C ONFERRING IN R EADERS W ORKSHOP

W HY W E L OVE T EACHERS V IDEO In This Moment song The toughest job

A GENDA Conferencing – the What and the Why Types of conferences and logistics Using conferencing to form your instruction Conferencing records/notebooks Conferencing Tips

D ISCUSSION POINTS How are you currently conferencing with your students? Weekly? Daily? How many students a day? Week? How long are your conferences? How are you keeping records? How are you using that information?

W HAT IS AN INDEPENDENT READING CONFERENCE ? Teacher works one-on-one with a student to teach the reader what s/he needs to learn about reading. The teacher assesses (researches) what the student needs to learn, decides what to teach the student and then teaches the reader.

One on one meetings are the ultimate confidence builders for students. They are especially effective as follow up to instruction, when students practice a strategy. Your undivided attention to each child makes them feel that you care about their learning and will try to help them improve and understand. (Robb, )

C ONFERENCE GOALS FOR THE TEACHER To coach the student to think actively To assess what the student knows and needs to learn(Research and Decide) To teach the reader(Teach)

C ONFERENCING GOALS FOR THE STUDENT To apply reading strategies. To develop metacognitive skills To talk about books in a variety of ways, (e.g. author’s craft, character development, preferences).

F OUR P ART C ONFERENCE S TRUCTURE Research - What does the student know? - What does the student need to learn? Decide - Select 1-2 things the student is ready to learn next. Teach - Explain and model the strategy And Record - Record what you taught and expect student to practice for follow-up at next conference.

H OW LONG SHOULD A CONFERENCE LAST ? Conference length can vary – depending on what you are noticing with a student. Some students may only need a quick reminder of a skill to use. Others you may feel it is important to spend a little more time with. In general – they last between 3 -5 minutes for most students.

H OW OFTEN SHOULD I CONFERENCE WITH STUDENTS ? If you are only doing conferences during the work time, you should be able to see 4-5 students a day. This would allow you to meet with each student once a week. If you are doing conferences AFTER small group instruction, you will probably see only 1-2 students each day. This would allow you to see each student approximately once a month.

C ONFERRING ABOUT I NFERRING Katie confers with two middle school students after the inferring minilesson as they practice the strategy by annotating and discussing inferences in their picture books. How does Katie “break down” inferring to teach it explicitly? What do teachers gain when they, as Katie says, “eavesdrop” on conversations? Katie says conferring gives her a chance to assess. What might she be noticing and noting about these two readers?

J OY OF C ONFERRING V IDEO G LIMPSES INTO C LASSROOMS - Preston – fluency and rereading Reading Conference

A S TRATEGY FOR ‘D RIVE -T HRU ’ R EADERS BY A IMEE B UCKNER In this conference with a 4th grader, Aimee Buckner tackles text choice, notes, and main ideas all in less than five minutes. What do we learn about this reader? How does Aimee’s tip about the title help the reader to determine importance? What other tips would help if the title wasn’t so definitive? In this conference with a 4th grader, Aimee Buckner tackles text choice, notes, and main ideas all in less than five minutes.

In this conference with a fifth grader, Aimee Buckner shares two strategies -- one to use when putting a book away between readings, and another to help keep track of characters. What do we know about this reader? What is tricky about this text? What might you discuss in a follow-up conference? a complex narrative where the point of view is constantly shifting. ”Teaching Point of View in Grades 3-5”

D EMO C ONFERENCE 7 Minute Conference with Patrick Allen

C ONFERENCE D ISCUSSION What structures do the conferences you watched have in common? What components did you like about the conferences you saw that you plan to implement? What would you change about the conferences?

C ONFERRING OR A SSESSING ? Conference frequently with students. Use a balanced approach for assessing. Don’t use a “formal” assessment tool at every conference. Some conferences should be discussions between two readers: you and the child. As needed, use a running record or other assessment tool to monitor students’ reading process and progress.

C ONFERRING T IPS

T IP #1 – T ALK ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE THE STUDENT DOING IN THE MOMENT. I see you are laughing. What’s so funny? I see you have lots of sticky notes in your book. What are you writing? I see you’re reading the back of the book. Tell me about that--what kind of information does it give you? I see you have selected many nonfiction text. What do you like about nonfiction?

#2 – T ALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DISCUSSED AT THE LAST CONFERENCE. Last time we met, we talked about finding “just right” books. Share with me the books you selected. How do you know they are “just right?” Last time we met, we worked on reading fluently and paying attention to the punctuation marks. Read this part aloud so I can hear how you’re doing… Last time we worked on what you can do when you come to a word you don’t know. What can you do to figure out that word?

#3 – T ALK ABOUT THE DAY ’ S FOCUS LESSON TOPIC OR UNIT OF STUDY In the focus lesson we practiced creating sensory images. Show me a place in the book where you could create a strong image. We are learning about nonfiction. How do you read this page? What part do you read first? We have been practicing retelling. Retell what you have read so far in the book.

#4 A SK ONE OR MORE OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS How’s your reading going? Tell me about this book…what’s it about? What’s happening so far in the story? Tell me about the character in the story? Why did you select this book? Can I help you with anything in your reading?

#5 – T RY AN OVER THE SHOULDER READ. I want you to silently read the rest of this page, and I’m going to sit here beside you and read it silently to myself. When you’re done, let’s talk about what you’re thinking. Things to Notice Silent Reading Rate—How long does it take for the student to finish reading that section silently? Comprehension—Does the student understand the selection? What strategies does the student use? Oral Reading (optional)--# of errors, fluency & phrasing

# 6 – L EAVE THEM WITH A FOCUS. At the end of the conference – be sure to set a goal for the student. Give them something specific to work on or try.

C ONFERENCING N OTES User friendly; doesn’t have to be complicated Record and Reflect over time Way to keep track of who to confer with Space to record information you need

M AKE AND T AKE ANCHOR CHARTS

R EFLECTION AND TAKE AWAY 3 - Write down three things you felt were important about conferencing. 2 – Write down two new ideas you will try with conferencing 1 - Write down one question that you still have.