I teach middle school, but I see lots of ways to tweak this.
Kim
On Feb 27, 2012 4:52 PM, "Renee" <[email protected]> wrote:
On Feb 27, 2012, at 10:35 AM, Emma Takvoryan wrote:
I am starting Reader's Workshop this year and the biggest problem I
am
having is when I conference with my students. I have them write me
letters, I read them and write comments, and then when we go to
conference
I feel like I am not always saying anything of use. How do you all
organize your conferences?
Emma, I am interested in your comment that you have your students
write
you a letter and that you respond and then you feel like you have
nothing
of use to say in your conferencing. So I would ask you these questions:
What is your purpose in having them write you a letter? Do you require
certain things in those letters?
Here's why I ask:
When I was running an independent reading program (and really, with
anything I implemented in my classroom), I always considered how much
time
something would take AND whether or not the time was well spent. So,
regarding these letters your students write to you, if your purpose is
to
have them tell you about their work, then you might want to consider
skipping the letter and having them just *tell* you during your
conference
because that will take less time and give you the same outcome. If your
reason for having them write the letter is to have them practice
writing a
letter AND give you kid-oriented documentation for their work, then I
would
use that letter as a jumping off point.
When I conferenced with students, I did more asking then telling,
because
I wanted them to tell me about their work and also get more details.
So I
would ask them to tell me about the story they are writing, tell me
about
the book they are reading, etc. and then I would ask follow up
questions to
get more detail.
And on organization: Every teacher needs to consider their own
classroom
environment in order to create an organized structure that works for
them.
I worked in a double classroom with another teacher. Between us, we had
three grades (1, 2, and 3) and 40 students. Our "conference" table was
"between" the two rooms where we could see everything and everybody at
all
times. We each had another work table off in opposite corners of the
room
that were more private.
My students had an independent reading and writing folder in which
they
kept all their writing, checksheets, individualized spelling lists, and
anything else related to the workshop that I'd want them to bring to
conference with the book they were reading. I had a little marked-off
section of my chalkboard (and yes, I had a chalkboard!!!) where my
students
signed up for a conference when they reached the end of their
checksheet. I
kept a tally sheet with every student's name on it, and the ONLY thing
I
put on that sheet was a tally when I met with a student. The only
purpose
this sheet had was for me to see immediately who might not be signing
up
for conferences. Grades, comments, etc were on the student's
checksheet.
They got a new checksheet at the end of the conference.
So somebody is going to ask what was on the checksheet. Well, it
changed
over time, but basically it was something like this:
Read a book.
Write about the book. Use a prompt card.
Draw an illustration that goes with your writing.
Do a proofreading task or a skills worksheet.
Go over your spelling words.
Work on something from your writing file.
Sign up for a conference.
While you wait do something from the "While you wait" chart.
Now some of these things are not going to make sense because they were
specific to our classroom. I have Montessori certification and I ran my
class very similarly to a Montessori environment, where all materials
were
available to students and a lot of things used task cards of some kind,
most of which I wrote myself. For example, the "proofreading" task
cards
were similar to the Daily Oral Language most people are familiar with.
They
were numbered and color-coded (remember, three grades) and students
knew to
write the card number on their paper. The "skills worksheets" were
color
coded, in folders on the wall, with a little table right there. They
were
changed about every week and addressed things like alphabetizing,
proofreading, rhyming, etc.
Students had a writing file that was separate from the work folder
where
they kept starts, ideas, etc.
The "while you wait" chart was student-generated and hung on the wall
near the conference table. It was a list of things to do: read the
walls,
read poetry, write a poem, write a letter, share your book with another
student, etc. I don't remember all the things on the chart.
I could keep going, but this is just a tiny taste of what this looked
like in my classroom.
I spent the whole independent reading/writing time conferencing with
students, just going down the list. I taught students to cross off
their
name, NOT erase it, so that when they signed up for a conference no one
could "jump the line" so there were two or three columns of names.
When we
ran out of space, the first column was erased. It's a small detail,
but an
important one.... one of those structure things that evolved over time
out
of need.
If anyone is still reading this and has specific questions, just fire
away!
Renee
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