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Annotated Archives
Here you will find a description of every article, video, audio, and resource guide posted at The Daily Cafe.
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Tip of the Week March 12, 2010
Don't you love Monday mornings? After a weekend apart, the classroom community is abuzz with greetings, news and the fresh start of a new week together. We hope our students com . . .
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Progress Report Reform (Download)
Amber Garbe of Wisconsin shared this document that she and her team created which incorporates the CAFE Menu into progress reports. Amber explains the steps they took to update their progress repor . . .
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Tip of the Week March 5, 2010
Taking on the Challenge It is that time of year in districts -- winter assessments, report cards and parent conferences. Do you find that for some of your students, this is a joyo . . .
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FAQ - How can I adapt I-PICK for older students?
This is a great question, and our friend Lynn Senecal from the Quebec school system has done just that. Her refinements take the elementary version of I-PICK to a new level that is truly suitabl . . .
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Teenage Brains...In Progress - Website
Have you ever wondered what makes the teenager you are teaching or living with tick? This article may give you insight as to what is going on in the brain of the teenager you are int . . .
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CAFE - Parent Pipeline Back Up and Reread
Have you ever been reading a book, gotten to the end of a page and realized you didn't remember anything you just read? Have you started over two or three times before actually making yourself concen . . .
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CAFE - Perfect Poems (Lesson)
What's the best way to learn sight words? No matter what you call them...high frequency words, popcorn words or bubble gum words; children need to learn them. While flash cards can wo . . .
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Daily 5 - In Between Rotations (Video)
In between each round of Daily 5 there is time for a focus lesson, brain break, check in and/or sharing. These short bursts of instruction allow for brain compatible learning as well as shifting stud . . .
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Book - Elmer - Predict What Will Happen Next
Elmer, the elephant, is most unusual. He is covered with an extraordinary rainbow colored patchwork, while his elephant friends are a more serious gray. Elmer's personality matches his . . .
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Tip of the Week February 26, 2010
"10" Have you been watching the Olympics this past week? The scoring system for figure skating seems to have changed from years past. It used to be that athletes would train and p . . .
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Working with Parents - Website
Natalie Schwartz says, "Ideally, your students' parents are your allies in helping children learn, grow, and thrive." Isn't that the truth? In the summer when we are preparing for our stude . . .
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CAFE - Parent Pipeline-Practice Common Sight Words
Parent Pipeline ~ Practice Common Sight Words and High Frequency Words by: Allison Behne Teaching children to recognize words quickly and effortlessly is not an easy job, but it is essential to d . . .
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Daily 5 Sitting EEKK (Video)
There are many protocols that keep Read to Someone running smoothly in our classrooms and this is one of them. If you notice voices carrying in your room, it may be due to partners sitting too far aw . . .
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Sisters on the Spot - Parent Involvement (Video)
How do you involve your parents in their child's learning? Do you support parents with training? These two questions were posed by Sandy, a primary teacher from Connecticut. You may be surprise . . .
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Tip of the Week February 19, 2010
New Book Tub By Lori Sabo I am a primary teacher who is passionate about books and reading. I frequently purchase new books for our classroom library, selecting titles bas . . .
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Design - Bookshelf Chair
We just loved how this reading chair beckoned us to grab a book and take a moment for ourselves in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Wouldn't you love to have something like this in . . .
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CAFE - Teacher Talk Cards
Teacher Talk Cards, created by Melissa Killingbeck from Flushing, Michigan,scaffold teachers during the ramp up of learning and using the CAFE strategies. The back side of the card has what she calls . . .
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Website - Read the first chapter online...
Since 2005, Rick Riordan has captivated Fantasy/Adventure lovers with his Percy Jackson series. The stories, based on on Greek Mythology, take readers on quests and adventures with t . . .
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Website - 50 Tools to Improve Writing
We love it when smart people put together useful and relevant resources that help us teach our learners or grow as learners ourselves. Here is a site that does just that. You'll find 50 links that o . . .
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Tip of the Week February 5, 2010
Have you ever had an opportunity to let a GPS guide you to a destination? It's an amazing feat of technology to be able to plug a desired end into a computer and have it direct us ste . . .
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Design - Personal Magnets
Don't you savor those moments in school when there is a pleasant hum floating through the room indicating that every child is engaged in meaningful learning? The following is one of those activities . . .
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Tip of the Week January 29, 2010
Have you ever had a student who, for whatever reason, just didn't like to read? Perhaps you have one of those students in your class right now. You know, the one who during literacy . . .
