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Work on Writing

"The writing component of the Daily 5™ provides additional support children require to become effective writers. Its purpose is to provide daily writing practice." (The Daily 5™ p. 80)

During this rotation students typically work on writing of their choice. Many primary teachers have a separate writing workshop, where students may be required to produce a piece of writing directly related to the lessons taught or genre being explored. Intermediate teachers tend to combine the workshop and Work on Writing. It all depends on master schedules and time available each day.

Whatever you do, we invite you to join us as we support our children as they Work on Writing.

A New Strategy for a Really Reluctant Writer (ARTICLE)
Lori Sabo
The sand timer strategy, which has been so successful with our barometer children during Read to Self, has proved to be valuable for a reluctant writer as well. . . . More...

May Writing Calendar (DOWNLOAD)
A writing calendar comes in handy if writers get stuck and need a little outside inspiration. Here is the writing calendar for May. . . . More...

Informational Writing in First and Second Grade (ARTICLE and DOWNLOAD)
Lori Sabo
Karen Roberts is a master at scaffolding for her young learners. Here is an idea you might like to use. . . . More...

Mentor Texts for Acrostic Poems (ARTICLE)
Lori Sabo
I love poetry so much that it's impossible for me to limit it to National Poetry Month or a single unit of study. Poems of all kinds are woven into the fabric of my classroom throughout t . . . More...

February Writing Calendar (DOWNLOAD)
We know the power of choice. It's why we teach children to select their own good fit books and why we allow them to write about topics that truly matter to them. Sometimes writers need a little outs . . . More...

Writing Ideas Calendar (ARTICLE & DOWNLOAD)
by Allison Behne
Allison Behne is all about choice, but choosing not to write is never an option. She has come a way to support students who get truly stuck once in awhile. . . . More...

Narrowing the Teaching With Amber (VIDEO)
Young writers have so many things to think about as they get their ideas on paper. You'll enjoy seeing an example of this truth as you watch Joan confer with Amber. . . . More...

FAQ: I know giving my students a prompt to write about each day is not ideal nor the best way to create independent writers, but my kids are saying they don't know what to write about. Help!
One of our favorite strategies is to utilize mentor poems. . . . More...

Modeled Writing and Heart Words (VIDEO)
We recognize the power of real modeling, so here is your chance to see Joan in action with her little ones. . . . More...

An Audience of One (ARTICLE)
Trish Prentice
Trish Prentice is an extraordinary kindergarten teacher, so when she has something to share, our ears perk up instantly. In this article, she shares some tips that make sharing time in her room successful. . . . More...

3 Purposeful, Powerful, Formats for Sharing (VIDEO)
Wrapping up a session of Daily 5™ with a purposeful and focused sharing time is a powerful way to review the strategies taught during the day and to review strategies previously covered. Sharing time also provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their own work, share their progress, and celebrate the growth of others.

In order to keep interest high, we typically follow a few different sharing formats: . . . More...

Revising Writing - Oh Yes!
Every year our school celebrates Grandparent's Day, a joyous day when grandparents come to school and the children show off all the smart things they do every day. It is fun for all! This year we decided to make sure all of the children's published pieces from the year were ready... . . . More...

Maxwell uses Underlining Words during his Writing Conference (VIDEO)
Joan checks in with Maxwell to see how well he is doing at his goals of writing more and underlining words he isn't sure about. As he reads his story, Joan leads him to discover what is missing, rath . . . More...

Website - 50 Tools to Improve Writing
We love it when smart people put together useful and relevant resources that help us teach our learners or grow as learners ourselves. Here is a site that does just that. You'll find 50 links that o . . . More...

Ideas for Your Writing - Website
Neil Gaiman, the author of Coraline, The Graveyard Book and many more, addresses the all important question...Where do you get ideas for your books? He used to respond: "From the Idea-of-the-Mont . . . More...

Using Exit Directions to Foster Independence (VIDEO)
In this video, Danielle, a kindergarten teacher, reviews the essentials for writing. She frequently refers to and draws the children's attention to visual cues orExit Directions, which is a term we learned from Michael Grinder. When we are going to send students out with a task, we go visual with the directions so children who cannot remember the auditory directions, or who forget once they've been released, can look at the visual instructions of what is expected. . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Writing Conference: Short and to the Point (VIDEO)
In this video Joan meets with a Kindergarten student during Daily 5™. Lillianna happens to be Working on Writing so Joan confers with her on her writing goals. It's easy for students to be dep . . . More...

FAQ - What Kind of Materials should I be gathering for Daily 5™ Work on Writing? (article)
Q What Kind of Materials should I be gathering for Daily 5™ Work on Writing? A We have tried a wide variety of writing systems in our lengthy careers -- binders, folders with l . . . More...

Reviewing Daily 5™ when a New Student Arrives (VIDEO)
We were walking down the hall when Jenny, a fourth grade teacher, came bustling out of her room hunting for a student chair for the new student who'd be arriving in minutes. Getting a new student at . . . More...

Writing Conference Increases Independence, Models Teacher Note Taking and Adding Next Steps (VIDEO)
It is so rewarding when our students make progress toward learning targets and goals. Avery has worked hard to assess her own spelling as she writes and underlines words she is unsure about before co . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Work on Writing - Word Choice (VIDEO)
This small group of writers is meeting with Gail and Natalie to discuss word choice. Gail uses 2 different pieces of writing to demonstrate the purpose of finding the right words: * to make the . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Quick Start Guide #3 Work on Writing (DOWNLOAD)
This is the third in the series of Quick Start Guides for Daily 5™. We have posted all the videos and downloads for this on one page for ease of use. Featuring: . . . More...

First 5 Days of Preteaching Daily 5™ Skills (DOWNLOAD)
This Download is a visual representation of our first week launching Daily 5™. We designed it after our book was written because so many teachers asked us, "What does your literacy block look l . . . More...

Graphing Stamina (DOWNLOAD)
We know from experience that making a goal visible helps us stay motivated to achieve it. Our kids aren't any different, so we use this graph to help inspire the growth of stamina in our rooms. We i . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Launching Read to Self - Barometer Child Part IV (VIDEO)
One of the most critical steps when implementing The 10 Steps to Independence is also one of the most difficult for teachers to do. Step 8, S . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Adding Choice and Checking In (VIDEO)
After Read to Self and Work on Writing have both been launched, we often feel a bit like we are standing on top of a mountain, admiring a view of great beauty. Students are actually reading and writi . . . More...

Daily 5™ - Check In with Goal and Strategy (VIDEO)
When we first ask students to "Check In", they do it by telling us which Daily 5™ they will work on during that round of the Dailys. Eventually we teach them how to "Check In", by naming their . . . More...

The Daily 5™ Tasks - Creating a Sense of Urgency (DOWNLOAD)
When we are committed to trying something new, it helps to have something concrete to refer to. If you are like us, you might want to download this quick reference to the Daily 5™ Tasks. They . . . More...

Daily 5™ - 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence (DOWNLOAD)
This download is a staple for our Daily 5™ presentations. We think these 10 steps are what set Daily 5™ apart from any other instructional model or system. These are the steps we u . . . More...