It is my hope that all of you have heard about Gail Boushey and Joan Moser's The Daily Five and CAFE book by now. If you haven't, go grab it from Amazon right now! Although it may seem overwhelming, it is the simplest solution to your literacy block. There is absolutely ZERO content or curriculum involved. They are not forcing you to adapt to a one-size-fits-all reading program. The Daily Five and CAFE is a suggested, but research proven, approach to structuring your literacy block.
As I was reading CAFÉ I felt so many AHAH moments. My
favorite was a quote from Debbie Miller, “It’s true that teachers have never
been under more pressure. We’re bombarded by demands and directives deemed by
others as necessary and non-negotiable. As a result, teachers everywhere are
making Herculean efforts to fit everything in. It’s no wonder there’s talk by
some of hurry-up-and-get-it-done. But when getting done takes precedence over
the doing, when finishing becomes more important than the figuring out, we’ve
lost sight of why we became teachers in the first place (2008, 106).”
YESSS!!!!! I want to post this all over the hallways in my
school. Teaching students in today’s education system is not easy (it’s
probably never been easy…I just don’t know). However, it is what it is! Let’s
stop dragging our feet and complaining about it. Let’s collaborate with each
other and try to find solutions for these problems. We are teachers after all!
There are many things expected out of teachers. We have to
teach a detailed list of standards for each subject and assess (in some way)
all of them. Our schedules are not designed to address specific needs in our
classroom. When I first looked at my class schedule this coming year I noticed
we were allotted 90 minutes for a reading block. After reading CAFÉ, I have
purposefully seeked out parts of my schedule that can be altered to ensure my
students participate in all Daily 5 choices. Did I do it? Yes! My students were
given an additional 20 minutes in the afternoon for writing, and we also have a
30 minute block for Reading RTI. This is an hour of continued literacy
instruction. It is the perfect solution. I have time for all Daily 5 choices
and an extra focus lesson.
Like the sisters suggest, I will alter the CAFÉ menu to fit
the needs of my first graders. First, I want to add specific items under the accuracy
menu item. These specific items will relate to decoding and encoding
strategies. Next, it makes the most sense to me to meet
for individual conferences with my students while they are in small groups;
meeting with me for guided reading. If I create a calendar and schedule to meet
with one student from each group a day, I could confer with all students in a
week. Wouldn’t that be wonderful! Honestly, something I never thought could
happen. The sisters have created a wonderful conferring schedule that will
guide me through each student conference.
Each of my four groups will meet with me each day for guided
reading. I want to assign each group of students seating spots while they are
at my small group table. Each day they will sit by the same people but simply
scoot down one seat. The person sitting in the stool beside me will be the student
I confer with. This might be too complex and not necessary for some classrooms.
I think it will work for me! I can prevent student misbehaviors at my small
group table and provide a consistent schedule for my student conference times.
For a teacher just jumping into CAFÉ and Daily 5, it seems like a reasonable
accommodation.
Fostering literacy independence into my students next year
is going to be my number one goal. I believe that using The Daily Five and CAFÉ
will help my class and I reach this goal.
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