RachelUpholzer

FindingtheBestTeachingStrategyforReading
Oneofthemostimportantpracticesthatstudentslearnduringtheiryearsin
schoolishowtoread.Itiscriticalintodayssocietytohavethisskillinordertobe
successfulinanyprofession,fromrunningabusiness,todrivingabus,andeven
housecleaning.Itisbecauseofitsimportancethatliteracyteachingissooften
researchedandthenumbersofmethodsthatcomeforthasthebestwaytoteach
readingareendless.However,despitebeingnewtomyfield,IbelieveIhavefound
ateachingmethodthatnotonlyemphasizesthebesttechniquesofliteracyteaching,
butisalsoaprogramthatcanbeimplementedintoanyclassroombetween
kindergartenandfifthgrade.

In2011,whenIfinishedmyundergraduatedegreefromMichiganState
University,Ihadageneralideaofhowtoteacheachsubjecttomystudents.Icame
tounderstandthatstructuredprogramssuchasReadingStreetandTreasures,
althoughverysimpleforteachersbecausethereisvirtuallynoplanninginvolved,
wereinfactnotthebestprogramsforstudentstolearnhowtoread.Havingbeen
givenawonderfulopportunitytomoveabroadandbeginteachingattheAmerican
SchoolofKuwait,IwasgivenfreereignoverhowItaughtmystudentsandnot
limitedtoaspecificprogramtofollow.Ispenthoursresearchingandaskingmy
experiencescolleaguesaboutthebestwaystoteachreading,asIwasbeginning
mycareerinakindergartenclassroomandhadnevertaughtthatagebefore.
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Althoughthereweresomeconflictingopinions,Iwasverysurprisedtolearnthat
mostofmycolleaguesandsourcesonlinepointedtoaprogramcreatedbytwo
womenwhocallthemselves,TheSisters.Thisprogram,theDailyCafe,was
designedtorevolvearoundthestudentsinsteadoftheteacher,aschildrenneedto
feelapartoftheirownlearninginordertomakeitworthwhile.TheDailyCafis
brokenupintotwoimportantcomponents,theDailyFiveandCaf.

TheDailyFiveisthedailyroutineoffivedifferentliteracyactivitiesthat
enhancereadingability.Thefiveactivitiesinclude:readtoself,readtopartner,
listentoreading,wordwork,andworkonwriting.Eachoftheactivitiesisslowly
introduced,modeled,andpracticeoveranumberofdaysorweeksuntilthe
studentshavebuiltenoughstaminatolast1520minutesworkingindependently.
Afterthestudentshavesuccessfullycompletedoneactivitywithenoughstamina,a
secondactivityisintroduced.Theprocesscontinuesuntilallfiveactivitiesareapart
ofthedailyroutine.Onaverage,thestudentsshouldbecompletingtwotothree
activitiesaday.Eachactivityisjustasimportantastherestbecauseofitsdiverse
wayofintegratingnewconceptsintocommonpractices.Forexample,when
learningnewsightwords,thestudentsmaybestampingoutthesewordsonpieces
ofpaperandthenwritingortracingthewords.Despitethewordseachweekbeing
newtothem,thepracticeofstampingoutthewordandwritingitissomethingthe
studentsarecomfortablecompletingindependently.Itiswiththisword,
independently,thattheDailyFivefavorsitselftobethebestliteracyprogram.Nearly
alltheworkdoneduringthistime,regardlessofage,isdonecompletely
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independently.Thisgivesthestudentsthechancetotakeresponsibilityfortheirown
learning,aswellasprovidingthetimeneededtomeetwithreadinggroupsand
performindividualconferences.ThesecondstrengththeDailyFivetakesprideinis
itsabilitytoprovidechoicetostudentsandliterallyputtingthedecisionintheir
handsonhowtheywanttolearnthatday.Thedaybeginswithaquickwholegroup
conferenceandallowingthestudentstodecidewhichactivitiestheywillcomplete
thatday.DifferentteacherssetthispartoftheDailyFiveupdifferent,buttheoverall
goalisforthestudentstofeelasiftheygottochoosewhattheyareworkingon,
whichwillmotivatethemtobemoreengagedandgetmoreoutoftheactivity.

