Daily 5 Tracking

Okay… who loves Pinterest?!  Here's an idea I found and adapted from Pinterest.

First, I just love The 2 Sisters! Don't you?! I am a big proponent of Daily 5 and find huge value in using it in my classroom! I have used a spreadsheet on my computer to keep track of student Daily 5 choices and I really love it.

This tool allows me to see what students have been choosing over the last several times they've chosen, so if a child chooses certain tasks or avoids others, I can intervene as necessary.

So back to Pinterest. I saw a cute idea that I thought was worthy of being stolen! http://pinterest.com/pin/34199278390627169/

As I began to make it myself, though, I thought that my students would need more direction and reiteration of expectations, so I took the iCharts we created for each of the daily 5 and typed them into expectations to post on the chart.

I see benefits and drawbacks to using this tool, of course. The spreadsheet is great because I can easily track students' choices over time. It's on the computer, though, so I can't look from across the room and see who's chosen what to help keep students accountable for their choices. I'm sure there's a balance between the two concepts, but I haven't figured out just what that is yet. I'd love your feedback.

Also, a couple lessons learned you can avoid: 1) don't do the dumb thing I did and buy CHEAP dollar store clothespins. Ugh! They're awful. 2) don't use book labeling color dots. They came off after just two days (that's what I get for trying to be thrifty-- I had to write with flair pen and then will just paint over for next year). Annoying.

I look forward to hearing your feedback and to follow each other for more rich experiences for our students.

Have a fantastic day!


desiree.r.schmidt@gmail.com