Simplify Your Lesson Planning with the Daily 5 Framework
Lesson planning is the worst…
Well, let me rephrase that - creating and putting together lessons that are fun and engaging for my students is the most rewarding thing in the world. But having the TIME to do that is another story.
And planning for your literacy black is a special kind of torture because within that one block of time is multiple lessons to cover a wide range of skill sets. Don’t even get me started on how to cover the wide range of student abilities…
Like I said - it’s the worst.
That is until I started to implement the Daily 5.
Implementing the Daily 5 Reduces Planning Time
The Daily 5 is a magical - yes, I just went there - framework that consists of up to 5 literacy tasks that students engage in every day during their literacy block. These include:
Work in Writing
Read to Self
Read to Someone
Listen to Reading
Word Work
And the reason that I call it a “magical” framework is because of two things…
Number one - I can work with small groups. And I’m not just talking about pulling one group of students as quickly as I can, I’m saying I can see ALL of my reading groups and do so without interruptions.
Number 2 - Because students do the same tasks daily, it makes planning and coming up with engaging (and meaningful) activities a breeze.
Effective lesson planning is crucial for a successful classroom, but it can be time-consuming and stressful. But trying to plan your lessons for after lunch during your lunch break or piece together a lesson on the fly is just as - if not more - stressful, which can lead to teacher overwhelm and eventually burnout.
Not to mention, the “building the plane as it’s flying” approach to lesson planning isn’t the most effective for meeting the needs of students.
That’s why finding ways to simplify the lesson planning process is essential for both teacher well-being and student success.
That brings us to the Daily 5.
How the Daily 5 Framework Simplifies Lesson Planning
Every teacher wants to simplify and save time planning lessons, but how does the Daily 5 framework do that?
Daily 5 Literacy Centers are Consistent
Consistency creates simplicity.
It’s as simple as that.
Because the Daily 5 offers a consistent framework that you are using every day, it takes the guesswork out of trying to come up with what to teach. This eliminates the need to spend what seems like hours scrolling Pinterest trying to come up with activities for the next day’s lesson.
And it makes prepping for an entire week at a time possible.
Now, I’m not saying you do the EXACT same lesson or activity every day (that would get a bit boring for your students). But because students are working through the same lesson components every day (i.e. read to self, listen to reading, work on writing, word work) the frame of the lesson is already done, you just have to customize it to fit that day’s lesson.
Then, it’s just rinse and repeat!
You can use the same slides, lesson template, and directions- just customize to that specific day and - Wa La! The day’s lesson plans are done.
Daily 5 Fosters Student Independence
So this might not be one of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about shaving time off of your lesson planning, but students working independently and having ownership over their work can go a long way towards giving you back your time.
Here’s the deal - it’s more likely than not that teachers have a group (or groups) of students who need additional support. The reasons why students need additional support can vary, but - with an already packed schedule - sometimes these interventions take place over recesses or prep periods thus causing teachers to lose out on much-needed planning time.
But - with the Daily 5 - students build stamina to work independently, which gives you the time to pull small groups during your literacy block and NOT during your prep period or recess.
Also - depending on the age of your students, you can create systems for them to auto-correct worksheets, check off tasks, and other small “management” tasks that can also give you back your time.
This sure takes a load off your shoulders - doesn’t it?
Flexibility and Adaptability of the Daily 5 Structure
I know what you’re thinking…
I have a literacy curriculum that I have to follow. Is it an insane amount of planning and work to get it to work with the Daily 5 framework?
Absolutely not!
If anything, I found that implementing the Daily 5 in my classroom alongside the district literacy curriculum made planning even easier.
How? Because I’d utilize the learning targets from those lessons to come up with the activities for that day. And, most curriculums have some sort of independent work that can easily be brought into one of the centers.
And - the most amazing part - is that I was able to differentiate task activities and small group instruction to give students what they needed when they needed it which further gave me back TIME.
Get Started Using the Daily 5
Here’s the deal - I’ve found that implementing the Daily 5 has not only been a game changer for my students but also…for me.
I feel I have more time to get done what I need to, causing stress and overwhelm to diminish, which then gives me the space to be the teacher that I want to be.
Teacher friend, I know you’re hooked!
And to help you get started, I want to give you all the resources that I use to get the Daily 5 up and running in my classroom.
Click here if you’re a K-2 teacher.
Click here if you’re a 3-5 teacher.
Each toolkit has expectation posts, stamina builder charts, choice boards, writing practice, and even more to make your Daily 5 kick-off as low prep as possible!
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I share daily videos where I drop all my best Daily 5 secrets. I can’t wait to see you over there!