Despitethisprogramsrecommendationofbeingimplementedinto
classroomsK5,Idecidedtoattempttoincorporatethepracticeintomy
prekindergartenclassroom.Itookprideinknowingthatmystudentswerewell
preparedforkindergartenbyMarchandthatachallengesuchasthiswouldbenefit
themevenmore.Webeganacondensedversionofthedailyfive,whichbeganby
slowlyintroducingthefivedifferentactivities.Eachweek,anewDailyFiveactivity
wasaddedtothecenteractivitiesthatwerealreadyinplaceintheclassroom.After
aboutonemonth,wefinishedusingcentersandbegantheDailyFive.Duetothe
veryyoungageofmystudents,mostofthembeingfouryearsold,Imadethe
decisiontoexcludethechoiceportionoftheprogram.Thisdecisionwasmade
basedonmyknowledgeofeachstudentsabilitiesandwhatIthoughtwas
developmentallyappropriateforthisagegroup.AlthoughIwasntgoingtoallow
choice,Ididnotwanttocontinuethecenterlikefashionofrotatinginacirclearound
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theroomandstayingwiththesamegroupsateachactivity.Ithereforeconstructeda
cardthateachchildwouldreceiveeachdaythathasthefivepicturesthatrepresent
eachactivityalongwiththenumberinwhichtheywillbecompleted.Forexample,
studentAmighthavetheschedule:1.ReadtoSelf2.WordWork3.Workon
Writing4.ReadtoPartner5.Listening,whilestudentBhas:1.Listening2.Readto
Self3.WorkonWriting,4.WordWork5.ReadtoPartner.Whenlookingatthis,we
seethatthesetwostudentswillbeinthesamegroupduringthethirdrotation,but
notfortheremainderoftheactivities.Thiswasveryhelpfultomebecauseithelped
thestudentsbecomecomfortableworkingwithalltheirclassmatesinsteadofonly
thethreeothersathisorhertable.Theultimateresultwasacompletesuccess.The
studentsfoundthemselvesengagedinnewandexcitingactivitieseachweekandit
gavethemenoughindependencethattheyfeltincontroloftheirownlearning.Itwas
aresultIwasnotsureIwouldfindinaprekindergartensettingbutitwasinspiring
todiscoveritssuccess.

ThesecondcomponentoftheDailyCafistheCaf.Cafisthe
instructionalportionofliteracy,aswellashowtoassessliteracylearners.This
programwasdesignedtoteachandreinforcedifferentstrategiesgoodreaders
use.TherearefourstrandsoffocusintheCAFprogram:Comprehension,
Accuracy,FluencyandExpandedVocabulary.Eachofthefocusareascontain
between812strategiesthatchildrenbuildupontobecomeindependentreaders.
Forexample,thefirstreadingstrategyundertheComprehensionstrandisCheck
forUnderstanding.Inthisstrategy,thestudentsperiodicallystopthroughoutthe
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readingandaskthemselveswhoandwhatquestionssuchas,Whathas
happenedinthestory?andWhoisinthisstory?Thisstrategyisusedwithboth
emergentandtransitionalreadersandcanbebuiltuponwithmorespecific
strategiessuchasBackUpandRereadandMonitorandFixUp.

ThesecondfocusofCAF,Accuracy,buildsuponthestudentsabilityto
readwordscorrectly.Thisfocusgoesalongverywellwiththephonicsportionof
yourcurriculum,asitteacheskidshowtoknowwhentheyarereadingwordsthe
rightwayornot.ThefocusbeginswithLookCarefullyattheLettersandWords,
whichhasthechildrenreallyconcentratingonthewordstheyaretryingtoreadand
endswithRecognizewordsonSight,whichiswherethechildswordbankand
sightwordknowledgecomesintoplay.Thisfocusisgreatforemergentreadersin
kindergartenbecausetheyareattheverybeginningstagesofreadingandthey
needasmanystrategiesaspossibleavailabletothemtoensuretheirabilityto
soundoutandreadwordsontheirown.Thereareevenstrategiesthatcanbeused
withprekindergartenstudentstopreparethemforwhattheywillbeencounteringin
kindergartenthefollowingyear.TheCrossCheckingstrategyisagreatwayto
introduceaccuracyintotheclassroomandcaneasilybeunderstoodbyaclassroom
offouryearolds.Thecrosscheckingstrategybeginsbytellingthestudentsthat
sometimeswemayreadwordswrongandwehavetodependonafewsimple
questionstomakesurewearereadingcorrectly.Thequestionsweaskourselves
are,Dothepicturesand/orwordslookright?Dotheysoundright?Dothey
makesense?Usingthisstrategyduringareadaloudwithabigbookcanproveto
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beverybeneficialtoyoungstudentsandwillboosttheirconfidenceand
understandingofhowtodothisstrategysothattheyareabletousethisstrategy
independentlyinthefuture.

ThethirdfocusinCAFisfluency.Thiscanbeadifficultstrandtoteachin
theclassroom,becauseitisabouthelpingthestudentsfindlevelappropriatebooks
forthemselves,aswellasstressingtheimportanceofreadingfrequentlyathome.
Bothofthesedifficulttasksareaddressedinthefirststrategiesintroduced,which
areVoraciousReadingandReadAppropriateLevelTextsThatAreaGoodFit.
TheCafProgramisheavilyreliantonteachingthroughmodelingandthesetwo
strategiesareonesthatshouldbemodeledoverandoverthroughouttheschool
year.Althoughitmaybeoneofthemorechallengingandcomplicatedreading
techniquesforstudentstolearn,itisalsooneofthemostimportant.Itisthe
expectationthatstudentsshouldbeabletopickouttheirownbooksandreadthem
independently,whetheritbeduringtheDailyFive,atthelibrary,orathome.

