Transitional C-Checking for Understanding

Whether you're beginning with the Emergent, Transitional, or the regular C.A.F.E. menu, Checking for Understanding is an important strategy and it should be one of the first mini-lessons that you present.  It is the "meat" of the Comprehension category and it should be revisited often, especially in the early grades to ensure that students master it.  Often, students at the K-2 level are so busy decoding the words that the quest for perfect phonemic awareness gets in the way of true understanding and after all, what is reading if you can't grasp the meaning of what the author is telling you?

Almost any fiction or non-fiction material can be used to help present the concept. I suggest using a wide variety of genre while discussing this strategy.  A list of my favorite suggestions are below:

• Listen Buddy, By Helen Lester
• The Life Cycle of an Apple Tree, By Linda Tagliaferro

Before tackling what Checking for Understanding looks and sounds like with kindergarten students, I begin by presenting the concepts of the specific story elements.   What IS a "character?"  What IS a "setting?"  "Where IS the beginning? Middle? Ending of the story?" "Where IS a story's problem?" "What IS a story's solution?" These things are addressed in the Emergent Menu, which, if you teach kindergarten is where I would suggest starting out.  At this level, everything is done in baby-steps!

Mini-Lessons to Promote Concept:

1. Model Checking for Understanding by doing various think-alouds.  Use language such as:

• "When I read that page, I thought..."
• "I understand that the author is telling me is..." 
• "I read about [person] and [person] on this page."

     2.  Read Listen Buddy to the class.  Have a student pass an object to a neighbor at the beginning  
          of each page (I used a plastic spoon because it was handy.  In a perfect world, I would have        
          used the wood that I had bought months ago cut into little checkmarks and painted in a red 
          sparkle-paint for each student, but in teaching-not everything goes as planned).  After I read  
          each page, the student holding the spoon has to Check for Understanding using a prompt you
          have demonstrated or another one that they come up with.  When that student finishes, he or 
          she would pass the spoon to a different student.  This can also be done with the students divided
          in partner groups after they have had practice in a whole group setting.

     3. Make a T-Chart.  On one side of the chart have students help you list what the author said 
         (verbatim).  On the other side of the chart, have students Check for Understanding tell you in
         their own words what they understood from the information of he page.

My Journey Through the CAFE

I began to consider teaching the Daily 5/C.A.F.E. during the spring of 2011.  Jessie, an amazing first grade teacher and friend, who teaches with me at Washington School in Muscatine, Iowa had been studying The Sisters' (Gail Boushey & Jean Moser-who really are sisters) technique for the past year. I was looking for something innovative to try on my kindergarten students in the fall and together, along with an incredible group of 4 other teachers in our district, we began to meet for a study group as soon as the school year ended that summer.

It became very clear to me that the D5/C.A.F.E. is not meant for the faint of heart.  It is not something that should be entered into lightly.  I realized as I learned more about it, that you either did D5/C.A.F.E. or you "rested on your laurals."  I have always invited a challenge (as long as I could keep my creativity) so I began buying and reading The Sisters' books...

• The CAFE Book: Engaging all Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction http://www.amazon.com/CAFE-Book-Engaging-Assessment-Instruction/dp/1571107282, by Boushey &  Moser (5 stars on Amazon,by the way)
• The Daily Five (http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Five-Gail-Boushey/dp/1571104291/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b) by Boushey & Moser (another 5 stars)
• Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work  (http://www.amazon.com/Literacy-Work-Stations-Making-Centers/dp/1571103538/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c) by Debbie Diller (yet another 5 stars)

The other teachers were more experienced with D5/C.A.F.E. than I was, which was fortunate for me because they provided me with a plethora of resources to draw from as I began to set my classroom up in August.  I also became an avid Pinterest addict (seriously...I need a 12-Step program or something) and when the school bell rang on the first day...I was off.  The one difference between myself and the other teachers was I was the insane one who was attempting to implement this program in a highly-transient, high-poverty, dual-language kindergarten classroom (I speak English fluently and a few Spanish curse words). 

We managed somehow to convince our district to pay our registration to a C.A.F.E. workshop in Chicago during November.  This was perfect timing, because I had just completed our launch and had been trying to check off my mini-lessons from the Emergent C.A.F.E. menu.  I had a lot of questions by the time I finally met The Sisters (Ohhhh yes...I actually touched their arm!).  They are fabulous!  They answered everyone's questions during the breaks and during lunch and I left feeling renewed and knowledgeable.  I also learned that they had a new "Transition Menu" that I felt ready to tackle with my kiddos.

I also have Linda, a co-teacher and friend who pushes-in with me during the 45 minute Daily 5 block.  She teaches E.S.L. and she comes in super handy, especially when I need to speak to my English Language Learners, using appropriate communication.  She was not familiar with the D5/C.A.F.E. approach when the year started, so I have been teaching her as we go.  Now that I understand the basic framework, components, and techniques associated with D5/C.A.F.E., I have begun searching for a free mini-lesson Bible for teaching the strategies within the menus.  I have been able to get suggestions from my C.A.F.E. group and from The Sisters books.  I have also managed to use my creativity to design a few of my own lessons and I have found some ideas online, however, I haven't been able find a one-stop shop for teaching D5/C.A.F.E. mini-lessons in the kindergarten classroom...so I guess I am now taking on the task. 

It is now Thanksgiving night and I am extremely thankful for the support of my district and administration, Linda, the C.A.F.E. group, and especially The Sisters--Gail and Joan as I continue my journey through the C.A.F.E.  Welcome to my site.  I hope that as time goes by, I can help others along the road.