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By Jennifer Serravallo
In the Reading and Writing Strategies Facebook Group, a member recently posted this question:
I started conferring this week and I can't seem to keep the conferences to the recommended 5-7 minutes. What tips and tricks have you implemented to help you keep your conferring times down to the recommended time? I would set a timer, but I feel like it would be disrespectful to the student that I am with...Any suggestions would be appreciated. -Jenny H.
I promised Jenny and others who expressed an interest that the question deserved a whole blog post....so here it is!

It's hard to argue with the power of conferring: individualized instruction where teachers provide meaningful targeted feedback to each student. But to ensure that all children benefit - and that each student can have regular reading conferences with you - it's important to keep them focused and to be mindful of your time.

Here are my tips for being time-efficient while not sacrificing impact or feeling rushed. (Click images to enlarge.)

Tip #1: Stick to a structure

When you know how you want the conference to go, it's easier to adapt, adjust, and be responsive within the conference. I recommend the Research-Compliment-Teach (R-C-T) structure, something I learned from Lucy Calkins almost two decades ago that I still use today. I spend about a minute researching or checking in to see how the student is doing, then I decide on one thing to compliment and one thing to teach. Next I compliment in a sentence or two, reinforcing a strategy the child is already using.

Then I teach by offering a step-by-step strategy and supporting the student as they have a try. Finally, I link to their independent work with a quick reminder of what we worked on, leaving the student with a simple visual reminder. You might even keep these steps in front of you on a table tent as you work!

Tip #2: Don't open too many cans of worms

During the research phase of the conference, it can be tempting to ask a lot of questions, look at all the artifacts (Post-its, notebook entries, etc.) that the student has produced since the last time you met, and get into the weeds. It can be overwhelming to get so much information because it makes it harder to focus and choose what to teach. It also makes the conference feel less like a conversation, and more like you're grilling the student.

Instead, begin the conference with the student's goal in mind. Research only connected to that goal. For example, if the student is working on improving fluency, then just have them read aloud. If the student is working on better understanding the plot, then ask them to retell.

Tip #3: Keep skill progressions in mind

Conferences are most impactful when they are focused on a student's goal. Though the goal is something the student cannot yet do, there is a progression of skills within the goal. The best targeted teaching leans on what a student can already do (where they are on the progression of skills) and nudges them toward deeper work. For example, if a student is working on a goal of understanding text features, the progression might look something like this:

If you determine the student is able to offer multiple details from the feature, you might think, "What's just a little more than what they are doing now?" and help the child with a strategy to connect the information from the feature to the information in the rest of the text.

In doing so, you've based a teaching opportunity on a strength. You're working within the child's zone of proximal development. Doing so boosts a student's confidence and makes it more likely that the child will be able to approximate in the few minutes they have with you, and continue independently when you move on to another child.

Tip #4: Teach one thing

Teachable moments abound in every moment of the teaching day, and conference time is no exception. It's inevitable that you'll be in the midst of teaching a student about improving fluency by noticing mid-sentence punctuation when they get stuck on a word. You might be tempted to switch gears and teach a decoding strategy. In most cases, my advice is to stay focused on the one thing you taught, make note of what else you noticed, and plan to support what else the student needs in a subsequent conference.

© Serravallo, 2019. A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences

Tip #5 Don't model (or if you do, keep it short)

I used to do a lot of modeling/demonstrating in conferences and would spend two or more of my five minutes doing a lot of talking, showing, and telling. My experience tells me that in a one-on-one situation, it's just as effective (and much more efficient) to get the student to just try what you want them to do and give them coaching and feedback as they work. No demonstration needed.

So now, I always try that first-I just tell the step-by-step strategy, and get the student to practice while I coach. If the student needs a quick example or demo, I'll do it only after I've given them a chance and they show me they need more support. And even then it's short-just one quick example.

Tip #6 Let it go

Conferences are an opportunity to give the student some supported practice. It's ok to leave before the student masters what you've taught. Like with piano lessons where the teacher leaves when time's up even if the piece isn't perfected, in conferences we need to move on to other students and trust that there is value and potential for progress in the independent practice time in between each session.

Leave the student with a sticky note or book mark to remind them of what you worked on (just as a piano teacher leaves sheet music with marginal notes) and plan to see them a few days later.

Tip #7 Confer in groups when more than one student needs the same strategy

As you set goals with students and see them regularly, you'll start to notice patterns in your class. "Hey, these three are all working on retelling the plot of simple chapter books" you might notice, or "These two are both trying to infer character feelings." It makes great sense, then, to pull students together to save time.

