Week 14 and 15 
Expanding Vocabulary-
One of our 2nd grade teachers has the structure of Daily 5 up and running and is implementing Café.  One strategy she used was under the Expanding Vocabulary title.  She focused on Using Word Parts to Find Meaning.  The  teacher used the word submarine and subway to talk about the prefix of sub- meaning under.  The students then generated other prefixes and suffixes of known words to help them see that if they know the meaning of a word part, they will be able to figure out the meaning of the whole word.  For example, unfair or playful.  Take the known word and figure out the meaning of the new word.  This is a great way to talk about prefixes and suffixes without running off several worksheets and practice the drill and kill.  Make learning more meaningful by discussing strategies as they come along in their learning!

 

At this time of year, Café boards should look pretty full, as the students should have learned a variety of strategies to help themselves be better readers.  This will also allow the teacher to have more of a menu to choose from when conferencing with students.  Below is a Café board from a 3rd grade classroom.