Unit 1: Lesson 2: Time to Confer
Objective
- Given sample conferring schedule templates, participants will create or adapt one conferring schedule that can be used in their classrooms 4 out of 5 days per week.
Introduction to Lesson 2: Time to Confer
WITH OUR EXTRA TIME, WE’RE GOING TO…. Two words “extra, and time” are one’s that are almost never spoken by teachers in the same sentence. With the release of The Common Core standards in 2009, more and more teachers are finding it difficult to teach all that the curriculum demands. As teachers, it is our natural desire to want to give kids the world as far as education. We want to answer the most random questions, we want to explore, and we take a whole day to talk about the bee flying around on the playground. And though the school day hasn’t gotten shorter, there is just never enough time to fit everything in.
In an elementary classroom, teachers are faced with daily specials classes, lunch, recess, bathroom breaks, and of course the occasional disruptions where first-grader Julie yells out to the class that her sister got a new pencil this weekend that is covered in unicorns that look just like the stuffed unicorn on her bed (real talk).
So, with all of this content to address to ensure our children’s success in their next grade level, how do we find time where the chaos settles and we have small quiet moments to build relationships and really get to know our students? Well, since we know these minutes are few and far between, utilizing independent work time (such as during reading time, writing time, or during a literacy block), is a great opportunity for teachers to build relationships and investigate student academic progress on a deeper level.
In this lesson, you’ll view several exemplar conferring schedules that can be downloaded and adapted to meet the needs of your classroom! Once your conferring schedule is outlined and your plans of conferring are sketched on paper, it may be easier to get into a conferring routine. You’ll think about what types of conferences you’ll plan for and what data you’d hope to get from these conferences to make the perfect conferring schedule for your classroom!
Ready, Set, Learn!
Click the link below to access and download a short PowerPoint lesson that teachers how to make a conferring schedule for your classroom! At the end of your lesson, YOU will earn free, editable conferring schedule templates that can be used or adapted to fit your classroom conferring needs. Be sure to look at how templates and utilized and be thinking…What would MY ideal conferring schedule look like?
Let’s Learn!
File:Slattery-Reading Conferring for the K5 Classroom- Lesson 2.pptx
Free Resource Alert! Click the link below to access schedules that can be adapted to your classroom conferring needs!
File:Slattery- Reading Conferring in the K5 Classroom- Lesson 2- Conferring Schedules.docx
Reflection
Click the link below to contribute to the Lesson 2 Discussion Forum. Please feel free to use any of the free conferring templates listed above in this lesson, or your own schedule template found online or created by YOU!
Assignment:
Part 1: Upload a picture of the conferring schedule you chose or plan to use for your classroom. If possible, have student names filled in or group ideas filled in. Please use first names only or pseudonyms.
Part 2: In regards to your choice of conferring schedule, respond to the following questions…
- Why do you feel that having a conferring schedule would benefit your classroom?
- Why did you choose the conferring schedule that you did?
- How will this type of routine or conferring structure support YOUR needs, as well as your STUDENTS’ needs?
Talk:Unit 1: Lesson 2: Time to Confer
Lesson 2 References
Text:
Serravallo, J. (2019). A teacher’s guide to reading conferences grades K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Page Links
Return To Kate's Mini Course Link
GO ON to Unit 2: Lesson 3: What Do I Say?