how to do a reading and conference course

by Bernadine Walsh Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read

Start with a strength: Begin the conference by allowing the student to read for a couple minutes and then compliment them on one strength you notice, Minkel says: “Be specific. Point out the way the reader made an insightful connection, reread a part that confused her, or changed her voice when the grumpy duck was talking.”

Full Answer

How do I prepare for a reading conference?

Together set a new reading goal or continue with the same one. Help the student articulate what he/she will need to do, in order to reach the goal. If a new text is selected for the next session, discuss with the student what this text will be and if necessary, guide the process of selection. Before the reading conference the teacher can plan by:

What is a Reading Conference and what is it for?

Generally speaking, a reading conference is about 5 minutes long, involves the teacher and one student, and is designed to target students’ individual needs. In a reading conference, the basis for the discussion / instruction is a book that the CHILD has selected to read.

How long do guided reading groups and conferences take?

In the beginning, your conferences will take a little longer than usual, but once you and your students get used to them, you will have them fine tuned to less than 5 minutes. Once guided reading groups start, I have my students bring their independent reading books to the guided reading table.

How do I use conferencing with my students?

As mentioned before, conferencing can occur with one student, pairs of students, or groups of students. This is dependent on what skills are needed and what lessons will be taught during the conferences. I recommend when conferencing, you bring around a binder with the tabs with each student’s name.

How does a reading course work?

A reading course is a specially designed course not normally offered as part of the curriculum that is arranged between a student and a faculty member. The course is run as a tutorial and counts as a regular course. It may count as a departmental in your concentration but may not satisfy distribution requirements.

What is a college reading course?

This introductory course develops students' ability to apply, monitor and adjust a variety of reading strategies for increased comprehension and metacognitive awareness. The focus of this course is to develop the reading competencies necessary for success in college level courses.

What is a reading course UWO?

A reading course is one in which the student will meet an instructor regularly (a minimum of twenty-five hours is required for a full course and thirteen hours for a half-course) to discuss his or her progress in following a prescribed reading list.

What is course content?

Any informational material that is required for participation or understanding content such as assigned readings, video recordings, exams, and any other material needed for learning.

Is college reading class hard?

The level of out-of-class reading required in college can be pretty intense. If you're new to college, your reading load is likely significantly higher than what you experienced in high school; if you're a senior in college, the level seems to go up each year.

Is reading a core class?

A mandatory curriculum based on grade level standards used to guide instruction for all students is an important part of reading as a core class.

What is a direct reading course?

A directed readings course is essentially a one-on-one independent study at the graduate level, which the student arranges individually with a professor if the topic is not already covered in regularly offered courses.

How do you structure a course?

The course structure refers to the choice of topics and the organization and sequencing of course content. Remember that the choice of topics and their organization should always support the learning objectives for the course.

How do you plan a course?

To design an effective course, you need to:Consider timing and logistics.Recognize who your students are.Identify the situational constraints.Articulate your learning objectives.Identify potential assessments.Identify appropriate instructional strategies.Plan your course content and schedule.

How do you create a course?

How to create an online courseChoose the right subject matter.Test your idea.Research the topic extensively.Write a course outline.Create the course content.Bring your course online.Sell your online course.Market your content.More items...•

This is another free resource for teachers from The Curriculum Corner

Use this reading conference guide as you are building your confidence during conferencing.

How Will This Reading Conference Guide Help?

As a new teacher or a teacher first diving into a workshop approach, conducting meaningful reading conferences can take practice.

What Should Your Conferences Look Like?

Conferencing with students is a key part of reading workshop. This is the time for you to see how each student is growing and where they need support.

Creating Your Conference Guide

This reading conference guide is designed to be made into an easy to carry flip chart.

Preparing Your Reading Workshop

You will find planning materials, units of study, graphic organizers & more!

What is a teacher's guide to reading conferences?

It is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to up their teaching and learning game during independent reading time. The entire book is dedicated to helping teachers have quality conferences with readers.

How to move students closer to their goals?

The way to move students closer to their goals, says Serravallo, is to teach students skills and strategies during coaching conferences, research-compliment-teach conferences, or small or whole group strategy lessons that are later followed up with individual readers.

What is chapter 2 of the book?

