My Current Obsession

I seem to get fixated on things often. When I find something that I totally L-O-V-E, I become obsessed. It's all I talk about, read about, and web-surf about. This is my current obsession.  Actually, as you'll find out it's been my obsession for the last two years.  That's how much I really love it.  

The Daily 5 and CAFE.

For those of you that have been hiding under a rock the past two years, The Daily Five, and it's accompaniment The CAFE Book, are written by "The Sisters," Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. These two books have completely revolutionized the way I teach reading. I read The Daily Five book two years ago on Spring Break and decided that I MUST implement it in my classroom. Unbeknownst to me, two other teachers in my building read it over the summer and we decided we would create a book club and share ideas. We eventually started reading The CAFE Book, and the three of us implemented the CAFE reading strategies during the second half of last school year. On the urging of our School Literacy Consultant and building Principal, the entire building implemented The Daily Five this year. I was so proud of our building for taking on such a task and following through. We all very strongly believe that The Daily 5 and CAFE will help our students become better readers, writers, and spellers.

The amount of reading and writing that gets done during our Daily 5 time is phenomenal. My students are using words like "schema" and "stamina." They are translating their reading strategies to practice OAA tests and content-area reading. It's amazing.

I strongly encourage you to visit The Sisters website at www.thedailycafe.com or pick up the books for some VERY light reading. I'm not being sarcastic. Both books can be read in a weekend, and I promise you, you will quickly become obsessed as I.