99.5% done introducing the Daily 5!

    So, it's been a while!  The first couple weeks of school were not only busy during the week but on the weekends as well leaving me with little free time to blog!  We have already covered so much!  We're nearly finished with section 1 of Everyday Mathematics and we will be beginning our new unit in ELA on Wednesday.  We have also spent time working on names, social skills, and apples.  And finally, our 5 class rules, "Hands and Eyes", "Mirror" and "Class? Yes?" have also been introduced
    We're in the home stretch for the introduction of the Daily 5!  So far we have learned all about Read to Self, Read to Someone, Word Work and Work on Writing.  Starting tomorrow, I will be introducing Listen to Reading.  Most of my listening library collection is still on tape so that is always interesting since kids usually think I am talking about the tape used to stick things together (I always ask if they know what tapes are and 9 times out of 10 they say that!)
      I only have one listening station set up (tape/CD player) and the other half of the group listens to stories on the computer.  In the past, I have used Barnes and Noble Online Storytime and our local library has an online collection of books as well.  Our new ELA curriculum, Superkids, also has stories on their website so we use those as well.
     The most challenging part of Listen to Reading is coordinating who listens to the CD/tape player first and whose on the PCs first.  Even though I color code it, the students still get confused.  Any suggestions?  I know they're trying their best to follow instructions, but I still can't find a system that works out good enough to increase their level of independence.
     This year, I have a lot of young students- many who just turned five or those who will be five most of the school year.  They may be a little farther away from reading, but their desire to read might be the strongest and most confident I've observed in a couple of years.  I've also had good luck with students choosing good fit books and putting away books in the correct baskets (I have sticker picture labels on every book).
     For the most part, I introduce everything nearly the same way it is outlined in the back of the book (The Daily 5).  I do shorten each introduction down a day or two (instead of 5-ish days to introduce and practice one topic we do 3-4 before introducing the next one).  This is because the first full week we implement the Daily 5 exactly as it should be (students going to different activities at different times vs. everyone practicing the same thing), I am still observing behaviors, as well as redirecting and modeling when needed.  After that first week, we will begin guided reading groups.
     Over the next week, I plan to write more blog posts about the remaining four parts of the Daily 5 and what it looks like in action in my classroom!