K. Slattery- Reading Conferring in the K-5 Classroom [Lesson 2] TIME TO CONFER ANOTHER THING TO DO?! WHEN?! K. Slattery- Reading Conferring in the K-5 Classroom [Lesson 2]

I can’t fit it all in! As teachers, there is so much content that we have become responsible for covering. It’s OKAY! We can do this! One-on-one conferring can be carefully scheduled into your block and provide you with the chance to meet with students individually, build relationships and get to know them as readers. For younger students, independent reading can be quite a difficult task. Are students reading the whole time? Are they thinking about their books? Before setting up a conferring schedule, take a look at the next page and read about how time should be broken up in the reading block from reading specialist, Jennifer Serravallo.

How much time Do I have? Seravallo, 2019, p. 9

SAMPLE SCHEDULE # 1 This schedule was created for primary classrooms who operate on a 6-day cycle. It includes time for small group or strategy group work, as well as individual conferences for a classroom with 20 students.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE # 2 This schedule was created for kindergarten classrooms who operate on a five day or Monday- Friday cycle. It is broken into 2 weeks. It includes time for small group or strategy group work for 4 groups, as well as individual conferences for a classroom with 20 students.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE # 3 This schedule was created for intermediate classrooms who operate on a six day cycle. It includes time for small group or strategy group work, as well as individual conferences for a classroom with 20 students.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE # 4 This schedule was created for intermediate classrooms who operate on a five day or Monday- Friday cycle. It includes time for small group or strategy group work for 4 groups, as well as individual conferences for a classroom with 20 students.

SOME HELPFUL TIPS! In lesson 3, you’ll work to create a “toolkit” or conferring binder. I always keep my schedule in the back of my conferring binder, as I think it helps to keep me on track. Each night before I leave (or while planning), I look at who I’ll be conferring with the next day and look at that student’s notes page. Even though the conference may go much differently than I anticipate, it is still nice to have a general idea of what I was working on and start thinking about what I could teach. STICK TO THE SCHEDULE- Don’t make the conferences too long. Chances are, you’ve already taught a mini lesson for reading that day… a conference is NOT where you teach another one. A conference is where you remind students or leave them with a quick tip on how they can make their reading the best!

What’s Next? For the next part of the lesson, please return to the Lesson 2 Page (within this mini course). Below the PowerPoint Presentation link, you will see a Word Document filled with conferring schedule templates and exemplars that can be adapted or adopted to fit the needs of your classroom! Assignment: Please download and open the Word Document entitled “Slattery- Reading Conferring in the K5 Classroom- Schedules.” View the exemplars and templates and select one that would best fit the needs of your classroom. Print the template of your choice, create your own, or find one from another source that best suits your needs. Be prepared to discuss WHY you chose the template you did!

References MyCuteGraphics.com. (2019). Teacher holding books. Retrieved from https://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/teacher/teacher-holding-books.html MyCuteGraphics.com. (2019). Clock on the hour. Retrieved from https://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/clock/clock-on-the-hour.html MyCuteGraphics.com. (2019). Boy student at teachers desk. Retrieved from https://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/teacher/boy-student-at-teachers- desk.html Serravallo, J. (2019). A teacher’s guide to reading conferences grades K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann