*It's $20 per month. This fee pays for a stylist to be assigned to you and pick out 5 items (clothes, jewelry, accessories) that you may like. No shoes!
*You fill out a personal style profile that is quite detailed. You get to comment on clothing collections and add your own comments about what you like too. You can even link your stylist to your Pinterest board if you've posted clothes you like (or even a few pics of yourself). You also pick the price range you'd like for each clothing category.
*A box arrives at your doorstep with the items, style cards (with ideas for how to style each item) and a personal typed note from your stylist.
*You take the 5 items out, and you get to try them on in your own home (hello, no shopping with kids!).
*Decide what to keep and what to send back. If you keep all 5 items, you get a 25% discount. Even if you keep one item, your $20 stylist fee is applied toward that item (also applied if you keep all 5).
*Whatever you don't want, you pack into a pre-paid bag and send it back (postmarked within 3 business days).
I HATE going shopping. I always end up with something striped or 5 of the exact same thing (only in different colors...so I guess not exact). You get the idea. Add 3 children (all little boys) in the mix, and you get a shopping trip from hell! Anyway, this service was sent from above. I LOVE it!!! The items I received this month are awesome. I kept all 5!!! So, what did I get this time?
*A gray and white fit & flare dress: Not my favorite, but it was cheaper to keep this because of the discount.
*Jean Jacket: I didn't think I needed another jean jacket until I saw this one (and tried it on). I LOVE it! It will look great with summer dresses and other things I have.
*Plaid tab-top shirt. Upon seeing it, I thought it was too "fall-ish", but then I tried it on. This is a perfect example of why this service is for me. I would've never picked this out in the store, yet I love it. I wore it with wedges, capris and a tan jacket over it. I "springed" it up a little.
*Blue and white pocket tank: I love this too. I can dress it up or down. Perfect. Again, I would have never picked it off the rack at a store.
*Navy skinny jeans (easily rolled up into capris). I have never had a pair of jeans fit so comfortably. I've worn them 3 times since I got the box last Wed!!!!
If you are interested, check out Stitch Fix by clicking on the highlighted link. It is my referral link. If you subscribe, I will get $25 credit toward my next "fix".
Now, Onto The Daily 5...
This week, the Daily 5 will begin with Read to Self. The past few weeks built the foundation for this moment. Boushey and Moser suggest beginning with Read to Self because it is simple to teach, practice and implement. It is also the most powerful way for children to grow into independent readers.
I believe the most important thing to remember is to start slow when beginning so you can move faster later on in the school year. Following the gradual release of responsibility model, and the 10 Steps to Independence (as discussed thoroughly in the post on Chapter 3), your students will become independent readers and learners. It may seem, at times, that the pace is slow, but you must go slow at this critical time (when students are learning and practicing routines that will lead to independence). Too often, I've moved my students way too quickly through learning these routines, only to kick myself later in the year when I was still putting out fires!
The First Day:
It is suggested, before beginning the school year, to invite all families to come into the classroom (with their children) in order for the children to become comfortable and familiar with it. Where I work, we don't do that. Instead, parents and children visit when we teachers are not in the rooms (they can peek inside). So, I begin everything with students on the first day.
From my experience with, and knowledge of the Daily 5, this is what I do...
On the first day of school, as children arrive (without parents), I greet each child at the door. I take their book bags, look through them, take out all school supplies and place them in a large plastic bag labeled with that student's number (I'll sort through them later). I then show each child his/her desk (in part of a larger desk group). Children read from a large book bin with about 25 assorted books in the middle of their desk groups. They do this until all students have arrived and it's time to start the day. The book boxes remain in the middle of the desk groups throughout the day so there is always something for students to do (and so they can begin to see how important reading is).
Three Ways to Read a Book:
When all students have arrived, they are gathered in the meeting area for morning routines/morning meeting. After that, I do a short read aloud. After we get our wiggles out with a short brain break, we sit back down for our first anchor lesson, "Three Ways to Read a Book". This lesson is so helpful because even your most reluctant readers (or those who are ELLs) will be able to participate in Read to Self (and feel confident while doing it).
The three ways to read a book are as follows:
*Read the pictures.
*Read the words.
*Retell the story.
During this first lesson, the first two are taught/demonstrated/discussed. Retelling can be saved for later in the day or the next day (so children are not sitting for too long....remember the brain research discussed earlier in the book study?).
After this first lesson, fill each child's individual book box or bag with about 5-6 books (they will learn how to choose their books later).