In a small group conference (AKA "strategy lesson") you can start by telling the children why you've pulled them together, offer a strategy that everyone will practice on their own, and move around the group coaching and giving feedback one-on-one. These small group conferences last about the same amount of time as individual conferences, but you can work with two or three children at a time.

Learning to use less time...takes time!

Just as your students need to practice strategies to work toward their goals, you'll likely find that getting your conferences focused and short will take time, too. Be as patient with yourself as you are with your students. Work on one of these tips one at a time, reflect, improve!
Read Rita Platt's review of
A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences
Jennifer Serravallo is a literacy consultant, author, and speaker and the author of several popular titles including the NY Times Bestselling The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book. Her newest professional books include Understanding Texts & Readers and A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences, Grades K-8.

Jennifer was a Senior Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and taught in NYC public schools. Find her on Twitter @jserravallo, Instagram @jenniferserravallo, or the web at www.jenniferserravallo.com, and join the Reading and Writing Strategies Facebook Group to have your questions answered.
Download a PDF of this article.

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Jen Serravallo: Effective 5- to 7-Minute Reading Conferences

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Literacy expert Jen Serravallo shares seven reading conference tips to help teachers be efficient with their time without sacrificing impact or feeling rushed.

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| | Filed Under: Reading

One of my favorite parts of Reading Workshop is doing independent reading conferences. I am an avid reader, so I love getting the chance to talk with students about what they are reading. However, I do remember struggling with when and how to go about doing independent reading conferences in the busy day. I wanted to share some ideas with you about how to get started with independent reading conferences in your classroom.

Figuring out when to do independent reading conferences is the biggest struggle teachers face and one of the reasons many teachers don't do them. I do guided reading groups so my tips are based on that. However, if you use a basal, you may find these helpful as well.

In the first few weeks of school (before guided reading groups start), I focus my energy on independent reading conferences. I use this time to get the students used to them and to get to know my students as readers. In the beginning, your conferences will take a little longer than usual, but once you and your students get used to them, you will have them fine tuned to less than 5 minutes.

Once guided reading groups start, I have my students bring their independent reading books to the guided reading table. They know to continue reading their independent book while they wait for the group to begin.

I do 1-2 reading conferences a day before we start the group. One a day is the best, but if you have a group of more than 5 kids, you have to do 2 on some days.

Now that you have some ideas about when to do independent reading conferences, let's move to the how. When I do an independent reading conference, I try to sit at the student's level and beside him or her. This is not always practical when doing them at the guided reading table, but I try to lean in and really get on the same eye level with the students while we are discussing the book.

Then I follow these general guidelines to conduct the initial conference on a book (printable download available at the end of this post).

Ask the student if you may see the book they are reading. Glance over the front cover and maybe even skim the back of the book. This will quickly give you the gist of the book.

Based on your initial first glance at the book, make a comment about the book followed by a prompting question to start the conversation. Examples:

Oh, I have heard of this book. I have always wanted to read it.

People say _______. What do you think about it?

I read this book last year. What part are you at?

Some of my students really enjoyed this book last year. What do you think so far?

This (mention something on the cover) looks interesting. What is happening here?

I think (topic of the book) is fascinating/intriguing/interesting. What are you thinking so far?

Once you open the conference like this and the students get used to this type of dialogue about books, the conversations will start flowing naturally. However if you still have some reluctant students, I have a list of guiding questions that you can use for fiction and nonfiction. You can download these at the bottom of this post.

Once you do that initial conference, the following conferences on that book will be super easy. Jot yourself some notes on what you discussed with the students to help you remember. I usually ask a question like "What do you think will happen next?" for fiction stories and then quickly jot down what they said.

Then I open the conference with "So last time you said ________. Did that happen?" For nonfiction, I may ask something like "What do you still want to learn?" and then I would ask them if they learned it to open the next conference.

In regards to the form I use, I keep it very simple. I write the date, the title, the page number, quick prompt to get me going on the next conference, the student's plan with the book and any other notes in regards to their reading behaviors or reading strategies. Here is an example.

Before I begin a conference, I turn to my form and quickly reread my last entry to know where to start the conference. This method is super efficient and really helps create a culture of readers. I hope this post has provided you with some resources you needed to get independent reading conferences going in your classroom. Click on the image below to download all the forms mentioned in this post.
How I Teach Reading in 5th Grade Holding Students Accountable for Independent Reading Reading Centers for Upper Elementary Guided Reading Binder (FREE Forms) Guided Reading Supplies for Upper Elementary
To read more about how I teach reading click on the links below:

If you are interested in reading about the professional books that guide my reading instruction click here to see my recommendations.

Do you independent reading conferences in your room? Do you have any tips that help make them successful and time-efficient? Let me know in the comments!

