Conferring in the Reading Workshop
Overview:
A good conference will be
√ Focused — you choose an area and work on it. You cannot ask a million questions
√ Brief —- you need to be in and out in a matter of minutes
√ Accountable — there is follow up action for both the child and the teacher
√ Progressive — conferences in the later part of the year should be built upon the work that was done earlier in the year.
A Record Keeping System:
(We’re going to show you one that we think is a good one. You can devise your own, if you prefer…. But you must have a record keeping system)
Protocol for a Conferring Record Keeping System
√ It must have separate information for each child
√ It must collect information cumulatively. At any point in time, the entire body of previous conferring notes needs to be readily available.
√ It must set goals and accountability actions
√ It must reflect the logical progression of teaching over time.
√ It must provide the data to drive small group instruction (guided reading groups or strategy groups
Notebook:
a. Calendar — set appointments with children
b. Keeping Track grid (class list style with dates of conferences only)
c. Strategy Groups
d. Divider tab for each child
i. Reading conference form with goals
Follow-up:
√ Teachers will establish a record keeping system for their classroom that meets the protocol.
√ Teachers will begin conferring with children and keeping records of their conferring