ThisisonereasonthatCafissogreat,becauseitbreaksitdowninto
specificpiecesthatwillmakeiteasierfortheteachertoteachthestrategy
effectively.WhenlookingatFigure1,youwillnoticethatthestrategyissplitintofive
differentsectionsDefinition,WhyChildrenNeedtheStrategy,SecrettoSuccess,
HowWeTeachit,andTroubleShooting.Thedefinitionofthestrategynotonlygives
anexplanationastowhatthestrategyis,italsodefinesthegoalthatchildrenare
expectedtomeetwiththisstrategy.Forthisspecificstrategy,thegoalistohave

studentsreadingindependentlywith99%to100%accuracy.Thesistersthengo
beyondwhytheybelievechildrenshouldbeabletousethisstrategyandinclude
researchfromothersourcesthatsupporttheirreasoning.Forthisstrategy,the
sistersuseaquotefromRichardAllingtons2009textWhatReallyMattersin
Fluency:ResearchbasedPracticesacrosstheCurriculum.Thethirdsection,
SecrettoSuccess,isaveryhelpfultipforsuccessthatgoesbeyondtheexplanation
ofhowtoteachthestrategy.Forthisstrategy,theSecrettoSuccessistogivethe
studentsplentyofopportunitiestopracticechoosingabookthatisagoodfitfor
themandalsotoprovideamplesupportandguidance.Thefourthsection,HowWe
Teachit,istherealmeatofthereferenceformandgivesadescriptiononwhata
lessononthisstrategywouldlooklikeinoneofthesistersclassrooms.Theysite
whentoteachthelesson,whichinthiscaseisthefirstdayofschoolandthen
periodicallythroughouttherestoftheschoolyear,andalsowhatmaterialstheyuse
tomakeitasuccessfullesson.Finally,thisbookincludeswhatmoststrategybooks
failtomention,whattodoifthestudentsstillarentgettingit.Forthisstrategy,itis
suggestedtointroducetheconceptsslowlytobeginningreadersandtonotinclude
theexpectationofreadingat99%100%accuracy.

ThefourthandfinalfocusofCafisExpandingVocabulary.Thisfocuscan
beeasilyimplementedintoyoureverydayliteracyprogramasthemaingoalisto
enhanceourchildrenswordbanksandhavethemreadandunderstandawide
rangeofwords.Thefocusbeginswithastrategythathasalreadybeenintroduced
tothestudentsinthefluencyfocus,VoraciousReading.Anothergreataspectof
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theCAFisthattherearesomanystrategiesthatbuildoffofeachotherandcan
evenbeusedformultiplefocuses.Itisimportanttorememberthatalthoughthis
strategyisbeingusedfortwodifferentfocuses,itisbesttointroducethemattwo
separatetimes.Especiallyinkindergarten,studentscanbeeasilyoverwhelmed
withforeignconceptsanditwouldbetoomuchtoincorporatebothfluencyand
vocabularyintothesameintroductorylesson.Thisalsohelpsreinforcethestrategy
whenitisreintroducedaftertheclasshashadtimetopracticeitindependentlyfora
time.ThereareovertwentystrategiesintheCAF,anditcanbeoverwhelmingand
difficultforthestudentstorememberallofthem.Forthisfocus,theDailyFive
comesquiteinhandyforitsWordWorkcenterandusingwhatislearnedduringan
ExpandingVocabularystrategylessonduringthatwordworkstationtime.

Overall,whenlookingatallthecomponentsthatmakeuptheCAF,itcan
appearoverwhelming,aswellasdifficulttodeterminewheretobegin.However,this
programandbookarestructuredinsuchawaythatliterallywalksyouthrougheach
stepoftheprocessandprovidesteacherswiththebackgroundknowledgeneeded
toincorporatetheCAFintotheirclassroomsuccessfully.Fromsuggestionssuch
ascreatingabindertocollectalldataandhoworganizeitproperly,totheamountof
timeyoushouldspendconferencingwithanindividualstudentandwhatthat
conferenceshouldsoundlike,allofthenecessarytoolsareprovidedandexplained
inawaythatwillmakesensetoallteachers,nomattertheirexperiencelevel.