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Independent Reading Conferences {A Guide to Getting Started} - Teaching with Jennifer Findley

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Filed Under: Reading One of my favorite parts of Reading Workshop is doing independent reading conferences. I am an avid reader, so I love getting the chance to talk with students about what they are reading. However, I do remember struggling with when and how to go about doing independent reading conferences in the busy day.

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Reading Conferences With Students Within the 45 Minute English Class; Yes, It’s Possible

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Confession time; I am terrible at conferring with my students. This once proud foundation of my elementary classroom is now a crumbling pillar in my 7th grade English class. Call it a victim of t…

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The Attention. Every child needs one-on-one conversations with an adult as often as possible. Adolescents, by nature of their age, struggle with identity, fairness, stress, and a slew of other issues that contribute to all kinds of problems. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. reports that "9 out of 10 Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction started smoking, drinking, or using other drugs before age 18." This is not surprising since according to this study, "75% of all high school students have used addictive substances, including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine."

I know there are many reasons for teenagers to partake in these substances. I also know that many students think that adults do not care, or will not notice, if they are in class, participating in class, or lucid in class. One way to show our adolescent students that we care is to talk with them. And face-to-face conversations about books and reading is a pretty safe way to do so, not to mention that we model authentic conversations about reading when we do.

Try questions like:

How's it going? (Thanks, Carl Anderson)

Why did you choose this book?

Do you know anyone else who has read this book? What'd she think?

How'd you find the time to read this week?

What's standing in the way of your reading time?

The Relationship. Once students know they can trust us, they will tell us things about their lives, their struggles, and their hopes beyond high school. According to the Zur Institute, teen internet and video game addictions, violence in the media, online bullying, and violence in the home top the charts as some of the major influencers of teen behavior. On the Zur website, there's a section titled " What You Can Do." We find language that mirrors the words and phrases that lead to the most effective reading conferences, like "learn what [it] means to your children by talking with them about it," and "be genuinely curious about what draws them to [whatever it is]," and "discuss balance," and "keep the conversation active."

We hear so much talk in education circles about engagement. Engagement comes as a result of relationships. When we talk to our students about their lives and the things that matter to them, and we help them see that somewhere in some book a character has experienced similar situations, conflicts, and heartaches, we show our students that literature is a living breathing source of hope. This Psychology Today post explains it clearly: "Books are friends we can choose without restriction," believed John Ruskin, an English art critic of the 19 Century who influenced Marcel Proust "who developed the idea of a novel that was not just a friend, but a friend who enables us to become intimate both with other minds and with our own." Proust called readers of his own work "a sort of magnifying glass ... by which I could give them the means to read within themselves."

My students and I talk about windows and mirrors. This is why we read literature: to learn what it means to be human. How do you see yourself in the characters, conflicts, situations, and how do you see out into a world that is very different from your own? The more we grow in empathy, the better relationship we'll have with our friends, our families and all other people we associate with - at least the idealist in me will cling to that hope as I continue to talk to students about books and reading.

Try questions like:

What character reminds you of yourself or someone you know?

What part of the story is the most similar/different to your life?

Why do you think the author makes that happen in the book?

What does he want us to learn about life?

How does this story/character/conflict/event make you think about life differently?

The Learning. There are times when I've done a mini-lesson, I feel like I've talked to myself. I see little application of a skill I know I've taught. Sometimes students completely miss the point of the lesson. However, when I take the time to talk to each student individually, and reinforce the skill in a quick chat, the application of that skill some how seeps into their brains much deeper. And you know those students who are super apprehensive - the ones who have to ask "Is this right?" and show us a teeny bit of work before they will really produce any work? Holding a regular reading conference has solved this problem.

Students know they will get a chance to talk with me about their progress, and they are more willing to take risks than when we talk infrequently. Time for reading conferences, and conferences timed to meet the needs of each one of our learners solves many at-risk behaviors and promotes deeper learning.

Try questions like:

Tell me about _____ that we learned in class today. How does that relate to your book/character?

Remember when we learned _____, tell me how/where you see that in your book.

Think about when we practiced ___, where does the author do that in your book?

You've improved with ___, how could you use that skill for _______?

The Literacy. Sometimes I think we forget that the purpose of our instruction must be to develop the literate lives of our students. We must provide opportunities for our students to grow into confident and competent readers and writers in order to handle the rigor and complexity of post high school education and beyond. We must remember to focus on literacy not on the literature - just like we must focus on the reader not just on the reading. We must validate our readers, ask questions that spark confidence, avoid questions that demean or make the student defensive, and at the same time challenge our readers into more complex texts. We can learn if a child has read a book, or the assigned pages, with a few quick questions. Then we must turn the conversations to the why, the what, and the how that will get students to choose to take a step up the ladder of complexity.

