Conferring
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.
Latest Content
Illustrations in Kindergarten: Conferring with Dalton
Ruth Ayres confers with kindergartner Dalton early in the year, focusing on his illustrations to build storytelling skills.
Group Conference in First Grade
Katie DiCesare meets with first graders Anna and Brendan to help them learn from each other and prepare to share their rereading strategies with the whole class.
Kidwatching and Connections in the Early Days
Cathy Mere finds the early days of school are all about kidwatching and connecting with her first-grade students during reading and writing workshops. She shares some terrific guiding questions that might also help new teachers hone their observation skills.
Conferring in 4th Grade: The Dilemma of Multiple Novels
Melissa Styger confers with a fourth-grade student who is reading two novels simultaneously, and shares her criteria for determining when it’s appropriate for students to read multiple texts.
Building from Strengths: Conferring with Mia
Sean Moore confers with second grader Mia, gently encouraging her to work from her strengths by writing about what she knows well.
Decoding and Meaning: Conferring in 4th Grade
Tony Keefer confers with Amanda, a fourth grader who comprehends texts well, but struggles at times with fluency, decoding, and book selection.
What Can Charlie Do?: The Value of Response Journals in Preschool Classrooms
Kelly Petrin shares the power of response journals with preschoolers.
Rehearsing Informational Writing: Conferring with Jocelyn
Stella Villalba confers with first grader Jocelyn about the information text she is writing about bunnies. Jocelyn is an English language learner, and this conference demonstrates the value of oral rehearsal for young ELL writers.
Exploring Rick Riordan Books in an 8th Grade Conference
In this video from Katie Baydo-Reed’s 8th grade classroom, Katie confers a student about his favorite Rick Riordan books and his plans for future reading.
Three Ways to Build Purpose in a Preschool Reading Workshop
Melissa Kolb finds her three- and four-year-old students are ready for more focus during reading time.
Guidance and Choice in a Fifth-Grade Conference
Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Jillian the day after she has selected two books Jillian might enjoy reading during workshop.
Transitioning to an E-Book Reader in Eighth Grade
Katie Baydo-Reed works with Mike, an eighth grader who is using an ebook reader for the first time.
Highlighting Language in a Writing Conference
Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Nora about her evocative language during writing workshop.
Conferring to Build Stamina in First Grade
Katie DiCesare works with first grader JJ to help him meld decoding and comprehension skills.
Backing Up and the Bossy E
In this conference with second grader TJ from Sean Moore’s classroom, the strategies of backing up and rereading as well as attending to the “bossy e” are discussed.
Peer Conferring: The Release Phase
Amanda Adrian concludes her series on peer conferring, analyzing the value of students working on their own after instruction and practice.
Looking for the Open Door
Midyear is a wonderful time for taking conferences to the next level, now that you know your students well and they trust you. Beth Lawson gently challenges a young writer in her fourth-grade classroom to reach his full potential.
Fantasy Reading in Eighth Grade
Katie Baydo-Reed confers with an eighth-grade student who is reading The Hobbit.
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Helping Richard Revise
Karen Terlecky coaxes Richard to cut extraneous material from his writing by highlighting the strengths of his writing first in this video from her fifth grade classroom.
Catching Up with Tommy
Karen Terlecky meets with Tommy, a boy who has flown under the radar for a few weeks in her fifth-grade reading workshop.
Second Grade Whole-Class Share: Adding Details and Descriptive Language Part 4
In this final video from a four-part series, Sean Moore asks students to share their writing with peers and the whole class.
Second Grader Student Mentor Text: Adding Details and Descriptive Language Part 3
In this third video from a four-part series, Sean Moore has a student share his writing as a mentor text for the class.
Second Grader Conferring: Adding Details and Descriptive Language Part 2
In this second video from a four-part series, Sean Moore confers with a student about adding details to his writing.
Value-Added: Moving Assessments from “Inflicted” to “Student-Owned”
Gretchen Taylor looks closely at the superficial reading responses of one student, and then uses a mid-year assessment to challenge all of her middle school readers to think, talk, and write more deeply about their reading.
Tracking Thinking While Reading
Melissa Styger confers with a fourth-grade student using a template to help students track thinking and comprehension.
Mixing Information and Narratives
In this conference from a second-grade classroom, Sean Moore helps Mia flesh out her writing on friendship with examples.
Peer Conferring: The Modeling Phase
Amanda Adrian provides a framework, sample model lesson, and peer conferring guide for students to use as they learn how to respond to their classmates.
Conferring, Rereading, and Comprehension
Aimee Buckner confers with Brendan, who is rereading Hoot and needs some strategies for holding his thinking.
From Reading to Writing Informational Texts
Aimee Buckner makes some surprising discoveries about what types of texts support writers working in nonfiction genres.
Enlisting a Student as Coteacher
In this second video in a two-part series, Sean Moore invites second grader Isaiah to present his learning to the class.
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