Getting Started with CAFE
After you have stared to establish some of the structures within Daily 5, you can start teaching more of the reading strategies. CAFE can stand as your sole teaching curriculum, built around whatever books you choose, or can work together with basal readers or other reading programs. Essentially, CAFE provides a way for students (and teachers) to see and track all the reading strategies they are working on.
Whole Class Lessons
The CAFE reading strategies are introduced whole class with the teacher doing a read/think aloud for the students. Then the class decides where the strategy should go on the CAFE wall.
Some teachers have the students write the strategy cards, other print them and put them up. Either way, put the strategy cards up as they are taught, not all at once. Post-its can also be used on the wall for students to track which particular strategy they are using. |
Strategy groups
After listening to your students read and talking to them about their books, you should have an idea of some basic reading strategies that they can work on. The Two Sisters recommend grouping students by the strategy they need taught (although some teacher do it by levels as well as strategy).
The reading groups would be teaching a mini-lesson on how to use that reading strategy. Then the students would read books at their level from their book box, while the teacher goes around and listens in/talks to each student in the group. All students do not have to read the same book, but can if it is the appropriate level for each child in the group. |
Keeping Track
With all the students having different strategies and doing Daily Five, it can be hard to keep track of it all. Below are some ideas on how you can track your students progress.
The Paper VersionPrintable Forms |
There are two main options for keeping track - a big binder with tabs for all your students, or a digital log of all your students. To the left, the Two Sisters talk about their pensive hard copy book. To the right is a screenshot of their online record keeping book. I used the online book and found it very easy to use, as well as saving a ton of paper. |
The Online VersionCCPensive |