I listened to Freeman Hrabowski, at the School Administrators of Iowa conference in Des Moines, last month, when he spoke a powerful message about how the more his mother read the better she was at reading. The better reader she became at reading the more she enjoyed reading. The more that she enjoyed reading the more she read. This is our goal; that our students will acquire the skills that will allow them to develop a lifetime love of reading and writing.
While conducting classroom walkthroughs over the course of the first week of school, I became excited as I kept seeing a lot of the same language and procedures being used throughout the building. The language and procedures that caught my attention were in regards to our teachers' implementation of the Daily 5 and CAFE, which originated from the work of Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, better known as The 2 Sisters.
The Daily 5 is a literacy structure for the classroom that allows students to learn and practice certain routines and procedures. It consists of five tasks that are introduced individually with modeling and practice so that eventually the students can engage in the task independently. While introducing a task, students gradually work on building their stamina to the point where they can be successful at being independent while doing that task. The five tasks, which are the same from kindergarten through fifth grade (although they, obviously, look a little different at each grade level), are: read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, work on writing, and word work. Once all tasks are introduced and implemented to a level where students are independent, the teacher is able to work with small groups (guided reading) and conference with students one-on-one.
CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding vocabulary. The CAFÉ is a system that compliments The Daily 5 by utilizing the above mentioned reading skills to facilitate setting goals and then establishing both small group and whole group instruction.
During the 2011-12 school year, a group of 13 teachers voluntarily participated in a teacher-led book study of The Daily 5 with implementation beginning in the spring ('12). By the fall ('12), all K-5 classrooms had made The Daily 5 a part of their classroom practice. This summer ('13), Riverside Elementary was fortunate to send seven staff to the Iowa Reading Association Conference in Ames, Iowa where the authors,The 2 Sisters, were presenting. As a result of the success that our teachers are experiencing with The Daily Five and the learning that staff received over the summer, a portion of our teachers have taken the initiative and started to implement CAFÉ.
While conducting classroom walkthroughs over the course of the first week of school, I became excited as I kept seeing a lot of the same language and procedures being used throughout the building. The language and procedures that caught my attention were in regards to our teachers' implementation of the Daily 5 and CAFE, which originated from the work of Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, better known as The 2 Sisters.
The Daily 5 is a literacy structure for the classroom that allows students to learn and practice certain routines and procedures. It consists of five tasks that are introduced individually with modeling and practice so that eventually the students can engage in the task independently. While introducing a task, students gradually work on building their stamina to the point where they can be successful at being independent while doing that task. The five tasks, which are the same from kindergarten through fifth grade (although they, obviously, look a little different at each grade level), are: read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, work on writing, and word work. Once all tasks are introduced and implemented to a level where students are independent, the teacher is able to work with small groups (guided reading) and conference with students one-on-one.
CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding vocabulary. The CAFÉ is a system that compliments The Daily 5 by utilizing the above mentioned reading skills to facilitate setting goals and then establishing both small group and whole group instruction.
During the 2011-12 school year, a group of 13 teachers voluntarily participated in a teacher-led book study of The Daily 5 with implementation beginning in the spring ('12). By the fall ('12), all K-5 classrooms had made The Daily 5 a part of their classroom practice. This summer ('13), Riverside Elementary was fortunate to send seven staff to the Iowa Reading Association Conference in Ames, Iowa where the authors,The 2 Sisters, were presenting. As a result of the success that our teachers are experiencing with The Daily Five and the learning that staff received over the summer, a portion of our teachers have taken the initiative and started to implement CAFÉ.
There are multiple reasons that this had me smiling as I walked up and down the hallways, in-and-out of classrooms. The students have familiarity with this; for example, this year students are being re-introduced to this language and these procedures instead of being introduced for the first time. The teachers have had a year of using this structure in their classroom, and they have had a year to reflect on what has worked well and what can be improved upon. This is a system that really emphasizes both collaboration and independence amongst our students, which are two vital skills for the 21st century; students are also provided with both choice and purpose, which prove to be motivating. Finally, most importantly, it gives our students 1) opportunities to read and write and 2) opportunities to work directly with the classroom teacher.
So, please, ask your child about The Daily 5 (and for some students CAFE, too) and see what he/she has to say!
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