At Last-We Launch Read to Self:
The suggested outline for how to teach Read to Self is found in the appendix. It is also suggested that younger children complete one round, and older children may be able to complete two rounds of practice. Make sure the 10 Steps to Independence are followed! Also, record stamina on a graph.
Integrating Foundations Lessons:
Once children learn Read to Self through the Ten Steps to Independence, aside from the small amount of practice they will do, there will be an abundance of time during your literacy block. It is during this time when foundational lessons will be taught that will enhance Read to Self and that must be taught before the other Daily 5 choices are introduced. The Read-to-Self foundation lessons are:
*Three Ways to Read a Book (as discussed above)
*I PICK Good-Fit Books
*Choose a Successful Spot (more about this in Chapter 6).
I PICK Good-Fit Books:
With SO much research out there (both old and new), there is no doubt that students will benefit from reading books that are "just right" for them. In addition, when students read "just right" books, they are more engaged, more motivated/less frustrated, they have choice/control and negative behaviors are minimized.
Students need to learn HOW to choose "just right" books (instead of just picking books from a leveled tub). It is suggested, that for this anchor lesson, the teacher should bring in a variety of shoes (in a bag). A chart (with the suggested wording for "I PICK" is also necessary-see page 74) will be referred to all year long.
The teacher is to take the shoes out one at a time (refer to the first line of the chart). The "purpose" of each shoe and the importance of wearing the correct shoe is also discussed. This is easily connected to how students choose books (if you want to learn about dogs, choose a dog book-not a book about cars). Each book selected must match the reader's purpose.
"Interest" is then discussed. Discuss how shoes match our interests. There are no ballet shoes in the bag because I'm not interested in ballet. It doesn't match my interests. Students need to think about their interests when choosing books.
Here is also when shoe size is discussed. The teacher pulls out a tiny shoe and tries to put it on (obviously, not able to fit). Then he/she pulls out a large shoe that, again, does not fit. Relate this to books that are not a "good fit"-hard to understand/trip readers up.
Comprehend ("C") is then introduced with "know the words" ("K"). Boushey and Moser suggested 99% accuracy would be a "good fit". So, they said their old "five finger test" will not work anymore. Instead, if a child can pick up a book and read almost every word, then it is a "good fit". If not, it may be too hard.
Comprehension is demonstrated as the teacher reads a physics text book (or something else above his/her level). Demonstrate, that even though most words are read correctly, the reader cannot understand it. Students need to be able to comprehend what they read.
After this anchor lesson, students are given time and support in choosing their own books for their reading boxes. It is highly suggested that an organized classroom library (that has been introduced to students) is in place. This is where book selection (or "shopping" as I call it) will take place. Throughout the year, invite 1-2 students a day to take out the contents of their boxes/bags and explain their selections to the class. This is powerful! Also, at the start of a reading conference, review each child's book selections with him/her. You will learn a lot from your students' selections!
How can you make sure your students have time to "shop" for books? Here are some ideas:
-Assign students shopping time during morning work (a few each day).
-Make it a choice once a week (or more) for Read-to-Self.
-While waiting for dismissal, students may shop (a few each day).
Adding the Other Foundation Lessons:
In the afternoon (on the first day of school) or during the first week of school, you need to teach other foundation lessons. These lessons will lay the groundwork for the other Daily 5 choices. It is suggested that Work-on-Writing Foundation lessons be the next ones that are taught. The include the following:
*Underline Words You Don't Know How to Spell, and Move On
*Set Up a Notebook
*Choose What to Write About
On the first day, you may only get to one of these, and that's o.k.
The next foundation lesson to consider is one from Read-to-Someone. These foundation lessons include:
*Check for Understanding
*EEKK (elbow, elbow, knee, knee)
*Voice Level
*How Partners Read
*How to Get Started
*Coaching or Time?
*How to Choose a Partner
Some other suggested foundation lessons include:
Listen-to-Reading:
*Set Up the Technology
*Listen and Follow Along
*Manage Fair and Equitable Use with a Limited Number of Devices
Word-Work:
*Set Up and Clean Up Materials
*Choose Materials to Use
*Choose a Successful Spot
Again, some of these (especially the set up and clean up of materials) need to be taught on the first (or second day) of school so time does not have to be spent when it's time to teach about Word-Work. Boushey and Moser include a list of suggested Work-Work materials on page 85, and they are all FREE or very cheap!
The next chapter, Chapter 6, will go into more detail about more foundation lessons. The ones mentioned in this post should be taught one the first day if possible. If not, then they should be taught on the second day.
If you comment or link-up, let me know your experiences with Read to Self.
Thanks for reading!
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