Chapter two helps teachers use “assessment conferences” to determine what goals and accompanying skills and strategies a student needs to move forward. She also offers tips for when the teacher hasn’t read the book a given student is reading. This is important, as it is another frequent concern that teachers share.

What is a reading conference?

Reading conferences. A reading conference is a scheduled discussion between a teacher and a student, which draws upon the principles of dialogic teaching. The focus of the discussion is based around a text independently selected by the student. Texts are sourced from a range of 'just right' books which have been tailored to ...

Why is a reading conference important?

The reading conference provides the teacher the opportunity to model the language of goal setting, and through careful questioning to illuminate the aspects of reading a student has accomplished and is yet to accomplish. It is important that students leave the reading conference knowing:

What is a running record?

A running record can be taken. The teacher gives individualised explicit feedback about the reading or what the student says/understands. Together the teacher and student decide if the goal has been met. Together set a new reading goal or continue with the same one.

What is a teacher meeting?

The teacher and student meet. The student shares the goal and their learning related to the text, through a dialogic interaction. The teacher may use prompts to focus the discussion. The student usually reads a section of the text aloud.

How often do teachers meet for reading conferences?

Realistically, teachers conference most students once a month, meeting more regularly with students who have specific reading needs.

What is the role of the reader in the process of reading?

The role of the reader in the process of reading is acknowledged in the vast academic literature about reading. The meaning making that occurs depends upon the purpose for reading the text. Through reading conferences, teachers can help students articulate the purpose of their reading and guide them in constructing their own meanings.#N##N#The reader brings past experiences, linguistic knowledge, memories and values to the text, which help connect the reader to the text. It is then the role of the teacher to help students realise these connections and explore them to deepen their understanding of their reading. Rosenblatt (1982) states that "after the reading our initial function is to deepen the understanding…we should help the young reader return to, relive, and savour the experience" (p. 275). The reading conference provides the scope and means for a teacher to help students connect to their reading.

What is a reader response book?

The reader's response book/notebook acts as a collection of thoughts, responses, ideas and connections that a student has had whilst reading.

Why one-on-one reading conferences?

When I first began teaching, I didn’t make time for one-on-one reading conferences.

Standard Conferences

In a “standard” conference, I follow the observe-compliment-teach routine. This is not something I made up; many teachers use this method, and I believe I first learned about it in Jennifer Serravallo and Gravity Goldberg’s 2007 book Conferring with Readers.

Check-Back Conferences

A check-back conference is slightly different and does not follow this observe-compliment-teach routine. In a check-back conference, I’m touching base with a student to see if she has been using a strategy I taught previously.

Extended Conferences

An extended conference is….just what it sounds like. 🙂 A longer conference!

Welcome!

I’m Alison, a literacy specialist. I love getting kids excited about reading and writing – and sharing teaching ideas with other teachers!

Why is a conferencing session important?

There are many benefits to conferencing with students: Conferences provide individualized instruction for each student. Conferences can provide insight into what the student is doing while reading and writing. Conferences can help the teacher investigate student knowledge. Conferencing can help assess the student .

How many students can be in a conferencing?

Conferencing can be organized in many ways. As mentioned before, conferencing can occur with one student, pairs of students, or groups of students. This is dependent on what skills are needed and what lessons will be taught during the conferences.

When should I confer with students?

It is recommended that conferencing with students or a group of students occur in the middle of the workshop; that is, during the independent practice part of reading and writing.

Why is research important in writing?

Research is one of the most important aspects of the reading and writing conferences. This is the time when you are learning about what the student is already doing and what skills he or she has. You can then take these skills and determine what he or she needs support.

The Logistics of Conferencing

Although the idea of talking about books with students is appealing—honestly, it’s one of the main reasons I became an English teacher—the first thing I had to tackle were the logistics of the conferences.

Keeping Track of Conversations

To keep track of conferences, I keep a binder with dividers for each class and a note sheet for each student where I record the details of our conversations for future reference.

Assessing Choice Reading

Real-life readers don’t get scored for reading for pleasure, but I do want to encourage students to find books they enjoy and to give them a way to keep track of their own reading progress, so I created a simple sheet for them to record the books they finish, along with their thoughts about what they read.

The Results of My Choice Reading Experiment

When I began this experiment, I was concerned that, without the accountability of points entered in the grade book, my students would not be motivated to read. My fear, however, was proven beautifully unfounded.