When students know that we care more about them as the person than we care about what or how much they have read, they will trust us. And it's trust between the adolescent and the adult that creates the most movement as a reader, a writer, a student, a young person emerging into adulthood. Students will read the rich literature we bless because they know we are leading them into literature that will in turn bless their lives.

Try questions like:

On a scale of 1 to 10 how complex is this book for you? Why?

What do you do when the reading gets difficult?

Of all the books you've read this year, which was the most challenging? Why?

How's it going finding vocabulary for your personal dictionary?

Tell me how you are keeping track of the parallel storyline?

The Reward. We can experience powerful rewards as we meet with our students in regular reading conferences. (I wrote about one here.) Every year, after students get to know me a bit, they tell me things like: "We were scared of you at first. You seemed so strict," and "You intimidated me, and I was afraid to talk to you." I get how students see me. I'm tall for one thing. For another, I get right to the point and state the learning that will happen in my classroom. Structure and routine are important for the work we do here, and I explain what that looks like within the first twenty minutes of day one. We work bell to bell with very little down time. I get that many students are not used to such habits, especially in our 85 minute classes.

My students experience breakthroughs regularly. It's during our reading conferences that they tell me my instruction works. "Miss, I only read two books in all of 10th grade. I was so behind. This year I've read SO many. I can't count. You've helped me so much. I wish I could go back in time and read this much in 10th grade," one girl tells me. Another says, "I never thought I would like to read. Now, look at me," as she shows me the copy of Anna Karenina she bought over the weekend. (We'd done a mini-lesson on beautiful sentences, and I talked about the books our mentor sentences came from - not really expecting anyone would want to read that one. Oh, they can surprise us!)

I ask students about their confidence levels in our little chats, and they tell me they know they have grown as a readers. This is the best kind of reward.

Try questions like:

How has your confidence grown as you've read this year?

What do you think is the one thing we've done in class that's helped you improve so much as a reader?

How will the habits you've created in class help you in the reading you'll have to do in college?

Why do you think you've grown so much as a reader the past few weeks?

What's different for you now in the way you learn than how you learned before?

Describe for me the characteristics you have that make you a reader.

What kinds of questions work for you in your reading conferences?
©Amy Rasmussen, 2011 - 2015

Tagged: AP English, Conferring, reading conferences

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5 Reasons Why Reading Conferences Matter - Especially in High School English

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When students know that we care more about them as the person than we care about what or how much they have read, they will trust us. And it's trust between the adolescent and the adult that creates the most movement as a reader, a writer, a student, a young person emerging into adulthood.

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Adapted from Reading Projects Reimagined: Student-Driven Conferences to Deepen Critical Thinking by Dan Feigelson

Yetta Goodman (2002) reminds us that there are no substitutes for careful kid-watching and good listening. Nonetheless, a reading teacher can become more confident and able to adapt to students by having umbrella categories, or types of conferences, at his or her fingertips. Carving out time in the day for conference-based reading projects provides teachers with important opportunities to listen and assign readers work that is personalized and rigorous. The fundamental tenet of a conference-based reading project is that the direction should come from the student. Developing conference-based reading projects involves listening carefully to what students say about a text, and then helping them name an idea worth following.

The following nine umbrella categories are intended as a work in progress and is by no means definitive. The best use of this list would be as a jumping off point for educators to add to, revise, and refine. It's important, always, to remember that the specifics of a good conference should come from what the individual student says and does. With that disclaimer in mind, here we go.

1. Noticing Your Own Reactions: Talking Back to Text. This is among the most basic conference types and is often appropriate for struggling readers or students who have difficulty saying anything other than "what [the book] was about." The truth is, there are kids out there who aren't even aware they are supposed to have a thought as they read. A "Noticing Your Own Reactions" conference is just that-paying attention to (and identifying) thoughts and feelings that cross your mind as you read.

2. Connecting the Dots: Deciding Which Parts Go Together and Which Don't. Teaching young readers to connect the dots should start small. Sometimes it's things on the same page that go together and make a reader say "a-ha." As texts become more complex, a reader must make connections across many pages. A Connecting the Dots conference may be simple or complex; either way, it addresses one of the most fundamental comprehension strategies.

3. Thinking About Your Thinking: Noticing Where it Makes Sense of Gets Confusing. It's critical for readers to have a repertoire of "fix-it" strategies to repair comprehension when something is difficult to understand (Keene and Zimmermann 1997). But before we can even go there, we must teach children to notice when something doesn't make sense, and think about exactly why it is confusing.

