Janice Such
May 10, 2013
Blocks come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. As a teacher, literacy coach, and mother, I have seen many varieties—cardboard, wooden, plastic, foam, and more. I've watched children build with blocks at school and at home. Sometimes their buildings grow taller and taller by the minute, leaving onlookers in awe. At other times they topple, much to the children's disappointment. When I reflect on what makes the difference, I always come back to the same answer: the foundation.
Time after time, the young builders who shore up the foundations of their magnificent towers and high-rises block by block meet with success. Since the basic foundations of their buildings are sound, they can add upper floors, ornate roofs, and stout chimneys. Like the foundation of those strong buildings, the Daily 5 lays the powerful groundwork for teaching the Common Core.
Educators need the kind of foundation the Daily 5 provides for vital teaching in the age of Common Core State Standards. They have new standards to meet, more rigorous instruction to deliver, and a multitude of twenty-first-century learners to prepare. Right now, those twenty-first-century learners who fill classrooms, libraries, computer labs, and playgrounds may seem far away from the worlds of the university and workforce; however, they have already begun their journeys to college and career readiness.
The introduction to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts describes the characteristics of students who are college and career ready and stresses that these individuals"—become self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and using resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital reference materials" (p.7). Through the practical structure of Daily 5, students develop self-efficacy and are able to locate and use these resources for their learning.
Daily 5 provides a structure for teaching the content of the Common Core.