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Literacy Unleashed

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#11 Why Confer?

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Conferring
Conferring

The "What" and the "Why" of Conferring

We all know and value the importance of all children reading self-selected books for up to 30 minutes every day in a balanced literacy classroom. Independent reading provides the time for students to internalize, through practice and reflection, the learning from whole group and small group classroom experiences. Independent reading also empowers readers. Readers choose what they read and set their purposes for reading. They develop their interests and their reading repertoire. However, independent reading is incomplete if the teacher is not conferring with each child about their reading every week.

The "what" of conferring

Conferring is a regularly scheduled time devoted to meeting one-on-one with each reader to discuss the texts they have chosen and are reading from their book bins. Every text that they have selected tells part of their story. We learn about their interests, their understanding of their own reading abilities, their ability to take risks as readers if interest is high: conferring tells us about who they are as readers and as people.

Effective conferring sessions are:

  • Regular: at least once a week
  • Short: about 5-7 minutes
  • Focused: teachers have identified and clearly communicated the purpose for the session
  • Student Led: teachers use prompts and guiding questions to learn about the student as a reader, learner, and thinker
  • Data Rich: teachers make notes about what they learn about each reader to use for reflection and planning

Conferring requires consistency and dedication. Teachers constantly work to use their instructional time wisely. Strong literacy teachers know the importance of devoting at least 90 minutes every week to conferring because of the richness of the experience for both teacher and reader and the valuable data it provides.

“Conferring is critical to student learning because it provides feedback in an authentic context. It is in the moment. Students want to know that we care about them, not only as learners, but as readers.” (Patrick Allen, 2012)

The "why" of conferring

Conferring is the culmination of the reading process. By engaging with students in rich conversations about their reading, we can shepherd developing readers and writers and provide an authentic context for ongoing assessment and response. Daily reading motivates students and develops their love of reading. Conferring with readers about their choices adds an important layer. When we take time to sit one-on-one with children and ask them about what they are reading, we are placing great value on the process. We show them that this work is important enough for the teacher to learn about what they are doing and why. We engage in a conversation as a fellow reader, a learning partner, who is truly interested in their choices and thinking, asking questions to learn more than what books they are reading. We want to know how that book changed their thinking and their understanding. We want to know them! Reading isn’t just something we do in school, it is part of who we are as learners.

RESOURCES

Allen, P. (2012). Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop. New York, NY: Stenhouse.

Boushey, G., & Moser, J. The cafe book: Engaging all students in daily literacy assessment and instruction. New York, NY: Stenhouse.

Fountas, I., & Pinnell, G. (2001). Guiding readers and writers (3-6): Teaching, comprehension, genre and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

This article is #11 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”

#9 Rituals and Routines

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Rituals and Routines

“Classroom rituals are repeated activities that students learn to expect as part of their time in the classroom. These activities may be routine and occur daily at an expected time, or they could be used for specific occasions such as when students need to be quieter.” (Andrew, 2009)

Classroom Rules

Rituals and routines are important in a classroom (Deal and Peterson, 2009; Marzano, Marzano & Pickering, 2003). Rituals and routines refer to all the planning, discussions and agreements between the teacher and students related to classroom management, organization and expectations.

Setting up rituals and routines for literacy

  • Creates an environment of trust and consistency necessary to promote independence
  • Actively involves students in their own learning
  • Can reduce anxiety and subjective decisions or responses made by students and teachers
  • Frees the brain to concentrate on learning rather than trying to figure out expectations
  • Allows children to develop their ability to collaborate and interact in social situations, control impulses and plan their actions
  • Provides opportunities for community building
Read-to-self I chart
You can find a large, downloadable version of this chart at Flipping for First Grade

“In my opinion, three primary pillars support effective classroom management: clear rituals and routines, adequate student motivation, and effective classroom organization.” (Chad Manis, 2015)

What is the difference between rules and rituals and routines?

Rituals and routines are more flexible than rules and can be modified as students become more independent (McLeod et al., 2003). They are specific, agreed-upon ways of doing things throughout the classroom. The teacher works with the students to develop rituals and routines. Rituals and routines are modeled and practiced before becoming part of the fabric of the classroom culture. Classrooms need a variety of rituals and routines to be efficient. General classroom routines include morning meeting, attendance and lunch, safety drills, etc.