4. Walking in A Character's Shoes: What Would You Do? Not all text-to-self connections are created equal. When a child is reading Sounder or Old Yeller, to say "My grandmother has a dog" may be a text-to-self connection, but it doesn't really help in understanding the book. When we teach students to make personal connections, it's critical to also teach them to make decisions about which connections help us to understand. A good entry point for making useful personal connections is comparing what characters in books do, think, or feel to what we might do ourselves. A "Walking in a Character's Shoes" conference can be just the place to introduce this strategy.

5. Prioritizing: What's Important to Remember and What's OK to Forget. Most teachers have met the student who reads a biography of Abraham Lincoln and remembers he had a beard, but forgets that he freed the slaves. While prioritizing is to some extent subjective-after all, if you were doing research on nineteenth century hairstyles, Abe's beard would be pretty significant-more often than not, there are clues in the text itself that tip us off as to what we are supposed to remember. One of our most important jobs as teachers of reading is to help students learn how to pick up on these text-based cues. Picking up on these text-based cues can be a daunting task for young readers, especially when they have limited knowledge of the subject or genre.

6. What The Author Wants Us To Think About or Feel: Looking for Themes, Lessons, and Big Ideas. One of the criteria most often assessed in tests of reading comprehension for elementary and middle school readers is "Main Idea." The problem is that most texts of any complexity have multiple big ideas, not just one (Keene 2012). To give students the message that there is one "right answer" is not just intimidating, it's also misleading. That said, learning to infer (and name) themes in a text is one of the most complicated tasks facing a young reader.

7. Paying Attention to How Things Develop: Tracking Change or the Development of an Idea. Elementary and middle school readers are famous for coming up with one idea and sticking to it, come hell or high water. We need to teach children that while coming up with an idea in the first place is important, readers must allow their thinking to grow and change as they move through a text. This is not easy for students who are just learning to be flexible in their thinking. The object of a "Paying Attention to How Things Develop" conference is to provide a scaffold; we want to give young readers specific work to do to practice tracking an idea as it progresses and grows throughout a text.

8. Compare and Contrast: Noticing What Is Similar and Different. One of the more accessible entry points for deeper thinking about a text is to compare things- the personalities of two different characters in a story, books by the same author, information about sharks in one book to shark facts from another book. The purpose of a "Compare and Contrast" conference is to help students practice critical thinking within, and eventually across, texts

9. Reading Like a Writer: Thinking About How the Author Wrote It. When students notice craft and structure in books, they read like insiders. In the same way that a trained saxophonist hears different things in a Charlie Parker solo than a non-musician, children begin to think more deeply about texts when they learn to read like writers.

►To learn more aboutReading Projects Reimagined, and to download a sample chapter, visit Heinemann.com.

Dan Feigelson has worked extensively in New York City schools as a teacher, staff developer, curriculum writer, principal, and local superintendent. An early member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, he has led institutes, workshops and lab-sites around the world on the teaching of reading and writing. A regular presenter at national conferences, Dan is the author of Reading Projects Reimagined: Student-Driven Conferences to Deepen Critical Thinking, and Practical Punctuation: Lessons in Rule Making and Rule Breaking in Elementary Writing. He lives in Harlem and Columbia County, New York.

Follow Dan on Twitter @danfeigelson.

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9 Types of Reading Conferences: A Jumping Off Point

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9 Types of Reading Conferences: A Jumping Off Point

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Mini Reading Conference Forms - Literacy - Red Wing Public Schools, ISD 256

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This is the website for the Red Wing Public School district from Red Wing, MN.

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A high school English teacher has a single accountability measure for her students' choice reading: talking to them about it.

Teachers face many challenges when it comes to helping students develop a love of reading, some of which I wrote about in " Putting an End to Fake Reading," but one of the most daunting is the accountability piece. How do we know if students are actually reading? How do we assess the learning students are gaining from choice reading? How do we include this in our grade books?

I've tried many accountability measures over the years, including reading logs of various formats, book reports, assorted handouts, and reading quizzes on Accelerated Reader, but Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer and Penny Kittle's Book Love helped me realize why those assessments were so unsatisfying. If I wanted my students to become authentic readers, why was I assigning them activities that real readers-including me-would never voluntarily engage in?

I had to ask myself: What do real readers do? And one important part of my own reading life is talking about what I read with others. So I decided to try an experiment and do away with all accountability measures for choice reading except for one-on-one conferences with me.

The results were profoundly positive.

The Logistics of Conferencing

Although the idea of talking about books with students is appealing-honestly, it's one of the main reasons I became an English teacher-the first thing I had to tackle were the logistics of the conferences.

In my on-level 10th grade English classes, I allot 10 to 15 minutes of our 55-minute periods for choice reading, and my students range widely in reading ability and motivation. I was worried that juggling everything going on in my classroom would be overwhelming, but with some structure and fine-tuning, I was able to have great discussions with two to three students each day, and to talk with each of my students at least once a month.

