The teachable moment is what we live for - is there anything more magic than reaching a reader or writer with exactly the right words at exactly the right time? We've bottled some of that magic in the resources that follow, with print guidelines and scores of video examples from master teachers.
Katie DiCesare confers with first grader Jude. He is inspired to use humor in his writing by Captain Underpants.
Ruth Ayres confers with Bode about the difference between personal narratives and memoirs, and the value of mining the writing journal for topics.
Aimee Buckner confers with fourth grader Amanda about her reading comprehension and fluency, encouraging her to use a sticky note to track thinking around a focus question.
Ruth Ayres encourages a young writer to emulate a favorite illustrator.
Tony Keefer confers with fourth grader Sydney about revising her writing and transitioning to a new genre early in the year.
Ruth Ayres gives fourth grader Allie an organization tool for brainstorming memoir possibilities early in the year.
Aimee Buckner helps fourth grader Isaiah focus his reading early in the year in this quick conference.
Ruth Ayres confers with fifth grader Wesley about his personal narrative on scouting.
Mandy Robek has a book choice conference with Drew. This is the first installment in her kindergarten conferring series.
Ruth Ayres confers with five-year-old Abby about her apple illustration early in the school year.
Katie Baydo-Reed confers with an eighth-grade student moving between fiction and nonfiction texts, and gives advice about which books are appropriate for home reading.
Ruth Ayres confers with fourth grader Braden about the importance of inviting cover art for the book he's written about a vacation.
Sean Moore confers with second grader Teague, masterfully demonstrating how to move between instruction and celebration when conferring with a child who struggles with reading.
Karen Terlecky confers with Alex, a fifth grader who needs help choosing books for independent reading.
Ruth Ayres confers with first grader Alexis about her visit to the doctor for a shot. The conference focuses on illustrations and labeling.
Sean Moore teaches second grader Mikhail some strategies for learning words in a conference.
Ruth Ayres confers with second grader Max about the drama of losing his dog, and the value of using two-page spreads to tell a story.
Aimee Buckner confers with fourth grader Samantha about reading a series and tackling challenging vocabulary at the same time in this brief video.
Franki Sibberson confers with fourth grader Yuki to expand his reading options into more complex series and mysteries.
Ruth Ayres confers with third grader Jade about the importance of the “collecting” phase for writers.
In this brief conference, Katie Baydo-Reed chats with an eighth grader as he previews The Wednesday Wars and makes connections to the main character.
Katie DiCesare chats with first grader Sebastian in this one-minute conference, then shares her reflections on where Sebastian might go next in his reading.
Aimee Buckner teaches a fourth grader a strategy for using a sticky note to keep track of characters when there are multiple narrators in a novel.
Katie DiCesare confers with first grader Jack, using rereading to help him rethink the title of his story and possibilities for revision.
Ruth Ayres explains how deciding the purpose of conferring in advance can lead to more powerful conferences.
Katherine Sokolowski describes how she worked over the past few years to initiate better reading conferences.
Tony Keefer confers with fourth grader Tommy to help him write a stronger ending.
Ruth Ayres confers with Ezra about revision — using a mentor text to help him move from reporting to crafting in his writing.
If you’ve ever used a Kindle reader, you might be fascinated by the highlighted notes of other readers. Franki Sibberson uses those notes in a conference with Nicole.
Katie DiCesare confers with Jack and Praneel about their partner reading.
Get full access to all Choice Literacy article content
Get full access to all Choice Literacy video content
Access Choice Literacy course curriculum and training