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**Daily 5 Chat Schedule** :

Currently there is no regular #D5chat scheduled
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= **Welcome to the Daily 5 & CAFE chat wikispace! We hope that we can share our learning here to help everyone who is interested in learning more about Daily 5 & CAFE that was created by the 2 Sisters.** =

To learn more, please visit [|www.thedailycafe.com] which belongs to the 2 Sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. On their copyright policy page they state: "You are also free to link to pages on //The Daily Café// site from other web sites, reproducing no more than a paragraph from the page within a fair use context. Subscribers or visitors do not have permission to reprint whole articles on other sites or within discussion group forums. Copying whole articles at other sites, reproducing these materials in any commercial venue, or distributing any article to large groups of educators in any print or electronic medium without express written permission from any author is a violation of the copyright all of our contributors retain on their work."
 * All ideas shared on this wiki are with the intent to help educators develop and grow in their professional practice. The methodology of Daily 5 & CAFE belong to Gail & Joan. We are just usingLines of Literacy Wiki their methods to achieve new levels in literacy instruction.**

__**Group Member Introductions**__

Hi everyone! I am Carol @RedmondCarol, soon to be from to be from Goodhue, MN. I have taught Kindergarten for the past 13 years and used Daily 5 and a creative version of the Cafe for the past two years. I really enjoyed the structure Daily 5 afforded me for guided reading and individual conferencing! This coming school year, I have accepted a position as instructional coach! Many of my teachers and schools are beginning Daily 5 with balanced literacy. My wiki can be visited at Lines of Literacy. My blog is [|Lines of Literacy Blog] I look forward to learning from all of you.

Hi folks! My name is Julie Balen, and I am geographically on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. I am a beginning literacy coach in a system that has never had coaches. Many of my teacher colleagues are starting to implement Daily 5 and Cafe; this will year two for some and year one for others. I hope to learn from all of you so that I can serve my teachers well.

Hi there my name is Georgia ( @Blonde_bean ). I am a New Entrant teacher in Timaru, New Zealand. I have been teaching New Entrants and also created a reception room at my last school in Auckland. Last year a friend of mine introduced me to the idea of the Daily 5. I am wanting to implement this in my classroom at the start of the new term. I have many boys who need lots of hands on learning experiences. I am wanting help and advice on how to set up the Daily5 in my classroom successfully. I am really looking forward to learning more about the Daily 5 with you all!!!

Hello! My name is Kristin. I'm a kindergarten teacher in Nashville, TN. I've been teaching for 25 years and am always looking for new ways to help my children become better learners! I am only just starting to apply the Daily 5 & CAFE and want to turn it up a few notches for next year. I look forward to learning from and collaborating with all of you!

Hi! My name is Crystal. I am a former 2nd grade teacher, now Learning Coach in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada! I have been teaching for eleven years in grades 1, 2, & 3. I have used Daily 5 & CAFE together for almost two years. I had the pleasure of attending the 2 Sisters' Daily 5 & CAFE workshops in Portland in March 2011. I love teaching, reading, learning, cooking and I'm really enthusiastic! I look forward to learning & sharing with you here! Check out my prezi to learn more and see some pictures of my students in action!

Hi! My name is Lisa. I am a 2nd grade teacher in Arvada, Colorado, USA! This will be my 10th year in education. I was an Instructional Coach for the past 3 years and decided to jump back into the classroom to apply all the new wonderful stategies and ideas I have learned. I haven't implemented the Daily 5 or CAFE previously, but am ready to dive in, head first! I have been obessively reading and researching and am very inspired by so much of YOUR work. Can't wait to collaborate!

My name is Mitch (@mr_mitch_hughes) and I'm a grades 1 and 2 teacher in Melbourne, Australia. This is my 7th year teaching, including 5 years at a bilingual kindergarten in Japan and the last 2 years in a standard primary school in Australia. I began to implement Daily5 and CAFE in March this year (our school year runs Feb-Dec) and still have quite a way to go until it's completely up and running. I have a strong focus in implementing technology such as blogs, online presentations and collaborative tools in my teaching practice. I'm looking forward to bouncing ideas with other enthusiastic teachers!

