Reading is making meaning from print. It is not just about being able to read fluently out aloud. It requires that we:

• Identify the words in print – a process called word recognition
• Construct an understanding from them – a process called comprehension
• Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate – an achievement called fluency

The Daily 5 structure and complementary the CAFE literacy system provide us with a consistent approach to reading teaching and learning from Prep to Year 6 at Living Faith.

• Daily 5 is a simple but powerful structure that:
• enables teachers to spend less time on classroom management and more time teaching
• helps students develop independence, stamina, and accountability
• provides students with an abundant amount of time for practicing reading, writing and spelling
• increases the amount of time teachers spend with students one-on-one and in small groups

The five activities within the Daily 5 are:

• Read to self
• Read to someone
• Listen to reading
• Work on writing
• Word work

CAFE is the literacy system that compliments the Daily 5 structure. By focusing on the four key components of successful reading: Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary, and providing strategies to support each goal, the CAFE System is an efficient and effective way to assess, instruct, and monitor student progress. The system helps teachers:

• establish and track the strengths and goals of each child by providing a structure for conferring
• organise assessment data and use it to inform instruction
• maximise time with students in whole-group, small-group, and one-on-one settings
• create flexible small groups focused on specific reading needs
• engage students, fostering ownership and accountability to reach goals
• develop a common language to talk about reading development and proficiency

Your child has a reading goal and a strategy that they are working on in class. A document has been designed for you so that you can understand why the strategy is important, how you can model the strategy at home when you are reading with your child and how you can support them when they are reading to you. You can access this document here.

By working with your child on their strategy at home during home reading time, you will be supporting and reinforcing what is happening within the classroom. Ultimately, you will be helping your child to become a more proficient reader.

Your child’s Class Teacher will keep you informed of your child’s reading goal and the strategy they are using to achieve it. These will change as the year progresses and your child’s Class Teacher will keep you informed via Seesaw of improvements and changes in goals.

- Rebecca McConnell, Director of Learning & Innovation