-up for the Daily 5 look like?
Setting up Your Classroom for the Daily 5
The Daily 5 framework is a strategy for organizing instruction during your literacy block. The Daily 5 doesn’t tell you what to teach, it’s a strategy for how to organize and maximize your instructional time.
With the Daily 5, your students will rotate through these centers (or stations) during your scheduled literacy block: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, and Work on Writing. (Wanna find out what my classroom schedule looked like? Check out this blog post.)
I’ve used the Daily 5 as a kindergarten, first-grade, and fifth-grade teacher, and I’ve learned that - no matter the grade level - the keys to the Daily 5 being successful during your literacy block are: setting clear expectations, establishing strong routines, and…
Strategically setting up your classroom.
Making sure your classroom is setup for Daily 5 centers ensures that you and your students will be successful (and it will just make your life so much easier!).
There’s SO MUCH about the topic of classroom setup that we could dive into - but for the purposes of this blog, I’m sharing my BIG THREE when it comes to organizing and setting up your classroom (and these are relevant no matter your grade level!).
How to organize students’ Daily 5 materials.
Setting up your classroom library.
Creating a classroom Word Wall.
Creating an Effective Daily 5 Classroom
I know you’re super pumped to get started implementing the Daily 5 into your literacy block, but taking time to make sure that your students’ materials are (and remain) organized, your classroom library is prepped, and your students know how to use the Word Wall as a resource are vital to maintaining order and independence amongst your students.
I’m sure you’re pretty aware of the chaos that can ensue when students can’t find a worksheet they need, or they don’t have a book that peaks (and keeps) their interest (CRINGE!)
Let’s avoid that chaos, shall we?
Here’s my MUST HAVES when it comes to setting up your classroom for the Daily 5.
Organizing Student Daily 5 Materials
Since students are working independently through their rotations, it’s important for students to have the materials that they need in an easy-to-access and easy-to-use organized system.
No more students interrupting you asking where their materials are!
I’ve experimented with several systems, but the one that has been the best for me AND my students has been book bins.
Here’s how I organized them for my fifth-grade students.
Being Strategic with Your Classroom Library
I get it…Thinking about starting (let alone continually managing) a classroom library can create palpitations.
But having a classroom library gives students the opportunity to peruse books and find ones that pique their interest - keeping them motivated and on task during Read to Self (their independent reading time).
When I was teaching kindergarten and first grade, I found it most effective to have books in numbered baskets.
For older grades, you can choose to organize book baskets either by genre or alphabetical order by author's last name.
Also, have fun with curating books for your classroom library!
I’d have a special section devoted to seasonal books that my students LOVED to “shop” from.
Classroom Word Wall
Depending on the literacy curriculum that your district uses, you may already have a Word Wall for your classroom - but if you don’t, here’s why you need one.
Having a word wall supports vocabulary development because it’s a visual reminder of the high-frequency words, thematic words, and content-specific vocabulary that students have learned.
And by regularly referencing a word wall, students can improve their spelling and writing since it serves as a reference tool that helps students spell words correctly. And here’s the best part - this will reduce the reliance on students on how to spell words!
Tools for Effective Classroom Set-Up
These three things have been a GAME CHANGER when it came to leveling up the Daily 5 routines in my classroom.
And, to further help your process in setting up your classroom for the Daily 5, I want to share with you Daily 5 Toolkits that I created (resources I used in my own classrooms) to help make implementing the Daily 5 this school year a breeze!
These toolkits include stamina charts, expectation charts for each of the centers, and my favorite management resources to make sure your literacy block runs smoothly.
Additional Resources to Create Your Daily 5 Classroom
If you already have the toolkit or would like to learn more about how to implement the Daily 5 in your classroom - then you’re going to want to check out the Daily 5 playlist over on my YouTube Channel.
In it, you’ll find videos on each of the centers, how to plan literacy centers for upper grades, and other tips and strategies I’ve learned along the way.