Hi, my name is Melody (@MelodyLWatson). I am a multi-age teacher and principal of a small school in Sointula, British Columbia, Canada. This will be my 17th year teaching. I have taught all grades from K-7. This year I have a grade 2/3/4 most of the time and a K-3 on Mondays. This is my fourth year using Daily 5 and CAFE. Like Mitch, I also have a strong focus on using technology in the classroom. Our class blog,[| http://mrswatson.ca] has really opened the doors of our classroom to the world and has helped us to make some amazing connections. I can't wait to learn more about Daily5 and CAFE with all of you!

Hi everyone!! I am Sarah (@soltauheller) and I am a primary teacher in Port Hardy, BC, Canada. I live near to Melody and LOVE working with her! I have been using the Daily5 in my Grade 1 classroom for the last year and am thrilled to make a few tweeks and try again this fall. I have been teaching in the North Island for the past 17 years (scary thought! - I was just that old). I really have benefited from the ideas, support and guidance from those I have met through the #daily5 hashtag and elluminate sessions! I keep hoping the Sisters will come back to BC and I will have the opportunity to see them in person! Can't wait to talk again soon.

Hi, my name is Louise @qldteacher. I live and work in Far North Queensland, Australia. I taught in indigenous education for six years (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children). Last year I moved school and am now teaching in a team teaching class (50 students altogether). I have 24 Year 1 students in my group. My teaching colleague has 26 Year 2 students. I came across Daily5 at the end of last year, bought the books and joined the Two Sisters website. I did a classroom makeover and organised my books into a classroom library. I have been amazed at the difference using the Daily5 and CAFE has made to my students reading progress, to the smooth running of the classroom and to the students enjoyment of being trusted and given choice.

Hi, I'm Judy [|@judykmck] I teach Year 1/2/3 at a Year 1-13 (K-12) area school in Reefton, New Zealand. I've been teaching since 1979 and welcomed the opportunity this year to try using Daily5 and CAFE, after buying and reading the books during our Dec/Jan 2011 summer break. I'm pleased with the progress my students are making, and look forward to learning more with you all. We try to incorporate technology in our learning and I've been using a class blog with my students since Feb 2010. @http://openthedoortob4.blogspot.com/

Hello! It's missmc2 or Kate McLaughlin here in Virginia, USA (K8nVA). I will be teaching 2nd grade starting in September at a new school after nine years at another district school where I taught first, second, third, Reading Recovery (oh, I'm working my way back), and literacy intervention. I'm in my 20th year of teaching. I have been a coach, worked on district level curriculum, and have been one of the primary instructors for word study in my district. I've been the president of our local reading affiliation and am currently the state membership director for our state's IRA affiliate. I read the //Daily 5// the summer after it come out and have said it's one of those texts that change your teaching practice - and only for the cost of a large pizza and two beers. One of the cheapest professional growth investments I've ever made! (The other was Brenda Parkes //Read It Again//. I read it while getting an oil change and CHANGE happened alright!) I'm lucky enough to have seen The 2Sisters several times and get some specific teaching points of Daily5 and CAFE. I am a member at [|www.thedailycafe.com] as well as [|www.choiceliteracy.com] (check this one out for more like minded thinkers). I have been so impressed by the colleagues I've met on Twitter. . . the blog sites. . . the online sharing. . . the thoughful examples shared. I am really, really humbled. I'm a //**so**// looking forward to learning from, by, and with you!

Hi! I'm Fairlie Pritchard (@fairls) and I teach Grade 5 in a small country school in Victoria, Australia. I have been teaching for 7 years and have taught all grade levels. I am a literacy enthusiast who really disliked they way reading was taught and expected to be taught, particularly in the Early Years. I was bored teaching it - one can only wonder what the kids thought of it! When I was moved to more senior grades I noticed that the children had really lost the passion for reading and it wasn't something they enjoyed. Their teachers (my beloved colleagues) did not have the love for children's books like I did and didn't enjoy trawling through the Book Club catalogues for new and exciting books either. There needed to be a change. 12 months ago after our NAPLAN tests, I stumbled upon Daily 5 through the AtoZ forums, bought the books and instantly felt I'd found the right thing. I have really only dabbled in the process of Daily 5 and CAFE and am still trying to work out the best way to incorporate it into my daily literacy program effectively so hopefully through sites like this and the chats we have via Twitter, plus using the website, I hope I can be a successful Daily 5 teacher! Now to get the rest of the staff on board!!!! We are also doing a lot of work to incorporate technology into our teaching and learning, so I am also working out how that fits with Daily 5.

Hi! I am Louise[| The Frugal Teacher]. I teach 2nd grade in Fort Worth Texas am looking forward to implementing the Daily 5 in my classroom this year. I have enjoyed participating in the #Daily5 chats and connecting with teachers all over the world. I have learned that even though our situations may be different, we all face similar challenges, and we are all in it for the same thing - the students! In addition to being a teacher, I am also a crazy blogger. I accidentally discovered my PLN while blogging and tweeting about non-education related items. As a result, my blog has become a combination of teacher stuff, couponing, product reviews,and whatever else comes my way. I am working on building an Edublog which will be dedicated to the serious teacher stuff only - in the meantime please excuse my plugs for laser treatments and baby clothes.;-) *UPDATE* I have created an education-only Twitter page and will now be chatting as [|@MrsMorgansClass].

Hi! My name is Jill @jillsiefken, and I teach At-Risk Reading/TAG and serve as my elementary Literacy Coach. My school district is in a small rural Iowa community. We are a one to one laptop district for grades 7-12, with the hope of including other elementary level grades in the near future. My elementary (K-6) is starting our Daily 5 journey this fall and we are looking forward to the amazing learning opportunities this will provide for both our students and ourselves! I have really enjoyed the Daily 5 resources I've gathered from many Twitter users so far and I look forward to more sharing opportunities this year!!!

Hi! I am Kylie Ford @kylieford. I teach at Claremont College in Randwick, Sydney, Australia. I am currently teaching Year 3 and have implemented Daily 5 and the Reading Cafe in my classroom this year. I stumbled across this chat last week and am looking forward to contributing whatever I can. I had a student teacher in my classroom and she was astounded that teachers would share so much, so keep up the great work you are doing with collaboration. Together we can make a difference!! I am loving trying new web 2.0 tools with my students, experimenting a lot at the moment. My students seem to enjoy being my guinea pigs, too! I have also recently read 'The Book Whisperer' by Donalyn Miller, and we now are all reading one book a week, at least. Also greatly influenced by Debbie Miller, who I hear speak at the ALEA National conference this year, and Gay Su Pinnell.

Hi! I'm Laura Komos (@Komos72.) I started using Daily 5 in my classroom in the 2008-2009 school year. It is honestly one of the very best leaps of faith I've ever taken... and never looked back! My kids are engaged in authentic reading and writing while I meet with small groups and individuals. I'm working on implementing Cafe as well. I'm super excited to be a part of Twitter and this chat! What amazing connections!

Hi! I'm Jennifer Regruth (@JennRegruth). I can't wait to start Daily 5 in my 4th grade classroom! I've been teaching 4th grade for 12 years and spent 8 years in 3rd grade. I LOVE learning anything new to help kids! My hope is to share and learn as I try to use this literacy program. I have read The Daily 5 and Daily Cafe-and welcome any suggestions! Twitter and Google Docs have been a BIG help in learning and I am thankful to be a part of a great learning community.

Hi! I'm Nancy Carroll (@ncarroll24). I've been teaching 4th grade for 20 years and this will be my first year using the Daily5 and CAFE. I am totally excited about it and wondered why I haven't heard of it before. After reading the books and reading the Chat archives, it seems to me to be one of the best ways to develop literacy and independence. Hoping that my fellow D5 users will be able to offer some guidance now and again!

Hi all! I am Erin Salm (@ezsalm). I have jumped into my first Daily5 experience this year, after first seeing it on different blogs. I was initially inspired by the opportunities for independence for my students. I'm not usually able to join in the chats - but always follow up with the chat archives. I'm really being inspired by the fantastic ideas, resources & collegiality. Keep up the great work all!

Kia Ora, my name is Amanda @heymilly. I teach a year 4 class in Auckland, NZ. This year has been my first year trialling Daily 5 and CAFE in the class and so far the students love the systems. I found it after researching loads of different approaches to literacy after not being entirely happy with what I was doing in my class. So far, Daily 5 and CAFE are working well! I have found lots of support through blogs and twitter which has really helped through this process. We have a class blog and also I have a professional blog.