Rituals and routines to support the literacy classroom:

  • Classroom management structure will support student self-management
  • How to use the classroom library effectively
  • Strategies to Support Whole Group Instruction
  • Strategies to Support Small Group Processes
  • Strategies to Support Independent Reading, Writing and Application of Learning

RESOURCES

Boushey & Moser (2014) The Daily Five. 2nd Edition. Stenhouse

Wedwick, L., & Wutz, J.A (2008). Bookmatch: How to scaffold student book selection for independent reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Wedwick, L., & Wutz, J.A. (2006). Thinking outside the book box: Using Bookmatch to develop independent book selection. Voices from the Middle, 14 (1), 20–29.

Video Clip: The Two Sisters Discuss Good Fit Books

Video Clip: How to Choose a Good Fit Book

This article is #9 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”

#6 Student Self-Selection Strategies

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Self Selection

Our classroom libraries are the heart of our literacy classroom. We need to select a wide variety of texts and organize them so that students can use strategies to select appropriate texts for their book bins. These texts are the tools for reading up to thirty minutes every day. Students choose a variety of texts for their book bins based on their interests and to practice their learning. Self-selection is an important part of shifting the ownership of literacy learning from the teacher to the student.

Selecting one’s own books and reading them in school is not a luxury. It is the wellspring of student literacy and literary appreciation. (Stairs & Burgos, 2010)

Appropriate Texts

What texts are appropriate for independent reading?

A text is a good fit or “just right” if:

  • The student self selected it based on interest, motivation, and ability
  • It meets their purpose for reading
  • It is within their reading level
  • It is within the range of their independent to challenge level IF there is prior knowledge and interest to persevere
  • The majority of words and concepts can be read or analyze successfully
  • Provides opportunity to practice skills and strategies to make meaning and comprehend
self selection

The common terms used in most classrooms are “just right” or “good fit” books. What makes a book just right or a good fit for independent reading? For years, we ensured that students were reading texts at their independent level, texts they could read and comprehend easily and on their own, during independent reading time. New research, along with the rigor of the common core, advises broadening that thinking. Students need to know their reading range: their independent or comfortable level, their instructional level that requires a little bit of grappling and application of strategic thinking, and their challenge level. Students need to consider more than the level of the text when deciding their personal reading range. They need to reflect on what makes the text hard. Are they interested in the book enough to be motivated to read a little slower and more carefully in order to understand all of the content? At what point do they feel frustrated and want to give up when they read? These are all questions to discuss with students when teachers confer.

Self-Selection Strategies

What strategies help students choose wisely?

The good old “5 finger” or Goldilocks rule works for emergent and early readers whose text is short, but it is not robust enough for students reading chapter books and novels. It also doesn’t provide enough criteria for informational text selection.

Daily 5 I Pick

The Daily 5 offers a great strategy for many readers called “I PICK.” Students learn to consider their purpose for reading, their knowledge of the topic, the level of comprehension and understanding they have for the book, and their knowledge of the vocabulary they encounter while reviewing the book.

For high-end readers, BOOKMATCH offers comprehensive consideration of text length, complexity, organization, prior and background knowledge needs, genre and text structure. It is important that students know their reading level range and have a strategy and process to think through their selections. Whatever strategy you choose to use in your classroom, be sure to explicitly teach and model its use and post the strategy in your classroom library area.

Find out more about the Daily 5: buy the book!

RESOURCES

Boushey & Moser (2014) The Daily Five. 2nd Edition. Stenhouse

Wedwick, L., & Wutz, J.A (2008). Bookmatch: How to scaffold student book selection for independent reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Wedwick, L., & Wutz, J.A. (2006). Thinking outside the book box: Using Bookmatch to develop independent book selection. Voices from the Middle, 14 (1), 20–29.

Video Clip: The Two Sisters Discuss Good Fit Books

Video Clip: How to Choose a Good Fit Book

This article is #6 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”