Trish Prentice
June 8, 2012
Summer is coming, ready or not. Is anyone else feeling a little sad at the thought of having to take down the classroom CAFE board? I look at ours and feel this tug at my heart. I remember all the lovely books we've read, the thoughtful discussions and successful mini-lessons we've shared. A couple years ago I began to document our learning by taking a photograph of our CAFE board. I send home a copy with each child to use while reading over the summer. The hope is that students will use this visual reminder in the months to come.
Another idea...Keep your CAFE board up until days before school begins in the fall. If new teachers join the staff, it can be a powerful way to introduce them to Daily 5 and CAFE during staff development days.
When the board does come down, keep the strategy cards. If you have illustrated cards, show some of them to next year's class to help define particular concepts.
So hold on to those staple removers and get a few more "miles" out of your CAFE board!