3. From Assessment to Instruction
1. Assess student- Use reading records, check
for concepts of print, and/or check for
fluency. We are trying to figure out each
childâs strengths as a reader, and their
greatest area of need.
2. Discuss findings with student- After assessing
a child, always begin the discussion of what
we learned from the assessment with âTell
me about yourself as a readerâ. Then, in
front of the child, we write what we have
noted as their strength in our Pensieve, under
the Strengths heading on the conferring
sheet for that child.
4. 3. Set goal/identify strategies with student-
Dialogue with student âOne of the areas I am
going to help you with to become a better
reader this year isâŚ.â We then turn to that
childâs section in the Pensieve, which
includes a copy of the CAFĂ menu and a goal
sheet. We look together with the student at
the list of strategies on the CAFĂ menu and
decide together on a next step.
5. We concentrate on only one or two strategies at
a time in our conferences.
We choose a strategy for and with the child
based on our best sense at the moment of
what they need.
One of the strengths of setting goals with
children that they work on over a period of
time is that is saves time in conferences.
Instead of taking time during each
conference with a child to come up with new
goals, the child begins with knowing he or
she is working on developing fluency, or on
expanding vocabulary, etc.
6. 4. Student declares goal on menu- The student
takes a sticky note from the small basket we
bring to conferences. We have students write
their names on sticky notes and place them
under the goal headings.
5. Teacher fills out individual conference form-
While the child is placing their sticky note on
the menu, we go to the conference form and
write the childâs name, strengths, and goals.
This form will help us keep track of our
individual conferences and coaching sessions
with each child.
7. 6. Teacher fills out strategy groups form- We ask
ourselves, âIs there anyone else we have
assessed who needs this same goal and
strategy?â If there is, we add this student to
that group. If there isnât, we start a new
group.
7. Before the student leaves, we ask them to
articulate their goals yet again.
8. Instruction- Once we assess each child, we are
ready to instruct, with the instruction truly
being guided by each childâs individual
assessment.
Video of assessment area:
Assessment area
9. Conferring With Students
The reason we confer with students is to help
them work towards individual goals. The goals
come from the assessments at the start of the
year or previous conferences, and they become
the focus of each conference with the children.
The forms and conference structure enable us
and our students to look beyond the moment to
the concrete, practical steps that can be taken
today, tomorrow, and this week to move
students forward as readers.
The conferences are set up to take only about 5
minutes.
10. Conferring With Students
In conferences, weâre helping students become
comfortable with words that describe their
reading processes as they think about what it
means to read and make progress as a reader,
and those words arenât much different from the
ones adults use. This becomes the language our
classroom community shares as we talk about
literacy.
Note:
*Once youâve seen them demonstrate a strategy
four or five times, they are ready to move on
to a new strategy.
11. Elements of Successful Conferences
1. Check calendar for appointments- The first
thing we do when weâre ready to start
conferring for the day is open the Pensieve
and check it for scheduled appointments. On
any given day, there are usually only two or
three children we must confer with.
If we donât have any appointments or have
already met with the children listed, we can
look at our Keeping Track form to scan for
children we havenât met with for a while.
12. Elements of Successful Conferences
2. Prepare for the conference- After deciding
who you will meet with, open the Pensieve to
that childâs section of the notebook to see
what we did with them the last time we met.
Look for the following information: What
was our last teaching point? What was the
follow-up that the child should be working on
between conferences? Focus simply on the
last conference, not poring over notes from
previous conferences.
13. Elements of Successful Conferences
3. Observe child and listen to reading- Go to the
child to confer, wherever they are working.
Ask if you can listen to their reading. While
weâre listening to the children read, weâre
seeing whether they are applying the
strategies toward a goal we worked on in the
previous conference. Weâre very focused on
those one or two strategies they have
declared as being of value in helping them
reach their goal or goals.
14. Elements of Successful Conferences
4. Reinforce and teach- What is the one thing
we should teach this child today? You may
continue with the same goal and strategy, or
you might adjust it based on what youâve
observed thus far.
We always begin by telling children what
weâve noticed about them as a reader. Then
we teach by giving an explicit explanation of a
strategy and modeling it for them.
The guideline for this is about one minute.
15. Elements of Successful Conferences
5. Practice the Strategy- After weâve met with a
child and reinforced the goal and strategy, or
taught a new one, we observe him or her
practice. This lets us know whether the child
really understood what weâve taught. This
should only take about a minute.
We can also notice if we may want to teach a
certain lesson to the whole class or to small
groups, if the same issues are emerging with
multiple students.
16. Elements of Successful Conferences
6. Plan- Decide and agree together what their
next step will be. Talk about when you will
meet with them next.
If they need considerable support, plan to
meet with them again the next day or as soon
as possible. Mark the appointment on your
calendar.
This steps only takes about 30 seconds.
All children are expected to work
independently between conferences on a
particular skill or strategy.
17. Elements of Successful Conferences
7. Encourage- Always take a moment to pause
with students and savor their growth.
18. What Do They Look Like?
What Do I Write In My Notes?
CAFE - Conferring Notes (VIDEO)
Conferring About Inferring:
CAFE - Inferring with Connor as he talks about his
book (VIDEO)
Writing Conference:
CAFE - Writing Conference Increases
Independence (VIDEO)
21. Whole-Class Lessons Elements:
1. Identify what is to be taught. Tell them
exactly what they need to do to succeed with
this strategy.
2. Teach the strategy. Anchor it to a picture
book, chapter book, or chart paper. Model,
reinforce, or explain the strategy for one to
five minutes.
3. Practice with partners or âTurn and Talkâ.
Listen and observe closely. Did they get it?
22. Whole-Class Lessons Elements:
4. Select a student to write and illustrate the
CAFĂ menu strategy card if itâs the first time
itâs been taught.
5. Review the strategy. Anchor the strategy
back to the CAFĂ menu. Reiterate why we
use the strategy and usually repeat specific
reading situations where the strategy is most
useful.
6. Encourage practice during independent
reading times.
Video: Expand Vocabulary- Use a dictionary
24. Strategy Groups Are:
ďźFocused on each childâs needs.
ďźNot based solely on reading level.
ďźKept track of in the calendar.
ďźFluid/flexible- Students may be moved in or
out of groups all the time.
ďźVaried in frequency based on needs.
ďźVery similar in structure and format to
individual conferences.
ďźNot started until all children have been
assessed and conferred with individually. (Likely
to start in early to mid-October)
Video: Fluency- Adjust Reading Rate
25. A Few Last Minute Things:
ďśUnder each goal, the top 4, 4, 3, 3
strategies are the ones most used.
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