Afterspendingmultipleweeksstudyingthesestrategiesandmeetingwith

manylearningsupportcolleaguesonteachingreadingandreadinggroups,Ibegan
theimplementtheCAFintomykindergartenclassroom.Thekidswerethrilledto
knowthattheywerelearningtechniquesthatthird,fourth,andfifthgradersuseandit
madethemsoconfidentinthemselvesrightfromthebeginning.Itcanbestressfulin
thebeginningtokeepinthestrictroutineofDailyCaf,buttheresultsare
completelyworthit.ByJanuary,mystudentswereabletoworkcompletelyontheir
ownandIwasabletoseeaminimumofthreetofourreadinggroupsaday.This
accomplishmentseemedimpossibletomeatthebeginningoftheyearbecausethe
numberonethingweteachkindergartenersthroughouttheentireyearishowtobe
independent.Thisliteracyprogramhasnotonlyturnedmystudentsintobetter
readers,butithasmademyteachingsomuchmoreeffectiveandefficient.

NotonlyhastheDailyCafbeenahugesuccessinmyclassroom,but
researchshowsitssuccessrateinclassroomsacrossthecountryaswell.Astudy
donebyDianaPetersonfromtheUniversityofWisconsinfoundthatoutof45
surveyedclassroomelementaryteachers,100%ofthemwereimplementingreadto
self,readtopartner,andlisteningtoreadingintheirdailyroutinesand82%included
workonwriting(Peterson,20).Thisshowsthatmost,ifnotall,teachersarealready
familiarwiththetechniquesusedintheDailyCafprogramanditwouldmakefor
aneasytransitionformanyteacherstobeginusingthisprogram.Inadditiontothe
easeofbeginningtousetheDailyCaf,thesamesurveyedteachersalsofound
thatwhentheDailyFivewasputintotheirdailyroutine,100%oftheclassrooms
showedpositivechangesinreadingabilityandbehaviorintheclassroom(21).The
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benefitsoftheDailyFivewerealsoverysignificantwithall45classrooms.100%of
theteacherssawimprovementinreadinginstruction,workingwithindividualand
smallgroups,andhelpingtomeetdistrictgoalsandstayingalignedwithcurriculum
(20).

Aselementaryschoolteachers,weareresponsibleforteachingourstudents
howtoreadontopofmathematics,science,socialstudies,socialskills,and
writing.Attimesitcanbeveryoverwhelmingtofigureouthowtoincorporateallof
thesesubjectsintoasingleschooldayandthereisoftenareasthatgetleftoutdue
toalackoftimeoranoverwhelmedteacher.ThisiswhytheDailyCafisafantastic
programthatnotonlyproducesgreatreadingandindependenceresultsforany
gradelevel,butitisalsomanagedinsuchawaythatyouareabletofitintherestof
yoursubjectsthroughouttheremainderoftheday.TheSistershavereallydedicated
alotoftimeandresearchintofindingasystemthatisallaboutthehurdlerate
discussedinLemovsbook,TeachlikeaChampion(Lemov,254).Thereisno
aspectoftheprogramthatisnotworthyofthestudentstime,andthatissomething
thatcanbeverydifficulttoaccomplish.TheDailyFivesetsupateachersliteracy
blockinawaythatisfocusedaroundtheindependenceofstudents,whichisnot
onlybeneficialtohem,butalsogivestheteacherthetimeneededtomeetwith
groupsandindividualstudents.Readingisthemostimportantacademicskillwe
teachourstudents,andtheDailyCafisagreatprogramthatwillhelpany
classroomteacher,K5,instructtheirstudentinthemosteffectivewaypossible.

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Figure1

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Bibliography

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Boushey,G.,&Moser,J.(2009).TheCafeBook.Portland,ME:Stenhouse
Publishers.

Boushey,G.,&Moser,J.(2006).TheDailyFive.Portland,ME:Stenhouse
Publishers.

Lemov,D.(2010).TeachLikeaChampion:49TechniquesthatPutStudentson
thePathtoCollege.JosseyBass.

Peterson,D.(2011,December).AnExaminationofTheDailyFiveandThe
CAFEBookforUseintheSomersetSchoolDistrict'sProfessionalDevelopment
Program.Menomonie,WI:UniversityofWisconsinStout.

Upholzers Rubric - Final Project (100 pts possible)

Excellent
(1)

Average
(2)

Poor
(3)

Relevance to the Course

Goals (33 pts possible)

Clear relevance to
course goals (33 pts)

Partially clear relevance

to course goals

Minimally clear
relevance to course
goals

Clarity of the
Writing/Design (33 pts
possible)

Clear writing/design (33

pts)

Partially clear
writing/design

Minimally clear
writing/design

Rigor of the Thinking

(34 pts possible)

Clear logic and

organization (34 pts)

Partially clear logic and

organization

Minimally clear logic and

organization
Total Pts Earned: 100

Rachel: Your final paper is relevant, clear, and grounded. Its focus addresses the goals of TE 807. Your ideas
have evolved across the semester and taken shape in this final project. Continue to develop these ideas in the
years ahead. A lifetime of learning makes for the best professional life. The very best to you Doug & Paul

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