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Make Your Own Toolkit Based on Text Complexity

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Make Your Own Toolkit Based on Text Complexity

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Levels A - M

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The Basics of Conferring

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by Melissa Schwartz, Guest Author

Carl Anderson has once said, "Conferring is not the icing on the cake; it is the cake." Reading workshops and writing workshops have many components to them. One of the most important parts in the workshop model is conferencing, also known as conferring.

When a teacher is conferencing with a student or a small group of students, they are working on skills that need to be reinforced or skills that will provide enrichment. There are many benefits to conferencing with students:

1. Conferences provide individualized instruction for each student.

2. Conferences can provide insight into what the student is doing while reading and writing.

3. Conferences can help the teacher investigate student knowledge.

4. Conferencing can help assess the student.

5. Conferencing can provide reinforcement and/or enrichment of skills

6. Conferencing can help students improve their reading level.

Conferencing is an ongoing process. It is recommended that conferencing with students or a group of students occur in the middle of the workshop; that is, during the independent practice part of reading and writing.

Conferencing can be organized in many ways. As mentioned before, conferencing can occur with one student, pairs of students, or groups of students. This is dependent on what skills are needed and what lessons will be taught during the conferences.

I recommend when conferencing, you bring around a binder with the tabs with each student's name. As amazing as it would be to meet with every single student in the class during independent practice (about a 40 minute time period), this is difficult. With a class of about twenty students, I try to meet with each student about twice a week. This can be achieved by meeting with the students once individually and once in a group.

When conferencing with one or two students, I never take them out of their reading spots because it is helpful for other students around them to overhear the skills taught. During small group instruction, I pull those students to a table while I am teaching the skill. It is important to remember that during these skill groups, students are still working on their individual independent books or writing projects.

With younger students, they may read the same books while you are teaching them the skills; however it is important to remember that you do not have the students read round robin. Many students get nervous reading aloud in front of a group of students. It also may result in a loss of focus for students who are not reading at the time. During these group sessions, teach the skill as a whole group, have the students practice the skill and then walk around the group and work with each individual student on the skill taught.

Carl Anderson, a guru in conferencing and author of the book, How's it Going?, recommends the following conference structure:

1. Compliment the writer: Try to make compliments focused around the teaching point of the day's lesson.

2. State the Teaching Point: Make this teaching point specific to what you notice with the students' reading and writing. Examples include: meaning, structure, detail, etc...

3. Provide a Metaphor: Focus the students by bringing the text back to something meaningful in their life.

4. Study a Mentor Text: Show examples of strategies.

5. Teach the Strategy: Show students how strategies can be applied in their reading or writing.

6. Practice: Ensure comprehension of the strategy.

7. Keep Notes: Record the teaching point and goals, and return to it again.

If you would like to see examples of conferences, please see the links below.

Note: Conferences should last about 5 minutes and should consist of only one strategy.

There are many things that can be taught during conferencing. Many suggestions are in the links and books below, but I would like to remind you that you are teaching the reader and the writer, not the reading and the writing. In other words, you are teaching the students skills that can be applied to multiple areas in reading and writing. These are skills that can be transferred to different books and different types of writing.

In addition to keeping a student checklist, a wonderful way to keep track of the information from the conference is with a chart. Now there are many ways to keep track, depending on your preference, but I like to make a sheet with a table for each student. These papers can then be organized in a binder with tabs.

Research is one of the most important aspects of the reading and writing conferences. This is the time when you are learning about what the student is already doing and what skills he or she has. You can then take these skills and determine what he or she needs support.

Conferencing is crucial to your students' development in reading and writing. This special time that you spend with students during conferences can help guide them towards improved reading and writing skills.

"Conferring with Readers: Supporting Each Student's Growth and Independence," by Gravity Goldberg and Jennifer Serravallo

"Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop," by Patrick A. Allen

"The Reading Strategies Book," by Jennifer Serravallo

"How's it Going?" by Carl Anderson

Melissa Schwartz, still a kid at heart, is a fourth grade teacher in an elementary school in Northern New Jersey. As a teacher for over ten years, she provides her students with the gift for the passion of learning. She prides herself in teaching lessons that are interactive, educational, and fun. Melissa received a dual degree in both elementary and special education at the University of Delaware. She also received a Master's Degree as a Reading Specialist and Supervision at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In addition to teaching fourth grade, she has taught third grade, gifted and talented, and special education. She also received the honor of "Teacher of the Year" during her second year of teaching! Melissa also has a passion for traveling, history, reading, and a love of her dog, Maggie.

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Conferencing: The Heart of Reading and Writing Workshop

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by Melissa Schwartz, Guest Author Carl Anderson has once said, "Conferring is not the icing on the cake; it is the cake." Reading workshops and writing workshops have many components to them. One of the most important parts in the workshop model is conferencing, also known as conferring.

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Coaching Prompts to Move Kids Up Reading Levels

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Coaching Prompts to Move Kids Up Reading Levels

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Look at what skills your student is successful at on his/her level. What skills has he/she not mastered yet? Set goals to help move to the next level!

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