Listening to Reading Websites: HERE
from: http://msdurning.blogspot.com…
different prompts/laminated picture prompts. The kids can just grab the ring and choose a picture to write about.
Each month I offer different writing task cards. The majority of mine came from Ms Winston’s website. I print, laminate, and put them on a binder ring.
Yesterday I posted an overview about how I run Daily 5 in my classroom. I also forgot to say yesterday that Daily 5 is the most amazing thing ever. I’ve never seen students so engaged and quiet. It’s my favorite part of the day and theirs too! Today I will talk more about what I do during my mini lesson portion.
After the students check in we immediately do our Daily Language Review. I keep a checklist of who has read and who has responded that way I can ensure everyone is getting the practice.
After the DLR we talk about our word of the week. On Mondays I introduce the word of the week and talk about the definition then Tuesday-Friday the students share how they’ve used the word. For example, this week our word of the week is “etiquette.” Today a student shared how he used the word at the dinner table last night. This usually only takes about 3 minutes or so.
The second mini lesson (after round 1) is almost always a comprehension lesson. Sometimes I model the strategy with our author of the month and other times a chapter book series we’re reading. I use the CAFE book, NYS standards, and Mrs. Maiolo’s website to gather my ideas for my mini lessons. I also base what I’m teaching off of what I’m observing and notice my students need the most reinforcement with.
The last mini lesson (after round 2) is either an accuracy, fluency, or vocabulary lesson. Every Friday this mini lesson is “Fancy Nancy Friday” which my students LOVE. This is when I introduce a boring word and we come up with fancy words or synonyms to add to our Fancy Nancy Word Wall.
I don’t focus too much on whole group accuracy lessons. I save that for my differentiated guided reading groups. I do go over basic word families at the beginning of the year and some of the more difficult middle sounds mid year.
Here is a picture of my CAFE menu. After we learn a new strategy I choose an “expert” to write the strategy on a sentence strip. If someone has a question about a specific strategy, I send them to the expert (who HOPEFULLY remembers how to use the strategy!) 😉
***Please note: The first month of school and introducing the Daily 5 is very critical. I created this launch plan (using many different resources) which guided me smoothly through this year. I didn’t follow it to a T but I relied on it heavily. If you have not read the Daily 5 or CAFE the launch plans will be confusing. I used both books and smushed the 2 launches together. Eventually The Sisters are supposed to release a book on combining the two, until then, my launch plans worked out well for me this year.
I’ve been asked to put together a Daily 5/Cafe handbook for new teachers. I have also received quite a few emails asking what I do for reading, so here it goes.I have so much to say about the Daily 5/CAFE so I decided to break it into 6 parts. Today I’ll be describing an overview.
For those of you who have no clue what I’m talking about you have to read The Daily 5 and CAFE books by Gail Boushey and Joan Mosher.
This is what my schedule looks like:
9:45-10:00- check in and Daily Language Review.
10:00-10:20- Round 1
10:20-10:30- Mini lesson
10:30-10:50- Round 2
10:50-11:00- Mini lesson
11:00-11:20- Round 3
11:20-11:25- Wrap up
Rounds- On Mondays I teach 3 different word study groups and introduce spelling words for the week. Every other day I meet with guided reading groups 2 out of 3 rounds and use the 3rd round to have individual conferences.
Check in- this is what students see when they first come to the carpet. If they see “Ms. D” they know they are working with me that round. You can download a blank copy here on google documents (if it shows up weird, click file, download as word)
We gather on the carpet and the first thing the students do is make their choices for the day. Afterwards it looks like this:
You’ll notice I have a small dot next to Thalia’s name. I do this to keep track of who I leave off on so I know whose turn it is to choose first the next day.
I do have a few rules to keep Daily 5 running smooth. Each student MUST choose read to self every day. Listening can only be done once a week. My original word work rule was that it couldn’t be done on Monday or Friday since spelling words are introduced Monday and the test is first thing on Friday. I have since allowed my students to play word work games on Monday and Friday BUT they must also make sure they choose word work on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to practice their spelling words. I will talk more about each choice in separate upcoming blog posts. You can download the rule sheet here.
I also keep track of what my students choose each day because I do require they do everything at least once (except read to self that’s every day). I tried several different recording sheets but ultimately this simple one ended up working the best for me because I can glance quickly and see what each student has and has not done. I just write their names in and each sheet lasts me 4 weeks. You can download the track sheet here. You can see that on Thursday I circle what they have not done yet so that I can remind the students before check in. I also intentionally didn’t include read to self since they have to choose that everyday anyways. This was my first attempt. It’s cuter and fancier but didn’t serve the simplistic approach I was looking for.But maybe it will work for someone else!
Tomorrow I will post about the mini lesson part of my schedule with an amazing resource that describes the first 27 days to a T (well almost!). This post will also include anchor charts and behavior modeling.
Teacher Resources 