Uretsky CACD Tufts University, 2008 1 Conferring with Readers Part 1 Marcia Uretsky CACD, Tufts University July, 2008

Uretsky CACD Tufts University, 2008 1

Conferring with Readers Part 1

Marcia Uretsky

CACD, Tufts University

July, 2008


Workshop Goals- Day 1 Overview of Reading Conferences

Finding Patterns in Conferences to Organize Small Group Instruction and Focus Lessons

Typical Conference Structure

Conference Language

Ways to Organize Conference Notes


Workshop Goals- Day 2

Dual Roles of Reading ConferencesReading SurgerySupport Focus Lessons

Language to Support Comprehension Conferences to Help Students Select “Just

Right” Books Small Groups Based on Conference Notes


Focus Lesson -Interactive Read Aloud(Whole Class) -Shared Reading

Read and Confer -Independent Reading(Individual and -Small Group ReadingSmall Group)

Group Share/ -Share

Wrap-up -Reinforce(Whole Class) -Celebrate

-Discuss

The Architecture of Readers’ Workshop


What Is an Independent Reading Conference?

teacher works one-on-one with a student to teach the reader what s/he needs to learn

about reading. The teacher assesses (researches) what the

student needs to learn, decides what to teach the student and then teaches the reader.

Some people think of an Independent Reading conference as a “private lesson.”


Dual Role of Reading Conferences

Reading Surgery Teach the reader, not the text

Support Curriculum Coach student to apply strategy taught in

Focus Lesson


What is essential?

Conversational tone Consistency Motivation- develop identity as a reader Research, Decide, Teach (RDT,R) and

record

Teach the reader, not the book


Conference goals for the teacher:

To coach the student to think actively To assess what the student knows and

needs to learn To teach the reader To motivate the student to read more and

to apply the strategies taught


Conference goals for the student:

To apply reading strategies. To develop metacognitive skills To talk about books in a variety of

ways, (e.g. author’s craft, character development, preferences).


Four Part Conference Structure Research

What does the student know? What does the student need to learn?

Decide Select 1-2 things the student is ready to learn next.

Teach Explain and model the strategy

And Record Record what you taught and expect student to

practice for follow-up at next conference.


Research, Decide, Teach and record

Date/Title/Level What does the student know?

What does the student need to

learn?

How can I teach this?

Jackal’s Flying Lesson

Reads well.

Retells and comprehends well.bbb

Read with question in mind

model


Time for Reading Surgery

Four domains for conferring:

Decoding Comprehension Fluency Motivation


Conferring With Early Readers

Early readers have an independent/instructional level between Level A and Level F. (Gr. K-1)

Early readers:

•rely heavily on picture cues

• rely on pattern

• developing high frequency words


Starting a book.

What does the student know about self as a reader?

Tell me how you chose this book. Have you read any ____ books before? How do you know this is a “just right” book? What kinds of books do you like to read? What do you do before you read a book?


Middle of a book.

Is the student actively engaged and applying strategies as needed?

Read a bit of the story to me. Do a quick running record to analyze strategy use. What is happening in the story so far? What do you think might happen next? Tell me about the characters.


End of the book.

Is the student thinking beyond the text?

What do you think about the story? What was your favorite part? Why? Did you make any connections to the story? Retell what happened in the story. What strategies did you use as a reader? What was your favorite part of the story? What will you read next?


Prompting for Strategy Use With Early Readers

Cueing systems readers use Prompt across cueing systems to develop

cross-checking independence Phonics is important, however, an over-

reliance handicaps students to be “glued to print.”


MeaningSemantics

StructureSyntax

VisualPhonics

Does it make sense?

Does it look right?

Does it sound right?

Cueing Systems Readers Use

Adapted from: Marie Clay (1991).


PAUSE, PROMPT, PRAISEResponding to Oral Reading Difficulties

Produces a word that

makes sense, but isn’t the

printed word.

Stops, does not attempt word.

Produces a word that

doesn’t make sense.

PA

USE

FO

R 5 SE

CO

ND

S

SPONTANEOUS SELF-CORRECTION

PROMPTBY

TEACHER

PR

AIS

E SU

CC

ES

SFU

L ST

RA

TE

GY

US

E

Does that make sense?

Does that sound right? Can we say it that way?Does that sound like book language?

Does that look like _____ ?Do the letters match?

Something wasn’t quite right. Try that again.

Allington, 1999


Prompt in at least two cueing systems to develop cross-checking

Student Teacher Prompt

The green frog is in the pond.

The green toad in the pond.

The girl toad is in the pond.

The green tǒăd is in the pond.

The toad is green.

Text: The green toad is in the pond.


Role Playing To Prompt Early Readers

Partner work: One partner reads text as student. Second partner prompts with at least two

cues to develop strategy use and cross-checking.


Discussion of Role Playing

What cues do you find yourself relying on? What patterns did you notice the “student”

doing? What prompts did you use to help the

student broaden their strategy use? What would be the follow-up teaching?


Research, Decide, Teach and record

Date/Title/Level What does the student know?

What does the student need to

learn?


10/17 Dan the Flying Man (C)

How to look at the first letter and the picture.

Find parts in words – an, at.

