Literacy Instruction
Daily 5 and C.A.F.E.
Here are some strategies that we use in the classroom: When Reading to Self, Students: - Read the whole time. - Stay in one spot. - Read Quietly. - Get started right way. When Working on Writing, Student: - Write the whole time. - Stay in one spot. - Work quietly. - Get started quickly. When students "work on writing", they get to choose their own topic to write about. Students should choose topics that are: - I am interested in writing about this topic. - I know a lot about this topic. - I can use interesting words to tell about this topic. Students use "sound out" spelling strategies during "work on writing." If they get stumped by a word, they underline the word they wrote and continue writing. (The underline means that they mite hav speld the word wrong.) Students do have "Spelling Dictionaries" in their desks. They can uses these to look up common words Listening to Reading: Students will have the opportunity to do RAZ kids reading on the school ipads. (Passwords and login information for RAZ kids have been sent home with each of the families so the students can work on their RAZ kids reading at home). Building Stamina: In both classrooms, we are working on building stamina for reading and writing independently. When we build stamina, we are building our "reading muscles" or our "writing muscles" which helps us become better readers and writers. Sometimes, our stamina gets broken when we get distracted or run out of stamina for reading or writing. When we "break our stamina" we try to "get right back to reading." By building stamina, we become better readers and writers. Choosing the Right Book: The students all have a "book box" in the classroom. They keep their "just right" books in their book box. Think about how Goldilocks chose what was the best at the house of the 3 Bears .... not too hard, not too easy... Just Right! Students also can "read the pictures" of books that are interesting to them. But, these books are not used for reading when we are building stamina for reading fluently. Students can "Read the Pictures" when they have free time or have finished their assigned work. Daily 5 is "how we teach" - Read to Self Read to a Partner Work on Writing Listen to Reading Word Work C.A.F.E. "CAFE" is "what we teach" . Comprehension Strategies Accuracy Fluency Expand Vocabulary Here are the strategies we are currently developing and practicing: Comprehension: - Check for understanding - (Who is this about? What is happening right now?) - When you don't understand, back up and re-read. (When you don't know "who" and "what", go back and re-read the page, section, sentence, etc....) - Use prior knowledge. (Make connections!) Accuracy : - Cross Checking - Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense? (Ask your children to show you the hand signals) - Use beginning and ending sounds. - Does the word match the picture? (Look at the picture for a clue to sounding out the word) Fluency: - Make sure your book is a "just right" book. - Re-reading the book helps build fluency. - Reading out loud to someone else helps build fluency. - Practice reading with expression to capture the attention of your audience. Expand Vocabulary: - Tune into interesting words. - Look to spot interesting words when reading. Use interesting words when writing. - Use pictures to help understand the text. |