After teaching 2nd grade for 5 years, I was hired as a Title I reading teacher. I work with students K-6 and right now I am having some issues with making CAFE work with my small groups, which are based on reading level, not strategy. When I taught 2nd grade I used both Daily 5 and CAFE, met with strategy groups and many individual students each day and some at my school even call me the Daily 5/CAFE guru. I know the best way to become a better reader is to read and students who are pulled to my room get time to build stamina and read to self each day while I confer 1-on-1 and teach a whole group comprehension strategy.

Pulling the students is not my choice- I have offered to push in, my principal supports me on this, but all the classroom teachers prefer that I pull students out of the classroom instead. Many of our K-5 teachers have different ideas of how to utilize both Daily 5 and CAFE and are required to pull guided reading groups. The 6th grade teachers do not use Daily 5, CAFE or guided reading in their classrooms. My K groups are primarily phonics based and grades 1-5 are seeming to get the hang of the routine of Read to Self while I confer individually with students. When I confer with my 6th grade students individually many of the students are not holding up their end of the deal - not completing the independent work involved with improving in their goal area - and when I am teaching the whole group lessons, students seem disinterested or unable to connect to what they are doing in the classroom.

Needless to say, I am feeling very frustrated! I am looking for any suggestions from anyone about how to get these students involved in their learning and working to be better readers! I have watched every video and read every article and post on the website that I can get my hands on for suggestions, but still looking for something more to help! I could use help specifically with my 6th graders who are very independent with reading to self, but seem to be the group having the toughest time with the responsibility of working to improve in their goal areas.