Hello everyone! I am Chris Sweitzer @sweitz508. I teach in the Central York School district at Stony Brook elementary, a K-3 school. This is my 13th year teaching, the last 12 of which have been in 3rd grade. I read __//The Daily Five//__ about two weeks before schools started last year and felt so strongly that it makes sense and is right for kids that I changed my entire guided reading setup. This past summer I read The Cafe Book and it fit exactly with what I believe and have started implementing it. I am trying to put as much technology into the hands of my students with Daily 5. We have our own class blog site and each of my students have their own blogs there, too. Feel free to check it out and have your students respond if you like. I have also started my own professional blog, but I have spent most of my free time working out the Cafe details and organizing my classroom library. I hope to start up again soon with a focus on technology in the Daily 5 and Cafe.

Hello Everyone! My name is April Brown [|@maxxakahotdog]. I teach grade 2 in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. I have the best job in the world because I get to find out how kids think. I have used Daily 5 and CAFE for the past 3 years. This is my 4th year and I wouldn't change back to the "old" way I taught language arts. If you are finding out more about my class please visit us at [|www.msbrownsgrade2class.blogspot.com]. I really enjoy the Daily 5 chats on Friday night. I find them to be very useful and informative. I wished other teachers in my school would participate. I am looking forward to learning more from everyone else here.

Hi ya'll! I am Catherine Douthard from Georgia. You may know me as @MrsD5107 on Twitter. I also co-moderate and archive for #5thchat (http://5thchat.wikispaces.com). I am a 5th grade teacher who has been teaching for 22 years with the last 5 years in 5th grade. I have been using Daily 5 and CAFE with my students for 3 years with great success! I have modified the program to fit the upper grades and have developed many of my own resources to help older students and use differentiation of reading levels. I have a website with many resources that I hope you will visit: http://www.teachersclass.net/douthard. Love sharing and working with elementary educators!

Howdy, I'm Brette Lockyer [|@brettelockyer] and I currently teach a Grade 2 class in Melbourne, Australia. I have been using the Daily Five literacy for two years and have found the support online for my journey to be very valuable, especially from the #D5chat. I love to question everything that I do in my teaching, and sometimes write about it on [|my blog], especially my posts on [|Interrogating the Daily Five]. My Daily Five videos can be found on my [|Vimeo page].

Hi! I'm Jean Hino [|@HinoJean] I teach 2nd grade at Christian Academy in Japan, a K-12 international school in Tokyo, Japan. I am also the head elementary teacher and help with curriculum in the elementary school. I have been teaching for 13 years after more than a 15 year break. I attended Daily 5 and Choice Literacy literacy workshops the summer of 2010. We began using Daily 5 and CAFE in our K-2 grades in September 2010. Grade 3 also joined in last year and this year our Grade 4 has also joined. I began my technology journey this past fall and you can read about that at my blog. My class blog is presently password protected. I learned about this forum through @soingirl. Looking forward to learning and sharing with all of you.

Hi guys - my name is Helen Martel (@rm17pinehill). I am a Year (Grade) 3 teacher in Auckland, New Zealand (on the North Shore). I discovered Daily 5 from a colleague (Kate Smith) and have embraced it with much enthusiasm! We have introduced most of the steps (haven't ventured into the CAFE yet, but that's the next step) and the students are LOVING it. They have taken the programme on with huge enthusiasm, love choosing their own learning and doing LOTS of reading. Fantastic - can't wait to learn more from you all and to get the whole programme more streamlined! Blog.

My name is Alison Bullock (@aliringbull) and I am starting Daily 5 for the first time this year. I teach grade 4 French Immersion in Kitchener, Canada, so we split our day between English and French. I hope to use D5 in both languages, and have visions of a flawless transition between the two. (we'll soon see!) I have made the seat back pouches, and this week I will hopefully add some books to each of them so the kids have a pouch before the year starts. I don't yet know the difference between D5 and the CAFE but look forward to acquiring that book as well. I am grateful that there is a place to learn and chat with world-wide colleagues about this program. I look forward to a year of meaningful learning and an exciting, relevant literacy program.