Conferring

Conferring with Children

“The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) talk about how their views have changed over time when it comes to conferring.

Conferring About Character Traits

In this conference from a fifth-grade classroom, Clare Landrigan meets with a student to reinforce learning from a whole-class lesson on inferring and character traits.

Conferring with Emily: Moving from Questions to Content

In this conference with six-year-old Emily, Ruth Shagoury looks for a way into a conversation by using Emily’s drawings, previous writing, and interests. Emily’s first language is Hmong, and she is experimenting with Chinese characters in her writing.

Coaching in Kindergarten: Conferring

What’s in a name? For kindergartner Maria, it’s the start of learning how letters and sounds work. In this coaching session, Joan Moser of “The Sisters” helps Daniel understand how to use a child’s name as a beginning point for teaching letters and sounds.

Student Reading Interview: Assessing Ana

Principal Karen Szymusiak interviews Ana, a second grader, to learn more about her strengths and needs as a reader.

Learning from Graphica: Conferring with Students

In this lesson series from a 4th grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with graphica. In this installment, Sarah confers with students during writer's workshop as they brainstorm character traits. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and multiple reading and writing activities.

Conferring Close-Up: Test-Taking Strategies Part II

Andrea Smith confers with two 4th graders in her classroom as part of test preparation.

Keeping the M

Melissa Kolb confers with three-year-old Daniela and explains why approximations are crucial for young literacy learners.

Conferring with Eddie

Eddie is a six-year-old student who speaks Cantonese as his first language. In this conference with Ruth Shagoury, little English is spoken, and yet there is much communication through gestures and shared history.

Moving into “Big Fat Chapter Books”: Conferring with Elyse

In this conference with seven-year-old Elyse, Joan Moser helps her set a reading goal that will help her move into “big fat chapter books.”

Listing Strategy: Minilesson

Aimee Buckner presents a listing strategy minilesson in writing workshop.

From Cross Checking and Retelling to Main Ideas: Helping Advanced Readers Develop Skills

In this five-minute video, Gail Boushey confers with Amanda, a second-grade student reading at a fourth-grade level early in the school year.

Conferring with Leonela: A Two-Day Progression

Leonela is a six-year-old student whose first language is Spanish. In these videos of conferences with Ruth Shagoury filmed over two days, she makes connections between her drawing, writing, and experiences at home and in Mexico.

In the Zone: Conferring with a Young English Language Learner

Andie Cunningham confers with kindergartner Cristian within his "ZPD" – Zone of Proximal Development.

Moving Beyond the Basics: Teaching Inferring to a Fluent Young Reader

In this conference, Gail Boushey (of “The Sisters”) confers with Brandon and helps him understand the concept of inferring.

Learning to Cross-Check: Conferring with Hailey

Joan Moser confers with five-year-old Hailey and helps her set a reading goal.

Writing Conference Principles

Brenda Power and Ruth Shagoury describe the principles they live by when conferring with students.

Understanding the “Silent Period” with English Language Learners

Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham explain how to support an English Language Learner who is not speaking with verbal and nonverbal communication strategies.

The Art of Listening in Writing Conferences with English Language Learners

Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham share tips for mastering the art of listening in conferences with English language learners.

Mix It Up: Helping Young Writers Learn to Confer with Peers and Teachers

Ruth Shagoury models her own writing as a way to introduce the concept of conferring to young learners.

The Lines are to Write My Words: Phonics in Context

Ruth Shagoury considers the role of phonics in context as she observes a classroom built on a foundation of children's expert knowledge as writers.

Conferring in the Zone: Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Writing Conferences

The zone of proximal development continues to be an important frame for noting where writers are at and what's next. Ruth Shagoury lists questions at different phases of writing to help nudge writers forward.

Noticing Words to Expand Vocabulary: Conferring with Mariah

In this conference with six-year-old Mariah, Joan Moser of “The Sisters” has chosen to focus on expanding vocabulary.

Concepts of Print: Conferring with a Kindergartner

In this conference with five-year-old Mariano, Joan Moser (of “The Sisters”) assesses his understanding of reading, print, and books at the start of the school year.

Conferring with a Child in the “Silent Period”

Larisa is a six-year-old who speaks Russian at home, and is in the “silent period” in school. In this conference, Ruth Shagoury demonstrates different strategies for eliciting responses from Larisa.

Conferring with Anna

Anna is a five-year-old student in an Oregon kindergarten classroom who speaks Vietnamese at home. In this conference with Ruth Shagoury, she shares writing about her classmates and a snake, testing out her growing knowledge of the alphabet, sounds, and the purposes of writing.

Listen In: Jeffry’s Ocean Story

Moving a child from simple to complex sentences is the goal in this second-grade writing conference.

The Difference Between Conferring and “Touching Base”

Debbie Miller goes against the grain, advocating for “the luscious feeling of endless time” as we slow down to confer with children.

Tweeting an Author

Kindergarten: Conferring with Grace

Hayley Whitaker confers with Grace about her writing early in the year.