Daily Five and the Literacy CAFE System

I have been using the Daily Five model for my reading group instruction for eight years now.  I love the flexibility that is created using this model, and it gives me time to work with small groups on specific reading skills and strategies.  If you want to know more about this model click here for the explanation and research!

When I first implemented this model, I was not using a reading series.  I pulled different resources to fit the Common Core State Standards, and I used the books the students were reading to guide my instruction.  I also started using this model when I taught first grade, and it went very well.

Over the past few years now teaching third grade, my team and I have used our own resources, the Engage New York Curriculum that is free online, and now we are using Wonders by McGraw Hill as a resource for instruction.  After tweaking the Wonders curriculum to fit our needs for next year, I am planning on going back to using the Literacy CAFE system as well.  I don't think any one reading series can cover everything that needs to be included when working with third grade readers.

I like to make sure that I check in with students frequently on the books that they are reading, and last year I always felt very rushed to do this.  After reflecting a lot this summer, I realized that I don't need to rush to get through the Wonders curriculum (my team and I have a scope and sequence to follow, but we are all flexible and work well together), and I really need to put more time in each day to meet with readers and focus on specific skills and strategies for individual students.

The Literacy CAFE System ,which I have used in the past, allows for individualized and group instruction on specific reading skills and strategies, and the students guide this.  I have had a hard time keeping up with this in the past, but I think that if I dedicate my first round of the Daily Five system to checking in with individual students and keep a schedule that is manageable, then I will not feel so much pressure to get everything in.  Reading the books with students that they love is the best part of reading!

I am confident that I will be able to still fit in the Wonders curriculum and match it to the Daily CAFE strategies and skills.  I also think that the traditional Daily Five model of meeting for mini-lessons in between groups is something I need to go back to doing.  This is something I do a lot at the beginning of the year to train students, but throughout the year I just rush through the reading groups to get things done.  I plan to have mini-lessons in between about reading, writing, and grammar, so that I spend the whole morning until lunch working on these skills!

I created a new CAFE board for myself with a farmhouse theme to match my classroom for next year.  Check it out below!

TodaysMeet

This week my third graders have improved their comprehension during read aloud and reading mini lessons by using TodaysMeet!

This website has many uses, but I have been using it for a backchannel while reading aloud.  The backchannel is the conversation that goes on alongside the primary activity, presentation, or discussion.  This allows for students to show their thinking while I am reading, and it does not interrupt the flow of the reading or the lesson!

This is a snapshot of one of our conversations this week while reading "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."

We were practicing using "Think Marks" to enhance our reading comprehension.  For example, the question mark means that student is confused.  A star means that student thinks that part is important.  The conversation that arose online while I was reading was amazing!  They really had to listen and comprehend in order to respond online.

To set up a room, go to www.todaysmeet.com.

 Pick a name for  your room, and decide how long you want to keep the room open.  I choose one month for my reading room.  Then Open your room!

Once your room is Open, if you look at the website, your room has a unique website so that you and your students can access the room.  I created a room named Blog, and this is the website for that room.  I add the websites for my rooms on our www.tizmos.com classroom page!  This way the students can get to the room quickly.

Finally, each student goes to the website on their Ipad and types in a name to join!  I have my students use their first names only.

I am planning on using TodaysMeet for other lessons, but for the past month it has been an amazing tool to increase reading comprehension.

Annotating in Skitch

This week we read a fable and annotated it in one of our favorite apps, Skitch!  We have been working on close reading and using think marks to annotate.  This of course is possible with paper, but using Skitch has made annotating a really fun process!

In Skitch, you can write and type over pictures!  It is perfect for annotating on the ipad, as well as other activities.  To annotate pdf files it costs extra, but to write on a jpg or png picture file, it is free!

To do this, I first scanned the pages I wanted and downloaded them to my own ipad.  Then I took a screen shot of each page.  This created a picture file that I could write on in Skitch!

I downloaded these pictures to the classroom Dropbox account so that all of my students could see the pictures.  Each page is separate, but since my students are working on close reading, they only really need one page at a time!  To open a page in Skitch from Dropbox to annotate, click the blue box on the right at the top of the picture.  Then click "Open in."

Next click on the Skitch icon for "Open in Skitch."

Then the document is open in Skitch so that your students can write on it!

The pen on the right allows students to choose whether they want to write or type.  The color on the left allows students to choose color as well as thickness of line.  While there is not as much room to write answers to questions, there is plenty of room for annotating!

Dropbox on the I Pad

Organizing documents for students is difficult using real paper, let alone documents on an I Pad!  An easy way to organize everything is to use the free Dropbox app.  Simple, but very effective to share items with students.  Dropbox is also free to use on any computer or phone.

ALL of my students are logged into one Dropbox account.  The first day, they opened the app, typed in a classroom Gmail account that I created, typed in a password that I created, and they were instantly in the classroom Dropbox.  The I Pad does not log out of this, so each time they open the Dropbox app, they are still logged in to see what is there!

This week my class is reading a book called "Alice's Birthday Cake" on the I Pad.  This book is from Reading A to Z.  Our grade level has a subscription to Reading A to Z, where we can find endless books and lessons to teach Common Core Reading Strategies.  This week my class is thinking about cause and effect while reading this book.

To put this in a Dropbox folder for my students, I first open the book on the Reading A to Z website.  It is a pdf file that comes up when I click on "Print single sided."  Once it is open, I tap the top of the book, and this pops up:

I click, OPEN IN, and I can open it in Dropbox!  All I have to do is tap on "Open In Dropbox"  (I can also open it in other apps as well if I wanted to save it somewhere else)

I click on the folder I want to save it in, and ALL of my students can see it!  It is wonderful because whenever I share any document in the classroom Dropbox, everyone can see the documents.

This is how we are all able to read books on the I Pad easily and quickly throughout the week.  I also have folders for Math, Writing, Science, and Social Studies so that I can share documents in these subjects as well.  We are loving Dropbox, and we are becoming more confident with our I Pads each day!