Magnetic letters- make and break.Find words in text with -an & -at

10/22 Tracks (C) Enjoying books – Reading for meaning.Still relying on first letter cue.. Used parts when prompted.

More work on parts of words – and, it, is. Is student looking at the last letter?

More practice with books so students can practice using parts in words.

10/24 At the Ball Park (D)

Reading for meaning.Used parts of words independently.

Make sure she is rereading so that she gets the flow of the text.

Strategy group on how to reread when you have stopped to figure out an unfamiliar word.


Conferring with Transitional Readers

Transitional Readers have an instructional reading levels J-M. (Gr. 1-2)

Transitional readers are beginning to integrate cueing systems. Developing understanding of plot, characters, simple literary elements.


Starting a book.

What does the student know about self as a reader?

Tell me how you chose this book. Have you read any other books by this author, series? How do you know this is a “just right” book? What kinds of books and topics do you like to read? What do you do before you read a book?


Middle of a book. Is the student engaged in purposeful reading?

Is the student monitoring for meaning and using a variety of strategies?

How did you get back into the story from yesterday? What is happening in the story now? Earlier? Tell me about the character. Did the character change? Take me to that part of the story. Was there a part of the story that was confusing? What

did you do to help yourself as a reader?


End of the book.

Is the student thinking beyond the text?

What do you think about the book? Was it what you expected? Did you want it to be

different? Did you make any connections? What did you learn about yourself as a reader? Would you recommend this book? To whom? What do you plan to read next? What goals do you have for yourself as a reader?


Prompting to Develop Balanced Reading.

Text: Magic Tree HouseTeacher Inquiry

Student Response

Probable Problem

Teacher Prompt

Tell me how you chose this book.

Points to cover. “I like dinosaurs and chapter books.”

Read a bit of the story to me.

Tell me about the characters.

Student scans picture. “There is a boy and he is Nate. There is a cat and a girl.”


Prompt to develop balanced reading. Text: Magic Tree House

Teacher Inquiry

Student Response

Probable Problem

Teacher Prompt



How do you et back into the story from yesterday.

“I go to my bookmark so I know where I left off.”

What goals do you have for yourself as a reader?

“I want to read harder chapter books.”


Sample Reading Conference Notes: Student: Thomas

Date/Book Title/LevelWhat does the student know?

What does the student need to learn?


1/17 Zach Files (L) Knows someone is speaking not always sure who.

Follow dialogue through sensory images and inferring.

Short text full of dialogue without references after characters are introduced initially.Who's talking?

1/22 Stopping only sometimes to decode unknown words.Is keeping pretty good track of details.

Wonder when you don't get something.Stop when meaning is unclear and question.

Think aloud using short text- model stop and think-Say huh?

1/24 Excited to finish.Eagerly takes out book.Stopped at "individual" got the meaning.Chunked .in • di •vid "oh individual!"laughs at appropriate spots.

Choppy.Notice end marks vs. question mark vs. !

Monologues: ( a short text that holds its own) poetry.

1/25 Time for Kids

Predicts when asked. How to use non-fiction features to help set him up to read-Read with expression.

Use a nonfiction article or section of a book and have students generate text features they notice.


Conferring tips…


#1. Talk about what you see the student doing at the moment.

I see you are laughing. What’s so funny?

I see you have lots of sticky notes in your book. What are you writing?

I see you’re reading the back of the book. Tell me about that--what kind of information does it give you?

I see you have selected many nonfiction text. What do you like about nonfiction?


#2. Talk about what you worked on last conference.

Last time we met, we talked about finding “just right” books. Share with me the books you selected. How do you know they are “just right?”

Last time we met, we worked on reading fluently and paying attention to the punctuation marks. Read this part aloud so I can hear how you’re doing…

Last time we worked on what you can do when you come to a word you don’t know. What can you do to figure out that word?


#3 Talk about that day’s focus lesson topic or the current unit of study. In the focus lesson we practiced creating sensory

images. Show me a place in the book where you could create a strong image.

We are learning about nonfiction. How do you read this page? What part do you read first?

We have been practicing retelling. Retell what you have read so far in the book.


#4 Ask 1 or more open-ended questions

How’s your reading going?

Tell me about this book…what’s it about? What’s happening so far in the story?

Tell me about the character in the story?

Why did you select this book?

Can I help you with anything in your reading?


#5 Try an over-the-shoulder read.I want you to silently read the rest of this page, and I’m going

to sit here beside you and read it silently to myself. When you’re done, let’s talk about what you’re thinking.

Things to Notice• Silent Reading Rate—How long does it take for

the student to finish reading that section silently?• Comprehension—Does the student understand

the selection? What strategies does the student use?

• Oral Reading (optional)--# of errors, fluency & phrasing


Take Away Messages

1. Reading Conferences follow a Research, Decide, Teach, and Record format.

2. Four domains of reading: decoding, comprehension, fluency, and motivation.

3. Teach the reader not the book.

4. Conferences involve active teaching and follow-up.

5. Recording conference points helps students take responsibility and an active role in growing as a reader.

6. A reading conference is “reading surgery.”

7. As teachers we grow in our ability to confer. We start with a handful of strategies. Over time we develop a basketful.

Documents

Uretsky CACD Tufts University, 2008 1 Conferring with Readers Part 1 Marcia Uretsky CACD, Tufts University July, 2008