CAFE chapters 3 and 4…

Happy Wednesday!!  Thanks for stopping by today.  CAFE chapters 3 and 4 were all about getting started and the one to one student conference. 

In chapter 3, I had a couple things I took from it that I think I really want to use in my classroom and I can do them VERY early in the school year!  The first take away are the three read alouds and strategy lessons I can do with my class as a whole group the very first day of school.  With your CAFE board set up (CAFE is an acronym which stands for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Extend Vocabulary), you pick three times to bring your whole class together to the CAFE board and teach them to 1. Check for understanding and place this under the comprehension header, 2. Cross Checking where the reader asks themselves does that look right, do the letters and pictures match what I am saying and does it make sense.  This strategy is placed under the accuracy header on the board.  The third strategy they teach that day is typically tune into interesting words and this is placed under the Extend vocabulary header on the CAFE board.  Students don’t necessarily at this point need to know more about this strategy other than to pick out the words they think are outstanding.  All the time we are teaching these strategies, we are physically touching the strategy cards we have posted on the board each time we refer to them.  The other take away was the Assessment to Instruction portion of the chapter.  The steps are as follows, 1.  Assess the individual student, 2. Discuss your findings with the student.  3.  Set goal and identify strategies with student, 4. Student declares the goal on the menu and in our notebooks.  5. Teacher fills out individual reading conference board, 6. Teacher fills out strategy group chart and 7. Instruction takes place. 

Chapter 4 is all about the conference.  My biggest take away is that this is really student centered and doesn’t focus on a set of questions the student needs to answer.  It about a scheduled chunk of time in which the student and teacher check to see if the student has gotten control of the strategy they were taught in the last conference.  They do offer a suggested frame for the conference so that it doesn’t drag on forever…I know I am guilty of that when I am talking with kids about reading!  They call these the seven elements of a successful conference.  1. check your calendar for appointments you have scheduled with kids (a couple a day) 2. Prepare for the conference by looking at the students conference record in your notebook (pensieve).  3. Observe the child and listen to them read.  4. Reinforce and teach. 5. Practice the new or reinforced strategy.  6. Plan for your next conference and schedule it then.  7.  Encourage the student to practice this new or reinforced strategy during their read to self time.  The conferences are meant to be very quick and you go to the student.  Do not call them to you.  This will just disrupt everyone in the class and that is the last thing you want to do.  As you are walking to your conferences you can easily manage things that might be out of line with routines you have established that students are choosing not to follow.  But that never happens in any of our classrooms (snarky sarcasm here) :) 

Thanks again for stopping by today.  I hope you found something useful and check in with me Friday.  I will be discussing my Harry Wong Classroom management experience…