Choice Lit Topic: 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.
Results
Fifth-Grade Memoir Writing: Conferring with Wesley
Ruth Ayres confers with Wesley about his memoir writing on his time in the Boy Scouts.
Book Choice Conference in Kindergarten
Teaching children how to make thoughtful book selections is hard work, but it’s not out of their reach, or ours. Debbie Miller Today was an exciting day in our room....
Conferring About Illustration in Kindergarten
Ruth Ayres confers with five-year-old Abby about her apple illustration early in the school year.
Home and School, Fiction and Nonfiction: Eighth-Grade Conference
Katie Baydo Reed confers with an eighth-grade student, giving advice about which books are appropriate for home reading, and moving between fiction and nonfiction texts.
Conveying Messages with Cover Art
Ruth Ayres confers with fourth grader Braden about the value of cover art in conveying ideas from his story about a road trip.
Mental Images: Connecting Reading and Sketching
Sean Moore confers with second grader Teague, encouraging him to sketch as he reads.
Conferring About Independent Reading
Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Alex about making wise choices during independent reading time.
Visiting the Doctor: Conferring with Alexis
Ruth Ayres confers with Alexis over her story on visiting the doctor for a shot. They talk about illustrations and labeling.
Conferring About Word Learning
Sean Moore confers with Mikhail about his reading and strategies for highlighting new vocabulary.
Drama and Two-Page Spreads: Conferring with Max
Ruth Ayres confers with second grader Max about the story of his lost dog, and uses a mentor text to demonstrate the power of two-page spreads.
Stuck on a Thesis
In this conference with a 4th grader, Beth Lawson works with a student who has chosen a challenging essay topic and is struggling to develop his thesis.
Conferring About Lemony Snicket and Vocabulary
Aimee Buckner confers with fourth grader Samantha about reading a series and tackling challenging vocabulary at the same time in this brief video.
More Sophisticated Mysteries: Conferring with Yuki
Franki Sibberson confers with fourth grader Yuki to expand his reading options. You can access the list of books Franki shares by clicking here.
Collecting Ideas in the Writer’s Notebook
Ruth Ayres confers with third grader Jade about the value of collecting ideas in her writer's notebook, and shares some strategies for organizing the information.
Previewing a Book with an Eighth Grader
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.
Conferring with Sebastian
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.
Tracking Characters: A Conferring Tip
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.
Rereading for Writing: Conferring with Jack
Katie DiCesare confers with Jack, using rereading to help him rethink the title of his book and possibilities for revision.
Powerful Conferences
When we expect powerful conferences, then we get powerful conferences. Sometimes it is easy to think the videos of conferences we see online or the benefits we read about in...
Better Reading Conferences
Reading conferences. The idea of holding one used to send me into a downward spiral of anxiety. I knew I needed to include them as part of my reading workshop,...
Writing a Strong Ending: 4th Grade Writing Conference
Tony Keefer confers with Tommy about writing a strong ending for his piece.