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Design - Short Legged Tables - A Perfect Fit
We love removing legs from tables. For example, look at the table in this picture. This kind of table is often found in schools. They have adjustable legs which, when unscrewed, come completely out, . . .
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CAFE - Wonderful Word Walls!
by Trish Prentice One word wall just won't fit all students. Have you ever found that some children need to get up and walk around? They love to go and get the words they need to write in their jou . . .
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Daily 5 - Adding Writing to Daily 5 (Video)
Carlene Bickford is a wonderful primary teacher in Maine. She trained her students to be independent and build stamina during their writer's workshop time and just incorporated writing as a choice fo . . .
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Tip of the Week January 22, 2010
I Am Still Really Smart! Don't you savor those moments when you see a former student at the grocery store, all grown up and on her way to college? Or one of those boys from your kind . . .
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Ideas for Your Writing - Website
Neil Gaiman, the author of Coraline, The Graveyard Book and many more, addresses the all important question...Where do you get ideas for your books? He used to respond: "From the Idea-of-the-Mont . . .
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CAFE - Writing Conference - To the Point (Video)
Watching this video makes conferring look easy. Danielle meets with Chloe on the floor as she is busy working on her writing. Danielle uses her conferring notebook to remind Chloe of her goal and jo . . .
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CAFE Menu - An Example for Teachers
Here is a picture of the Literacy Cafe Menu in Amy Rudd's Literacy Resource Room. Amy is a Literacy Coach at Rankin Elementary in Akron Ohio. She set up a CAFE Menu in the room with articles that . . .
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Home Reading Program - Parent letter
by Trish Prentice I love to read books! Do you? My hope for your child is that they learn to enjoy reading as much as you and I do. To support this goal, we will begin the Prentice Home . . .
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Daily Five - Writing Improvement (VIDEO)
If your focus lessons are long and you are having a hard time shortening them, you may want to watch this video as Danielle reviews with her Kindergarten students the essentials for their writing. N . . .
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Gift Ideas - (Website)
If you're like us you love the holidays but not necessarily the hunt for a parking space and hustle and bustle of a crowded mall. We've discovered a few online shopping sites that are definitely wort . . .
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CAFE - Adding Labels in Kindergarten(VIDEO)
Danielle French's kindergarten students have been focusing on writing their names and using lots of colors in their stories. She's noticed that a couple of students are using labels already and think . . .
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Website - Twenty by Jenny
This may be the perfect time of year to share this website with families. Twenty by Jenny invites parents to build their child's library one book at a time. There are thousands of books publishe . . .
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Design - Garden of Writers
We have always loved Kelly's Garden of Writers Bulletin board for a few reasons: 1. The whole board is kid done, from the letters that title the board to the flowers that hold each student's pi . . .
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CAFE - Stretch and Read with Slinky Stretch
by Trish Prentice Here's a fun way to teach the segmenting and blending of words. This can be done in a small group or with the entire class at one time. Believe me, when you pull the slinkys out, . . .
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Daily 5 - Students Reflect on Stamina Building
In this second of a two part video, Danielle French checks in with her Kindergarten students as they reflect on their reading stamina. Yesterday they had one minute of stamina, today they had 10 minu . . .
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Interactive Reading Site (Website)
The Speakaboo website is worth bookmarking. Stories are read and performed by celebrities with illustrations and music. The intriguing feature that is still to come is their Record Your Own stories . . .
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Daily 5 - Icons in Greyscale
This is the second in our series of Daily 5 icons! These icons are the same designs as the color...but in gray scale. We are often without a color printer at school, but find the depth in design . . .
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Tip of the Week November 13, 2009
What Would You Put on the Back of Your Business Card? We spend a lot of time in airports waiting for flights. Like many of you, we enjoy passing time by people watching. We we . . .
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Daily 5 - Color Icons
There have been times that we wanted to add clear pictures depicting each of the Daily 5 tasks. We have drawn them, stick figures have always been our genre, but now we have our very own official ico . . .
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Design - A Rug on The Door?
It's a Rug on the Door! by Trish Prentice Here's a new trick! Turn a door into a stick-on display wall. Like many teachers, I had boxes of old Ranger Rick and National Geographic maga . . .
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Turning Student Work into Gifts (Website)
It's that time of year when we start trying to think of creative and meaningful gifts our children can make for their families, or that we might share with our classroom volunteers. This is a company . . .
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Website - 100 Links for Learning Styles
Wow! This website provides 100 links to help meet the needs of our children based on their learning styles. You'll find a myriad of resources to help you teach your Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic . . .
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Tip of the Week November 6, 2009
Checking In It doesn't matter how long we've been teachers; when given the opportunity to observe another teacher, we always learn something new. We were in Beth Lawson's 3rd grad . . .
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Design- Living Within Restrictions
One aspect of classroom design includes comfort for learning. We all define comfort in different ways. For some it is lounging on a comfy pillow, for others a straight backed chair. If children are . . .
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CAFE - Author's Purpose (VIDEO)
One of the most challenging and rewarding parts of being a teacher is not just imparting knowledge, but creating thinkers. That's why we so appreciate being in a classroom where teachers like Carrie . . .
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FAQ - Goals for Our Highest Readers
Q: What do you do with advanced readers who are strong in comprehension, accuracy, and fluency? Do you keep working on Expand Vocabulary for a long time? A: As our students progress . . .
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CAFE - Open Ended Questions -Article
by Lori Sabo One of my teaching goals this year is to become proficient at asking open-ended questions. Asking open-ended questions is a great strategy if we want to stimulate thinking and fost . . .
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Positive Parent Conferences - Article
Parent conferences can be a joyful pleasure or cause us to quake in our boots. The tone of the conference can make or break the relationship we have not only with our student's parents, but it can al . . .
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Tip of the Week October 23, 2009
Teach them how to Whisper We were with a group of teachers the other day chatting about school and the happenings in each of the classrooms. The conversation was filled with joyful cel . . .
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Design - A Welcoming School Entrance
Just like the cover of a book can draw you in, so too can the entryway of a school or classroom. It really is true that first impressions are important! This photo was taken in the entryway to Gail's school . . .
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Sisters on the Spot - Daily 5 with K and 1st
Karen Jensen, a principal from New York, asks the golden question about working with Kindergarten and First grade students during Daily 5. What does it look like with these young children who may no . . .
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Daily 5 - Emergent Readers Choosing Good Fit Books
I've noticed lately that my Kindergartners have not been selecting the emergent reading books that are sprinkled in with the picture books. Last week I went through some of my book tubs and took out . . .
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Design - Unique Chart Display
By Trish Prentice I PICK Hand Don't have an inch of space for another chart? How about this creative solution? Cut out a hand and add the letters I PICK to the finger and thumb. Decorat . . .
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Website - Parents, Don't Praise Your Children
Jim Taylor, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco. He works in performance psychology and writes a blog for Psychology Today. In this article, Parenting: Don't Praise Your . . .
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Accuracy - Back Up and Re-Read (VIDEO)
Back up and Reread is a tremendous strategy to facilitate comprehension when meaning has broken down. The trick is to monitor one's own understanding in order to stop in a timely manner, then go back . . .
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CAFE - Student Personal Conferring Form (DOWNLOAD)
Partnering with students in their learning sounds great and is essential, but how do you do it? Here is one way we found for students to take ownership of their goals and strategies. As we are confe . . .
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Movements and a Song for I Pick
This is a hoot and a holler and educational. Jennifer Saccoccio emailed us the link to her website where she downloaded a video of her class chanting an I PICK ditty. It looks like so much fun that . . .
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FAQ - Where do students keep their word collectors?
A Word Collector is a sheet of paper separated into boxes with a different letter of the alphabet in each box. This simple form transforms individual vocabulary work into an achievable goal. We keep . . .
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Design - Books We've Read
Building a learning community is ongoing in our classrooms. A favorite community builder and learning technique is to keep a running list of all the books we have read together. Knowing we try to re . . .
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Tip of the Week September 25, 2009
Making the Most of Our Time by Pam Pogson Summer vacation? I, like many of you spent my time not only rejuvenating myself, but attending either mandated or self chosen classe . . .
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CAFE - Dual Purpose Small Group Lesson (VIDEO)
We want even our most emergent readers to understand that reading is about making meaning. So this lesson has a dual purpose of blending sounds together and listening for when a word makes sense. It . . .
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Tip of the Week September 18, 2009
Tips for Slipping Behaviors It's an interesting time of year. The first days of school jitters are behind us and the honeymoon starts to wane as behaviors begin to percolate. Your f . . .
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Website - Reflecting on Summer Homework
Did all of your students finish their summer homework? Read 3 books, complete math practice sheets, go to the library, read required text? Check out what some of the experts in the field think a . . .
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CAFE - Conferring Cheat Sheet (DOWNLOAD)
Kristina Wootan took two of our forms and combined them into what she calls a "Conferring Cheat Sheet". She wrote to us and told us, "I ran these on cardstock, cut them in half, and carry them ar . . .
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