At the beginning of the period each day, I greet students and quickly take down the page number they're on in their books. This serves several purposes. First, it's a reminder for students to have their books out and open for reading right at the beginning of the period. Also, it gives me a quick way of assessing their progress through their book. If a student has read only a few pages over the course of the week, I know they're probably in need of some help in either getting into their books or choosing a new one, and a conference is a perfect way to work out which it is and find a solution.

I then grab my reading conference binder and sit down in one of two chairs I've arranged in a comfy corner of my room, calling over a student to begin our chat. I've established norms for independent work in my classroom, so with occasional reminders, students know that this is a time to work quietly on their own.

Keeping Track of Conversations

To keep track of conferences, I keep a binder with dividers for each class and a note sheet for each student where I record the details of our conversations for future reference.

I always start out by asking each student to remind me what they're currently reading and what page they're on, and I ask what rating they would give their book and why. This gives us a jumping-off point for what to talk about next. I also have some reading conference questions to refer to if I'm stuck for something to ask, but the more I conference with students, the easier it is to know what to talk about. I only need to remember my purpose for reading conferences: supporting students in thinking about their books and helping them find books they enjoy.

Assessing Choice Reading

Real-life readers don't get scored for reading for pleasure, but I do want to encourage students to find books they enjoy and to give them a way to keep track of their own reading progress, so I created a simple sheet for them to record the books they finish, along with their thoughts about what they read. When students finish a book, they complete this sheet and bring it to our conference, and we use it to talk about the book and what they might like to read next.

I don't have a requirement for how many books students must finish, and these sheets are not scored in any way. I simply save them in the student's class file for reflection at the end of the grading period. The only score my students receive for choice reading is this reading reflection each six weeks, in which they write their thoughts and feelings about the books they've read and what they'd like to read next. I give them completion points, not a grade, for doing the reflection.

The Results of My Choice Reading Experiment

When I began this experiment, I was concerned that, without the accountability of points entered in the grade book, my students would not be motivated to read. My fear, however, was proven beautifully unfounded.

More of my students read far more books than ever before, and with our regular conversations, it's far easier to notice and support students who are struggling with finding a book they enjoy. I'm able to tap into some student interests-sports fiction and poetry collections among them-and, most importantly, I've noticed my connections with students strengthening. And that's probably the most important thing a teacher can do to improve learning in the classroom.

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The Unexpected Power of Reading Conferences

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A high school English teacher has a single accountability measure for her students' choice reading: talking to them about it.

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A multiple choice quiz after reading is a quick and easy way to check student comprehension, but it doesn't allow you to assess deeper understanding and it certainly isn't fun or creative. If you are looking for more meaningful and engaging activities to use with students during literature circles or a novel unit, you'll find twelve ideas below that are favorites in my classroom and the Common Core standards they align with. Click the linked title of each activity for more information, student samples, and/or free resources.

1. Text Based Drawings
Asking students to cite evidence for every single question they answer when reading and responding to a text might be good practice and ensure that they are reading closely, but it also becomes repetitive. One way to mix things up is to ask students to draw a picture and label it based on details from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

2. Summary or Synthesis Tombstones
Assess students' knowledge of an author or character by asking them to summarize their reading or synthesize information from multiple sources. Depending on the assignment, students may share important facts about the individual, reasons why he or she will or would be missed, or events that led up to his or her death.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Mind maps are a visually appealing summarizing strategy, which can be used to enhance students' recall of information as well as to synthesize information from multiple sources. This strategy can be used with fiction or nonfiction texts and can be added to as student progress in their reading.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

4. Character Silhouettes
Creating character silhouettes is a creative way to conduct a close reading of character or figure from an assigned or selected fiction or nonfiction text. This activity can be used with any grade level, during or after reading any text, and reinforces the ideas of character and characterization while asking students to closely examine evidence from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

5. The Spirits of Christmas
Inspired by A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, students select a character and his/her weaknesses to analyze. After identifying and illustrating scenes that reveal the character's flaws, students determine a message to be shared by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

6. Tweet Sheets
Forget those boring chapter summaries you usually assign to accompany your students' independent reading. Instead, try out "tweet sheets." This activity reinforces characterization and point of view while also allowing students to use their creativity as they explore the characters in their novel.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

7. Literary Postcards
Literary postcards are a great writing activity to reinforce the ideas of character and point of view in any novel or short story and can be used with any grade level. Students must depict a key scene from their reading on the front of the postcard and then have choices as to the form of their writing on the opposite side.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

