Amanda,
I teach 8th grade in Columbia County, Georgia, the suburbs of Augusta. Our county has required the use of DOL (a minimum of 3 times per week) in an effort to raise the L.A. portions of the Georgia CRCT (criterion referenced competency test). Many teachers use the Actual Daily Oral Language program, while others of us use the Daily Language Practice that accompanies our literature series (Prentice Hall). I honestly don't see how requiring every m.s. teacher in the county to utilize DOL on a regular basis UNLESS the teacher is going to incorporate the DOL lesson into their regular writing curriculum. Personally, I only use the Daily Language Practice overheads because I have to. My students really learn the intricacies of writing through my writer's workshop, where we are able to focus on things such as setting off apposotives with commas, punctuation usage, verb tenses, etc. However, because the Georgia CRCT requires students to 'pick out' mistakes in sentences, which is what they're supposed to accomplish with DOL, it makes sense to my district to practice what is on the test.
Just my $.02.
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