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.
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Listen In: Spelling Aids in the Writing Workshop
Many commercial aids are available to assist young writers. The challenge is choosing carefully, and integrating them into workshops in a way that doesn’t inhibit student fluency and risk-taking. In this video, Heather Rader confers with a second grader, demonstrating how to use a spelling log for high-frequency words.
Conferring with Tweens: Nastia
Katie Doherty confers with Nastia, a 6th grade English language learner who is working on her inferring skills.
Sticky Notes to Determine Importance
In this conference from Beth Lawson’s third-grade classroom, the focus is on the skill of determining importance in texts. Beth helps Sephina integrate sticky notes into her strategic reading of the book The Blues Singers.
Inferring and Synthesis: Conferring Over Series Books
Beth Lawson shows how to get the most from a conference about series books in 3rd grade. Inferring and synthesis are discussed, as well as the use of written notes for making meaning from texts.
Synthesis in Reading and the Reading Notebook
Beth Lawson helps one of her 3rd grade students write in response to a complex text he is reading, talking through how the writing might help him synthesize the plot of the story.
Second-Grade Punctuation Conference
Beth Lawson confers with a second grader, assisting as she works on her punctuation skills.
Conferring: Stretching Words
In this conference with a second grader, Beth Lawson uses a visual aid and a hand motion to help a young English language learner understand the concept of stretching words in writing.
Reading Conferences in 5th Grade
Karen Terlecky confers with her 5th graders during reading workshop.
Scaring Up Better Narratives Part 2
Just in time for Halloween, Aimee Buckner leads a lesson on brainstorming topics in writer's notebooks using the mentor text Some Things Are Scary. In this second installment of a three-part series, Aimee continues to confer with students and helps everyone refine potential writing topics in their notebooks.
Teaching Stamina Strategies to First Graders
Tammy Mulligan works with two seven-year-olds to teach them strategies for building reading stamina.
Updating Reading Interviews: Technology and Changing Habits
Reading Interviews are a staple in many literacy programs – a terrific tool for learning more about the history and habits of students. Franki Sibberson explains how she has updated her reading interview to include questions about digital resources and tools.
Coaching Reluctant Writers
Heather Rader describes how to use "wows and wonders" to reach students who say they hate to write.
Connecting Students, Wall Charts, and Reading
In this conference with third-grade student Jeffrey, Beth Lawson helps this young reader think through the importance of developing stamina to get through the first 50 pages of a book.
Content Connections in Reading Workshop
In this four-minute video, Andrea Smith confers with a 4th grade student interested in immigration, helping her set up an independent reading and learning plan.
Drawing to Words: Conferring with Luis
In this four-minute video, Andie Cunningham confers with Luis during writing workshop. Luis is a six-year-old English language learner whose passion is drawing.
Literacy Letters: Helping New Students Understand Ongoing Assignments
How do teachers bring new students up to speed with ongoing assignments? In this video from Katie Doherty’s middle school classroom, Katie presents the latest “Literary Letters” assignment to her 6th graders. It is early spring, and all but two of the students have experience with this writing assignment.
Assessment Conferences: Listening to and Learning from Our Students
Research, decide, and teach – Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan use Lucy Calkins’ wise advice in assessment conferences with children.
Quick Take: Awkward Beginnings with English Language Learners
In this short video, Ruth Shagoury gives two pieces of advice to teachers who feel awkward as they are trying to communicate with young English language learners.
Quick Take: Time Constraints in Conferences
In this two-minute video, Aimee Buckner explains how she deals with time constraints when she is conferring with students.
Quick Take: Conferring with Young English Language Learners
In this short video, Ruth Shagoury gives advice to teachers conferring with young English language learners, explaining how other English language learners can be surprisingly helpful in conferences.
Drawing to Learn: Conferring with Kyle
In this conference with six-year-old Kyle, Ruth Shagoury listens to him explain the stories and meaning behind his drawings during writer's workshop. Kyle's first language is Vietnamese, though English is also spoken in the home.
Conferring in First Grade
This nine-minute video from Katie DiCesare’s first-grade classroom demonstrates a range of conferring in the midst of writing workshop.
Clearing Up Confusion
Katie Doherty works closely with a student who has an unusual request – he wants to take home a basal anthology for "pleasure reading." She puts a different text in his hands, and uses what she learns from the experience to design a for lesson her 6th grade students.
Using Student Conferences to Build Book Choice Skills
Franki Sibberson provides focus questions and a template to help choose books with students for independent reading.
Are You Scaffolding or Rescuing?
How much is too much support while conferring? Terry Thompson explores the language of scaffolding and rescuing.
Books We Love: Building a Reading Community
Katie DiCesare talks about how her first graders closed out the year with a sequence of activities analyzing their favorite books individually and as a community.
Conferring with Children: Principles and Procedures
“The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) share their principles and procedures for conferring in the classroom.
Animals as Ambassadors: Using Class Pets to Reach an English Language Learner
When a student is struggling, language barriers can make it even harder for teachers to connect. Andrea Smith finds webbing during conferring is an excellent strategy for assisting a young English language learner in her writer's workshop.
Conferring with Colin
In this reading conference with Colin, Joan Moser (of “The Sisters”) helps him set a goal of working on accuracy.
Student Reading Interview: Assessing Ana Part 2
This is the second video in a two-part series. Principal Karen Szymusiak interviewed Ana, a second grader, to learn more about her strengths and needs as a reader. In this week’s installment, Karen will share her findings with Ana’s teacher.
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