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Forms
For your convenience, we are making some forms and documents available for downloading.
To open any of these materials, you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader on your computer. Get Free Acrobat Reader Here.
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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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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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CAFE - Spanish CAFE Menu (DOWNLOAD)
Are there any Spanish speaking/reading students in your class? Do you teach Spanish immersion, or work with students who speak Spanish? Would it be helpful to have a CAFÉ menu written in Span . . .
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CAFE - Student Led Conferences (Downloads)
Ready for Student Led Conferences? We have always enjoyed meeting with parents to discuss their child's strengths and goals (ok, not always, but most of the time). A few years ago we did some br . . .
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Daily 5 - Research and the Daily 5 (DOWNLOAD)
"Is The Daily 5 a research based system?" We hear this question often in this era of research based programs. We have always been avid research junkies. From our early research heroes: Frank Smith . . .
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Daily 5 - Good Fit Book - Bookmark (Download)
We want our students to be able to independently select good fit books no matter where they are. They won't be able to rely on leveled tubs or spine stickers when they visit the public library, schoo . . .
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CAFE - Recording Your Reading History (DOWNLOAD)
Do you keep a Reading Log, carefully recording title, author, genre and comments regarding every book you read? Few of us do. So why do so many of us ask our students to keep a Reading Log? Is ther . . .
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Q: Could I see a sample of your schedule?
A: We know that every classroom, school, school district and even state has its own idiosyncrasies with daily classroom schedules. Some years we get the most wonderful schedule ever, and oth . . .
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Design - Ginny's Classroom Map (DOWNLOAD)
It's hard for us to imagine that some of you have been back to school for weeks. Most of us here in the Northwest are just beginning our pilgrimage back to set up our classrooms in anticipation of th . . .
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Daily 5 Literacy Block (DOWNLOAD)
In our book, we created a visual look at the structure of The Daily 5 in the classroom. It is a variation of the traditional workshop model with a short, focused whole group lesson, brief whole group . . .
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Design - Library Makeover, Part III (DOWNLOAD)
The past two Tip of the Week entries addressed Classroom Libraries, a Fresh Way to Organize. The first part of the series featured the process we went through to organize our class library. In the second portion, we posted a couple of looks at the library table of contents. In this third and final portion of the series, we focus on the tubs themselves. A big part of setting up a classroom library which empowers children to independently self select and return just right books is making sure the tub labels are child friendly. Some teachers have students create the labels for tubs as shown in the photo above. Others create the labels on their computer. Do whatever works best for you. We wrap up our Library series this week with copies of labels for tubs that you can use as is, or as a springboard for your own personalized library. . . .
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Daily 5 - Graphing Stamina (DOWNLOAD)
We know from experience that making a goal visible helps us stay motivated to achieve it. Our kids aren't any different, so we use this graph to help inspire the growth of stamina in our rooms. We i . . .
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Design - Phases of an Environmental Change
This download details the phases we go through when making an environmental change in our classrooms or any classroom we help redesign. This is especially helpful if you are already in the particular . . .
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Daily 5 - Circular Graphic (DOWNLOAD)
Here is one look at the big picture of The Daily 5 and how it works within a literacy block. This chart is similar to the graphic on page 14 of our book, The Daily 5. When we originally developed th . . .
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Daily 5 - The Daily 5 Linear Graphic (DOWNLOAD)
On page 14 of our book, The Daily 5, there is a circular graphic of how we originally visualized this structure. Then our friend, Lynn Senecal from the Quebec school system, showed us the linear repr . . .
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CAFE - Cross Checking Lesson Plan (DOWNLOAD)
Cindy, a teacher at Gail's school, once remarked during a conversation, "I can teach the strategies if you give me a clue as to what you mean by 'flip the sound', or 'cross checking', etc. Shouldn't . . .
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CAFE - Steps for Conferring (DOWNLOAD)
When people started asking us to share what our conferences with children looked and sounded like, we had to step back and be really cognizant of the elements that created their structure. We began t . . .