8. Personal Crests
Similar to a coat of arms, have students create a crest for a character in a novel. Students will select symbols and colors that represent the character to decorate their crests and then write a short paragraph explaining their choices. Have students compare crests made for the same character and defend why their choices were more appropriate, or hang them all and allow students to vote on the best ones.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Creating word art is a creative way for students to closely analyze a character and select a symbol representative of the character's traits. You'll be surprised with the creativity of your students and even "non-artistic" students will enjoy this activity on characterization and symbolism.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

10. Theme Collages
Theme is one of the concepts in literature that students struggle with most. Use a simple graphic organizer to help students determine the theme of any piece of writing and then create a collage of text and images to reinforce their theme's message about life.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

11. Collaborative Poetry
Incorporate opportunities for collaborative writing in your classroom by using collaborative poetry. Students will first write individually from a character's perspective and then work together as a group to create a communal piece of writing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

12. Literary Theme Parks
This fun activity makes for a great end of a unit or year project or summer reading assignment. Students will review plot, setting. theme, conflict, characters, and symbolism as they create a poster and give a presentation of their amusement park. After choosing a theme for their park, students will design rides, attractions, shops, food, and souvenirs.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

You can find all of my activities for use with any text here.

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The Literary Maven: 12 Activities to Use During Literature Circles or Your Next Novel Study

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A multiple choice quiz after reading is a quick and easy way to check student comprehension, but it doesn't allow you to assess deeper understanding and it certainly isn't fun or creative.

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Book Clubs for the Classroom

Student-led group discussions are a hallmark of good teaching practice. Literature circles are small groups of students who meet to discuss reading following an established format. They are a particularly effective tool to use in a high school English language arts classroom.

Literature circles are a cooperative learning strategy, a means for having students work together in small groups to share thoughts and ideas. Basically, a literature circle is a cross between the book clubs many adults enjoy and old-fashioned elementary school strategy of reading groups. Literature circles create authentic, yet highly-structured, student-centered conversations about reading choices.

Choose Your Literature

Literature circles can revolve around almost any type of literature: poems, plays, short stories, or novels. Students can read fiction or nonfiction. The key is that students choose what they read. Students who are reading the same title will form a group, continuing to read and sharing their ideas in the literature circle format.

For example, in a 9th-grade class, one group of students might be reading Romeo and Juliet while another group reads To Kill a Mockingbird. Other groups would read Great Expectations or Of Mice and Men. Students may read aloud in groups or independently at home or in school. They take notes as they read so they can participate in the literature circle discussions.

Team Building

High school students will probably enjoy the independence they feel leading their own discussions. However, as teenagers, they may struggle to stay within the boundaries of a highly structured activity.

They will need team-building lessons that teach them how to work together cooperatively. Team-building lessons teach social skills as students learn how to respond to take feedback and criticism constructively. These lessons should encourage quiet students to speak up more frequently and outgoing students to temper their tendency to dominate discussions.

Everyone Has a Job to Do

Literature circles are structured small group discussions. To ensure that everyone participates, each student has a role that's either assigned by the teacher or selected by the group. There is a set list of jobs and every student has one:

Discussion Director - Generates questions that enrich reading comprehension. Questions might include, 'Why do you think the character did that?' Or, 'When do you think the character will figure out what's going on.

Vocabulary Enricher - Helps the group learn new words and clarify meaning. The vocabulary enricher may need to look up some words as the group reads and discusses the book.

Literary Luminary - Leads the oral reading of the book or passages from the book and helps the group interpret figurative language and draw inferences based on descriptions.

Checker - Ensures group members complete assignments and everyone participates in discussions.

There are any number of jobs that might be assigned to a literature group, such as a group summarizer (who keeps written records of the group's discussion) or a text connector (who guides conversations that compare two or more written works). Depending on the project or the book your class is working on, you might incorporate any number of jobs to your class' circles.

The Teacher's Role

The teacher should play no direct role in literature circle discussions. The teacher's job is to facilitate, not administrate. In other words, the teacher makes sure students get into groups and makes sure students are on topic. Possibly the most important contribution the teacher can make is to establish procedures and classroom environment that assure literature circles function smoothly and effectively. That includes teaching students how to perform each group role when establishing the literature circles.

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literature circles in high school | study.com

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Literature Circles in High School | Study.com

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Student-led group discussions are a hallmark of good teaching practice. Literature circles are small groups of students who meet to discuss reading following an established format. They are a particularly effective tool to use in a high school English language arts classroom.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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I love doing Lit Circles or Reading Circles in my classroom and at my school we have a well established routine that works well across all of the grades. We don't all read the same novel, instead we offer 5-6 titles to the class and students are grouped by the book of their choice. I believe strongly that students be given the opportunity to pick their book so I give a quick book talk about each book and then give students time to sample several books before picking the one they want to read. Students usually end up with a book that they're quite happy with! (Our librarian does a great job of creating themed book kits for each grade level.)

