A mentor knows how to stretch without insulting, affirm without flattering, release without abandoning us - Charles R. Swindoll

Learning from Omar

Have you ever tried learning something new? This summer I am learning how to use a new computer program. It is on a subject matter I have very little background knowledge of and I am learning it on a new platform, which adds another layer of difficulty to the challenge. I purchased this program over others particularly because it is touted as having wonderful tech support. This week I encountered a problem with the program, which I could not figure out. No matter what I tried -- I was stumped and finally decided it was time to put the tech support to use.

I made the call and, after explaining my dilemma to the expert, began a frustrating 45-minute session that ended with impatience and insult on the part of my "expert", and without resolving the issue on mine.

The next day I got back on the phone to try my luck again. This time I was connected with a completely different kind of expert, Omar. In the first moments of our conversation, Omar expressed kindness, patience, respect and humor. He assured me that we would be able to resolve my issue and proceeded to take over my desktop from afar (ahh, modern technology). Omar truly had previous experience with the program and platform, which allowed him to quickly resolve the issue (which much to my relief was a program problem and not operator error, as had been insinuated the previous day).

Immediately after closing out, Omar asked me to take control of the mouse and repeat the steps he just had. He acted as a guide by the side, wanting to make sure I understood the directions. After I did it, he surprised me by asking me to completely close the program out, reopen it and repeat the steps all by myself while he silently watched. When I was successful, he jubilantly praised me, which felt like a long-distance high five!

Omar's knowledge of the subject area, reassuring patience, humor and understanding of the power of guided practice is what I would call a perfect model for teaching. I told Omar this and was surprised to find out that his real heart's desire is to be a teacher. I for one, think he would be fabulous. He was a powerful reminder to me of the difference excellent instruction makes and the value of gradual release.

Omar, if you are reading this, good luck on your journey and know that my life was blessed because I was one of your students.

FAQ

Q: Are you going to create a Writing Cafe Menu?

A: We both use the Developing Writer's Assessment (DWA) with our students. We love this assessment because it evaluates students in 11 skill areas, making it easy to analyze their writing strengths as well as weaknesses. Though it takes a bit of time to score student writing samples, we find the results to be completely worth the investment...

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/1019.cfm

Recording Virtual Stories (Website)

A Story Before Bed was created to enable parents and grandparents to virtually read books to their children and grandchildren, even when they can't be physically present. However, we see delightful applications for teachers and volunteers and its use in the classroom as well. Children will be delighted to see both the reader and the text simultaneously. There is a small fee for recording the over one hundred books to choose from. Watch the demo and see what you think.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/1021.cfm

Design Your Own Pensieve

We have had this offer from Dazzle in the Tip of the Week the past few weeks, yet we continue to hear from so many of you asking where to go to make your own Pensieve's. Here you go!

If you haven't discovered Zazzle yet, it is a fantastic website from Avery that allows you to import your own pictures and text to create one of a kind notebooks. Well, Avery contacted us with an offer that many of you won't be able to refuse! They are providing an exclusive promotion to us so that we can create custom binders for our classrooms at a 40% discount. There are many beautiful binders to choose from...

http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/979.cfm

Registration Information for 2010 Fall Workshops

If your summer plans are already set, consider scheduling a working retreat and join us in the fall. How does Arizona, Maine, or Florida, sound? We thought so! Check out the beautiful places.

http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/754.cfm

New This Week For Members

Interested in becoming a member of The Daily Cafe? Click here for more information.

Parent Pipeline - Predict What will Happen; Use Text to Confirm (Download)

Written by Allison Behne

When we ask our students to predict what will happen in the story, we are passing on an urgency to read the book. We are giving them a purpose to want to read a selection and motivating them to turn the page and dive in. Once predictions are made, it is equally important that we teach our students to confirm their predictions to increase their understanding of the selection.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/614.cfm

Daily 5™ and Literacy Cafe™ Launch - Part 2 (Article)

A Note from Gail and Joan ("The Sisters"): We are working on a new book about launching the school year, with much of the writing to be completed this fall and winter. As we work, we'll be sharing some of our drafts with Daily CAFÉ™ members. We'll start with a three-part excerpt from the beginning of the book which will run for the next few weeks. We hope it is just in time to help you think through the launch of your school year.

Part 2: Going Slow on the Stair Steps: Day 1 in Tina's Classroom

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/1016.cfm

Video Updates

With the addition of our new video players with higher resolution and full-screen options, we are reposting many videos in this new format. As we make these improvements, we'll announce them in the newsletter. Here is an updated video you may want to revisit. In this video, Natalie and Joan converse about how things are going with the Read to Someone portion of the Daily Five. Natalie shares what is going well, as well as the things that need some fine tuning.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/1023.cfm

Until Next Week!