The Heart of a Reading Conference

Before we get started with the nitty-gritty of a reading conference...go check out how Andrea over at Stepping Into First Grade adapted my "If I Was a Snowman" art activity!  {My daughter is the model...lol.} 

Don't forget to come back here...I have some more "Kate" wisdom to share with you.  If you haven't been with me very long, you will want to type in "Kate" in the search option to your right to read more about our amazing district reading coach!

Once a month or so, Kate comes to our staff meeting to present on a reading workshop topic.  This past week, it was on conferring...the HARDEST part of reading workshop in my opinion!  Our morning staff meetings are only 25 minutes, so it was a quick overview/reminder of what we should be doing during a reading conference.

When you meet with a reader, you first have to decide what you are going to teach during your 5 minute (approx.) conference.  Once you decide what you are going to teach, you can go about the teaching 3 different ways.  We'll start with the easiest and move to the hardest...

1.  Coaching/Guided Practice:  the teacher can remind the child of a previously taught strategy, the reader tries the strategy, the teacher prompts and gives tips as the reader tries the strategy.

2.  Example and Explanation:  the teacher chooses a strategy that has previously been taught and reminds the reader of the example from the previous lesson about that strategy, the teacher can then show the child another way to use the strategy or how to come at it from a different angle, the reader then tries it on his/her own.

3.  Demonstration (this is the hardest for teachers to execute properly):  the teacher says to the child "I am going to teach you {insert strategy here} and watch me as I {blank}."  The teacher could use a mentor text to think aloud through the process.  The teacher is the reader, IN the moment.  The teacher then restates what the child should have noticed.  The reader then can try this strategy out on his/her own.

I like to use the demonstration teaching option when I am working on fluency with a child.  For example, I would say: "listen to me read these 2 pages (I would read), then "let's read it together" (child and I will read the same 2 pages together), then "let me hear you do it on your own now" (child reads the same 2 pages alone).

To help me remember the 3 different options of teaching during a conference, I made this:

You can click on the image to download it using Google Docs if you are interested.  I am going to put them in the inside cover of my conference notebook to help me remember.  I  made the most important one the biggest for an extra reminder!

I know this post isn't all glittery and crafty, but sometimes I feel like I have to get my #1 passion out there...teaching reading to little ones...I hope you enjoyed!