I also don't assign students roles - students are all given the same guidelines and requirements for each Lit Circle Meeting where they are required to come prepared with discussion questions and more! Here are some tips and tricks I've picked up along the way for running a successful Lit Circle with secondary students when using ANY NOVEL and when student groups are reading different novels.

I allow students to pick a book from a selection of 5-6 titles that are all based on a similar theme. Some students pick titles based on what their friends pick, but most will pick based on their interest. I have 5 copies of each title so I end up with groups of 4-5 students depending on class size. We have spent time at my school working together to create kits of books that we are confident that students will enjoy at each grade level. For example our 9th Grade Kit is themed around "Overcoming Adversity" and includes the following very popular books:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie

Moon at Nine - Deborah Ellis

A Little Piece of Ground - Elizabeth Laird

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Monster - Walter Dean Myers

It is crucial to be organized when running the lit circles, especially if you have groups reading different novels. My Novel Study Activities for Any Novelhas everything you need to run a successful Lit Circle - student reading schedules, organizers, final projects and chapter summary templates are just a few of the things that can be found in this package - be sure to check it out HERE. I have run Lit Circles for many, many years using the schedule and reading logs included in this pack!

I typically give students 4 weeks to complete a novel study and therefore it's crucial I create a strict reading schedule. Within their 4 week study they complete activities for each Lit Circle Meeting and then a final project. Students divide the number of pages in their book by four and come up with the number of pages they must read per week. For the most part however, students complete their books well before they need to because typically they really enjoy them. I do however, monitor their reading through their Lit Circle Meetings - I make sure to stop by each meeting, engage in the discussion, check that all work has been completed and that students are on task. Student reading schedules are included in my Reading Journal resource!

With Lit Circles my students meet 1-2 times per week as a group to discuss the book. Students must come to the meeting with a favorite quote, three questions for their classmates and having read up to the designated point in the book. Students share and discuss their quotes, answer each others questions and generally share ideas they have about the book. I allow students about 30 minutes for their meeting - although there have been many days when we've gone longer due to some awesome discussions.

Students are given ample reading time in my class. I know that many of them have after school jobs, compete in sports, are active in clubs and generally quite busy. Allowing students to complete some of their reading in class means there is less pressure on them to squeeze it in among everything else. It also emphasizes the importance I place on reading. If the weather is nice, we'll read outside. Sometimes we'll read in the school library using their comfy chairs and quiet spaces. Creating a quiet space for my students to ready comfortably is important to me so I've added reading lamps (softer light) to a few corners of my room and some cosy chairs the kids rotate through.

Hopefully your students have enjoyed the books they've read so much that they want to share with their classmates. Grab this FREE book review template to use with your students... have them work on it individually and then complete one collaboratively as a group. I have asked each book group to present their novel to the class (being sure not to give away the ending or anything too juicy!). Often students want to read the other books, and if I'm lucky I can use the same set of books twice with each class. Students just read a different book the second time!

For more awesome resources that will work with ANY novel please check out the links below from my fellow Coffee Shop ladies.

Independent Novel Study - The Classroom Sparrow
Learning Stations for Any Novel Study - Room 213
50 Creative Activities for Any Novel - Presto Plans
The Novel - A Unit for Any Novel - The Daring English Teacher
Chapter Study Guide for Any Novel - Secondary Sara
Editable Reading Guide for Class Novels & Independent Reading - Nouvelle ELA

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6 Tips For A Successful Lit Circle In A Secondary Classroom

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I love doing Lit Circles or Reading Circles in my classroom and at my school we have a well established routine that works well across all of the grades. We don't all read the same novel, instead we offer 5-6 titles to the class and students are grouped by the book of their choice.

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Literature Circles for Reluctant High School Readers | Scholastic

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Use literature circles to get your reluctant readers excited about literature.

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Literature Circles in High School

Ninth-grade Humanities teacher Rebecca Wieder describes how she facilitates literature circle discussions. Wieder's students discuss a novel in groups where each plays a role: summarizer, discussion director, connector, literary luminary, and literary terms expert. Watch how she sets goals with her class for effective group discussions. View the sample material, Literature Circles Lesson Plan and Materials, for more details.
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Sign in to share, email, rate or comment Ninth-grade Humanities teacher Rebecca Wieder describes how she facilitates literature circle discussions. Wieder's students discuss a novel in groups where each plays a role: summarizer, discussion director, connector, literary luminary, and literary terms expert. Watch how she sets goals with her class for effective group discussions.