As I said in my last blog choice is going very well in my classroom. We completed two days and the kids loved it! I was blown away by there check ins. It went so fast! The kids were so flexible. For one round I had only one student choose Read to Someone. All I had to do was ask for a volunteer to switch over and they did. Another child's partner got called out of the room half way through his read to someone session. He quickly looked at me and then made the choice for himself to switch to another Daily. In the past I know that this situation would have been chaos! My children this year are so well trained! I know it is due to Daily Five and taking the launching slowly. I believe this is because we went through every potential problem and solved them before they occurred over and over again.
Of course my classroom is not perfect! On Friday, I had three children fooling around on the carpet during my mini lesson. I had two reactions to this. The first way I always react (ever since starting Daily Five and CAFE) is by asking the children if they want to get better at reading and writing. They always answer yes. Then I say, we know the only way to get better at reading and writing is by doing the Daily Five and actually reading or writing. We are now wasting the class reading and writing time by having to have this discussion. They immediately stop without fail. The second thing I do is stop to do a quick brain break. Since starting Daily Five and CAFE I view my students differently. When they are fooling around 9 out of 10 times I honestly think it is because my mini lesson is dragging on too long or they just need a break! The brain breaks I do are SO quick and easy. Probably take the same amount of time I would use to continue telling the same students to stop fooling around. Some examples are a quick game of simon says or stretching.
This week I am tutoring a first grader and plan on starting the emergent CAFE menu with him. I am SO excited to move through the CAFE menu in a 1:1 setting. I think this is going to be so beneficial to the child and help me organize my tutoring. I plan on starting off with him by teaching Good Fit Books. I know this is one of the things his mom is concerned with.
Along with tutoring I also have Back to School Night! I can't wait to talk to the parents about Daily 5 and CAFE in person. I know my love for both will shine through when talking!!!!! I hope to get feedback about how the kids feel. I also plan on doing a quick survey with the kids about their feelings towards Daily Five and CAFE. I am so curious!
Alright now I'm off to set up for my company! I guess this was my very own brain break :-) Enjoy your week!
Words of Advice:
If you see children getting off task, take it as a hint that they need a break!
Also, try using a timer for your Daily Five rounds. I did this the other day and it really made me think about my pacing.
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