Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Conferencing
I do not have an exact issue picked for my project but I know that I want it to be in the area of reading and possibly technology combined with that. I found this article about reading/writing conferences and a few things stuck out to me. In the pictures you will notice that the teacher and students look very relaxed. Some are on a couch, some on the floor and it just looks like a cozy place to be. I like all of that. The next thing that stuck out to me was that this teacher has found a manageable way to meet with her students weekly to discuss their reading and writing. This is an area that I would like to work on improving in my classroom. I'm not sure my classroom would look quite the same but I think that I can take some of the aspects of her plan and apply it to first grade students. How often do you conference with students about their reading or writing? Is this something teachers should do more or less? What are your thoughts?
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What stand out to me is not the topic per se but as you noticed the relaxed engaged atmosphere. The teachers and students sitting together in a relaxed group engaged in something as collaborators requires a bigger transformation than many people would think. Getting out of the rows, off the rigid time schedules...well Jenny, you know this stuff, its what weve been talking about. So I would say its not so much that you need to implement reading conferences but you need to find a variety of ways to make your classroom look and feel like the one in the picture!
ReplyDeleteGreat article, Jenny! I'm not sure what the "Daily 5" would look like in first grade, but it's what I implemented in 4th. I LOVE it and my students do too! We do Daily 5 during our Guided Reading time and students have many choices for reading, writing, and word work. They love it because they have choices, and they get to sit anywhere they'd like. It's a very casual, relaxed setting. They can even lay on the floor. I think I'm over what other adults think of me when they walk into my room and see my students sprawled everywhere. It's crazy to see them get excited about reading and writing projects independently! I also do conferences during this time to discuss ideas for their writing, but I'm not as intentional as the teacher in the article. I give them the choice to visit me for help and even the reluctant ones pay me a visit for input. I enjoy conferencing with my students just to listen to their excitement as they share their projects, and to offer help when needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark and Tiffany for your thoughts. It's always nice to hear thoughts from others about ideas.
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