Jocelyn O'Neill and Amanda MacArthur are believers in the power of literacy education.
Along with the staff of École John Wilson Elementary School, the Grade 3 teachers work strategically to integrate literacy education into classroom management, which frees them to work with students one-on-one and in small groups more intently.
“The goal of the Daily Five program is to ensure that every student succeeds in some way every day,” said MacArthur. “We work in five centres that students choose throughout the school day. They do word work, read quietly and aloud to each other, listen to an adult read aloud, and work on writing skills at their own pace.”
MacArthur added the students engage literacy in a way that is meaningful to them, which ensures they remain engaged throughout the day.
“As students move through their school years, it's important that they build stamina,” said O'Neill. “With regards to the Daily Five, it means that students are able to read and write for longer periods throughout the year and teaches them to focus.”
The teachers noted that positive lessons and vocabulary are reinforced throughout the day to continue learning momentum.
Jay Steeves, principal of Innisfail Middle School, was impressed with the success of the Daily Five strategy in the Spruce View School his daughter attends.
“She comes home using words like strategy and outcomes in Grade 2,” said Steeves. “It is clearly working.”
“We teach the kids to choose good fit books, which means that they are chosen with purpose, interest, comprehension and knowing (P.I.C.K.), that they are suitable,” said MacArthur. “In terms of teaching, we look at comprehension of the students, accuracy of their work, their fluency and their expressions of literacy (C.A.F.E.) It really is an integrated approach that is based on research.”
The two teachers are looking forward to meeting the developer of the Daily Five in February in Red Deer to learn more about the program.
“Every classroom is different in the implementation of the Daily Five,” said MacArthur. “Grade 4 teachers will use it differently than we do in Grade 3, and those in Grade 2. As students mature, we have to continually meet them where they are at to teach them effectively.”
The Daily Five model is used throughout the Chinook's Edge School Division elementary schools.
