Using Longer Stories for Focus Lessons

Sometimes a basal story or trade book are a little on the long side and extend beyond the ideal time frame of a focus lesson. We LOVE using picture books with all age groups. There are beautifully written and illustrated titles that lend themselves well to teaching all the CAFE strategies. Since students typically have a bit more stamina for the first focus lesson, we may be able to extend it a bit past the recommended minutes (we like to stick with a focus lesson that matches the average age of our audience). If our strategy lesson is anchored to a text and we don't stop too often during the reading of the text, students can stay engaged a bit longer because of the cadence and engagement power of the story.  Breaking a longer text up over the course of a few focus lessons is also a fine alternative.