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Daily 5 - Launching Read to Self (DOWNLOAD)
Do you ever wish you had the Cliff Notes to a book you have read? Our teachers are using a new program that is laden with narrative descriptions of what the program looks like in a classroom, out . . .
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Design - Establishing an Environment for Learning
(DOWNLOAD)
A few years ago we started teaching classroom design courses, which have been very well attended. We all spend so much time in our classrooms that it isn't surprising we want them to be and feel beautiful. So, how can teachers get started when thinking through a new classroom design? This is the first tool we share when teaching our "Trading Spaces" classroom design courses, the strategies for working through a new design step by step . . .
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Design - Reflecting On Classroom Environments (DOWNLOAD)
Thinking back on our first years of teaching, the environment we created in our classrooms looked very different then than it does now. Yet at that time the space reflected what we believed; the teacher, needed to have complete control over the classroom, curriculum and childrens behavior. The room was set up for quiet since our teaching was evaluated on the amount of noise that was produced in our rooms; little noise...great teacher, much noise...teaching was deemed out of control. At one time in our teaching history we even had student desks in rows with our teacher desk looming in the front of the classroom facing the students. . . .
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Design - Layers of Classroom Design (DOWNLOAD)
Have you ever thought of redesigning your classroom environment but didn't know where to begin? Setting up a classroom at the beginning of a new school year can be overwhelming. There is so much to think about...where do the student desks go? How about the paper on the wall, what about the teacher desk? With so many questions swirling in our heads, we needed a systematic way to reconstruct our rooms. This system really works for us, and we think it will help you as well. In fact, we follow these steps every time . . .
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Design - Seven Steps to Designing Physical Space (DOWNLOAD)
Once the reflecting process and planning for your classroom environment is complete (or you are just tired of thinking about it and want your room changed RIGHT NOW) - these 7 steps may be just what you need to get started. When reconfiguring a classroom or moving into a new one, it can be tricky to see the space through new eyes. Some of the phrases that we hear or have used ourselves that interfere with change are, "I have to have the room set up this way because it's how I always do it." Or "My desk has to go over there." To begin with a clear head we move . . .
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Daily 5 - Check-In Form (DOWNLOAD)
Oh yes, we have tried just about every Daily 5 check in system you can think of! We've had children fill out charts or choices in personal notebooks. They've placed their name, magnet, clothes pin or . . .
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Daily 5 - I Pick A Good Fit Book (DOWNLOAD)
What were you looking for the last time you went to a book store? How long did you stay? If you purchased a book, was it a challenging book or a "Good Fit" book? What factors went into your selecti . . .
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Daily 5 - Launching Listen To Reading (DOWNLOAD)
Listen to Reading is typically last to be launched. The routine and consistency with which we launch each Daily 5 component is predictable and comfortable for the children. This consistency, which c . . .
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CAFE - Reading Writing Checksheet (DOWNLOAD)
The reading writing check sheet is a big picture of who we have met with one on one. It is the first sheet in our pensieve and the second form we consult before standing up from a guided group to hea . . .
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Daily 5 - Launching Word Work (DOWNLOAD)
Each of the Daily Five has a launching chart. By the time we introduce Word Work, students are very accustomed to the routine of starting a Daily Five component. This Daily starts with setting materi . . .
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CAFE - Curriculum Calendar (DOWNLOAD)
During our CAFE classes, we share the form we use for mapping out our whole group lessons for the year. We refer to this as our Curriculum Calendar. Many of you have asked for a copy of our Curriculum . . .
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CAFE - Conferring Sheet Sample - Part I (DOWNLOAD)
Our conferring used to consist of in-depth conversations with students which focused on their family, their feelings about reading, elements of story grammar and good summaries. We believed that in or . . .
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CAFE - Word Collector (DOWNLOAD)
This simple form is a great tool for the children who are focused on increasing their vocabulary. It makes collecting, learning and retrieving vocabulary easy, helping student's comprehension increase . . .
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Daily 5 - Launching Read to Someone (DOWNLOAD)
Start teaching the many behaviors of Read to Someone well in advance of the day you launch it. This launching chart will help you identify the important behaviors, for example, how to sit next to your . . .
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