Make the most of your independent reading time and set your students up for success with short yet meaningful reading conferences.
A reading conference is a brief, one-on-one meeting between a teacher and student that serves as a personalized check-in. This type of conference focuses on the student’s individual reading habits and skills.
These conferences offer a unique opportunity for teachers to gain insight into a student’s reading interests, choices, and challenges, allowing for more targeted support. They are designed to be relaxed and conversational, creating a comfortable space for students to express their thoughts about their reading in a low-pressure setting.
Teachers can discuss progress during these conferences and offer tailored guidance, encouraging students to think critically about their reading. Conferences also provide the chance to reinforce reading strategies, help students set goals, and foster a love of reading by connecting students with books that suit their interests and skill levels.
Let’s look at the steps for organizing these short yet meaningful reading conferences.
Conducting Short Yet Meaningful Reading Conferences
I’ve narrowed it down to five steps for planning and conducting effective conferences. With these steps, you can make the most of each conference, creating valuable, individualized reading experiences for your students.
Step 1: Decide when and where you will conduct conferences.
You can pull students to conference during sustained silent reading time, independent work time, choice board time, center time, etc… If possible, set up an area away from other students to ensure privacy. It is important to choose a frequency for meeting that is realistic: once per week, once every other week, or even once per month if that is all you can do.
I like to conference with students during independent reading time at my round table in the back of our classroom. I keep conferences short (2-3 minutes each) and try to see each student once per week. Later in the school year, I might see them once every two weeks. Read more about how I set students up for success with sustained silent reading.
Step 2: Decide how you will schedule and keep track of conferences.
You can pull students to conference by alphabetical order, by student request, or according to need. You can also switch between them at any time based on what is best for you and your students. Keep track of who you’ve met with on paper (roster sheets, calendar pages, etc…) or a digital spreadsheet.
At the beginning of the school year, I like to pull students according to who I think is in need of a conference the most. Then, I move to alphabetical order later in the year. I print my class roster sheets and jot down the dates I’ve conferenced with each student. I prefer to track students on roster sheets because I can attach them to a clipboard and scan them within seconds.
Step 3: Decide how you will document conferences and what you will discuss.
Document what occurs during your reading conferences on paper or digital forms. Decide if you want to document each student’s conferences individually on their own detailed sheet so you can view what was discussed over time or if you want to document more general comments for the whole class on one sheet to get an overview of everyone at a glance.
It can be difficult to know what to focus on during reading conferences. To help you frame questions and topics for discussion, I’ve listed some of the purposes for reading conferences below. Some of the ways you can use them are to:
- monitor a student’s book choices and other reading habits
- monitor a student’s reading strategies and skills
- teach students how to monitor and reflect on their own reading habits and skills
- encourage students to choose from a variety of genres, authors, and topics
- discuss the content of what students are reading and their opinions about it
- model and reinforce academic concepts and vocabulary (see freebie above)
- provide opportunities for students to ask questions and share any challenges they are having
- problem-solve with the student and determine if additional support is needed
- build rapport with students
I like to keep it casual and have as natural a conversation as possible, which I think helps make for more meaningful reading conferences. I’ve found that students are more comfortable and willing to open up when they are conducted this way. I document what was discussed on individual pages for each student so I can see what was discussed over time. (I just use regular paper and keep a running list of notes- nothing special.)
Step 4: Decide what students will bring to their conferences.
To ensure meaningful reading conferences, have students bring their current independent reading book and whatever tools they are using to track their reading habits. These tools could include charts, graphs, journals, etc… Have students use the tools to analyze and reflect on their reading habits.
I like to have my students use the tools below to set reading goals and track their progress. We also use them during our conferences to discuss reading habits, which helps students take the lead. These forms and certificates are part of my 40 Book Challenge resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Step 5: Conduct conferences and document what occurs.
My advice is to keep the process simple for you and your students. If things are too complicated, neither you nor your students will enjoy or follow through with the process. Keep things positive so students look forward to meeting with you. You’ll be amazed by how much meaningful reading conferences help build rapport with your students.
To keep my conference materials (roster sheets and notes) organized, I color-code my classes and use colored clipboards. I also set the timer on my phone for each conference so I don’t take too much time with students. I record notes during the meetings so I don’t have to take time away from planning or grading.
Make the most of your students’ independent reading time with these steps to plan and conduct short yet meaningful reading conferences. Try them out and help set a solid foundation for your students’ growth as independent readers.
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