Daily 5 Launch!

Today was the big day! We officially launched our Daily 5 rounds today. Hooray!

 

It was not without some hiccups, but for my 2nd graders first experience with the rounds I think we did pretty good. They did some similar literacy centers in 1st grade so that helped a little. The big difference is that in 1st grade, the groups rotated to each station together. My kiddos had to check the board each round to see where they were headed (haven't tried the power of choice yet).

 

My rotation chart last year took up so much space that I just don't have this year. I decided to try using my whiteboard. This is what gave me the idea...

 

Sandy from Soaring Through Second Grade has this freebie.

 

I like Sandy's and may convert to using it later on. Last night as I remembered I needed to have the rotation chart ready [yes, Mrs. Organized (Kristi would say) is still scrambling...hope I get a routine going soon], I couldn't get to Pinterest (it's blocked HUGE :-() so I just made one Powerpoint slide for each round. At the end of the round, I just clicked to the next round and it told the kiddos where to go. I really liked it!

 

I'm also loving this Pinterest find...

Meet "Mr. Check In" courtesy of Lyndsey at A Year of Many Firsts. We've even pulled this guy out of our book boxes during Writer's Workshop to discuss how we can add details to our stories. Another freebie!

 

Another new thing I tried this year that I really think I'm going to like is not doing the rounds on Mondays. I found when working with a basal, there is so much to introduce it was hard to fit it all in my small groups. I can't remember which blog gave me the idea, but I really like it...

 

Math is another story... Any Saxon users out there? How do you handle the pages? Do you do the guided practice (side A) every day as a whole class? Do you ever give any independent work? I like the extra fact practice that Everyday Math didn't have, but I'm trying to find a way to make the pages more manageable--for the kiddos and me (on grading)! I also don't give math homework every night, so... Suggestions welcome!

 

Have a great evening!