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Better Than Me

by Kristin Ackerman

I live close to the beach and typically run alone early in the morning. However, on Saturdays most runners drive to the beach road to do their long runs. It is a social event and not uncommon for a stranger running the same pace as another runner to strike up a conversation.

A few Saturdays ago I was running on the beach road and ended up running with two other runners. One introduced me to the other with, "This is Tom, my better than me". He went on to say that Tom was his running partner because Tom is a faster runner and pushes him to be better. As I headed for home, I just couldn't get that phrase out of my head. In life, don't we all benefit if we spend time around people who are better than we are?

In my teaching life, Jen McDonough is my 'better than me'. Jen juggles teaching full time, literacy coaching, two kids, a husband, family and friends and yet she is always pushing herself to grow professionally (she even looks cute and put together while doing all of it). Jen is the one I talk to when I want to bounce ideas off someone or if I need another perspective. She pushes me to try new things, even when they feel uncomfortable. When I have a crazy idea that I'm dying to try, she jumps in to try it in her room as well so we can talk about how it worked in K-1 versus 3-5.

Teaching can be isolating. Instead of avoiding the 'better than me' people in life, perhaps we should run alongside them from now on. Likewise, we should throw our classroom doors and teaching lives open in case we might be someone else's 'better than'. If we hit our strides together, it can only get better!

FAQ - If the students read so much during the day, do you assign reading as homework, too?

A. If you know us very well, you'll be able to guess the answer to this question is yes. But there is a caveat...

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/2127.cfm

Book Look: Little Rooster's Diamond Button by Margaret Read MacDonald

In this fun story, a rooster has a magic stomach which gets him out of many a sticky predicament. It has great potential for expanding vocabulary.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/2092.cfm

Twitter Tidbit - Connections and Conversations

This week, Laura Komos shares how Twitter Chats have pushed her professionally. She includes links so we can virtually eavesdrop on former conversations.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/2152.cfm

KB...Konnected (WEBSITE)

Karen Bolotin is a passionate teacher in Chicago. She's collected a variety of valuable resources for math on this page. Other teacher resources are available as well.

http://kbkonnected.tumblr.com/post/12186197361/awesome-collection-of-math-resources-for

Museum of Science: Technology & Engineering Resources (WEBSITE)

Search through the teacher-reviewed selection of the best standards-based technology and engineering curriculum resources for your classroom. Lessons for everyone ages preschool through adult.

Museum of Science Website

Daily 5 Delight

Laura Komos writes:

I decided to review "good fit books" with my first graders upon returning from our winter break. During the review, one of my little friends shouted, "I love princess books so much that I'm even wearing princess underwear!"

Reader's Ideas

Susan Stephens from Cartersville, Georgia shared this in our new discussion forum. We think it's a brilliant idea for helping to build stamina!

Over the Christmas break, I was thinking about revisiting the whole stamina building piece with my first graders. Our schedule before the break was so crazy with all the holiday activities. We did not have a "normal" day for a couple of weeks. Today as we gathered for our first round, I asked them to think about what it was like when they visit a doctor's office. What are the people doing in the waiting room? (Usually reading something) When you go in to see the doctor, does another patient come in to talk to the doctor? (No!) We then discussed how our Daily Five time is sort of like a visit to the doctor's office. When I am with a student or a group of students, it is our time to examine how they are doing with their reading. The students in the "waiting room" should be working quietly and waiting patiently for their time with "the doctor". They really seemed to connect to this idea and today was one of the most productive days we've had in a while. I plan to revisit this every day for the next couple of weeks and hope to sustain this level of stamina throughout the rest of the year.

CAFE™ - Whole Class Instruction - Then and Now (ARTICLE)

From the Archives: A brief look at our evolution as literacy instructors.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/361.cfm

2012 Workshops

We opened registration for our 2012 conferences last week. We are thankful and surprised at how quickly these conferences fill up. We hope you'll consider joining us this year. If one of the venues works for you, register early to guarantee your spot.

http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/2012_Workshops.cfm

New This Week For Members

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

Conferring with Our Strongest Readers (VIDEO)

It can sometimes be intimidating to confer with very strong readers. Gail is always calm, cool and collected. She respectfully partners with this high student who ends up determining what is right for herself.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/1407.cfm

Math Games: Materials and Storage (VIDEO)

Joan takes us on a tour of her math area. Though It provides a lot of choices for students, it is also simply and beautifully organized.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/1777.cfm

Lit Lessons: Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

What's not to love about typing, demanding, cows on strike? Allison Behne shares a lesson using this hilarious book that all our readers will love!

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/2150.cfm

Spanish Parent Pipeline - (DOWNLOAD)

This parent resource will help our Spanish speaking families who want to support their child as they learn to chunk letters and sounds together.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/2136.cfm

Choosing a Partner for Partner Reading (VIDEO)

In this updated video: Regular playing cards come in handy when matching partners for Read to Someone. It's a quick and impartial way to get readers together.

http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/1397.cfm

Until Next Week!