After attending a PD workshop last week on balanced literacy, I was inspired! I was particularly motivated by a session about conferring with readers (and writers). It was based on this book, which – by the way – is easy to read and fabulous!
After attending the session, I realized I needed to get organized and make a binder to hold all of my materials and records for my student conferences. I had to make my conferring binder match my planner binder, OBVIOUSLY.
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| Binder covers are by A Modern Teacher! |
The first thing I have inside is the “Matching Books and Readers” document by TCRWP. Since I’ve seen Lucy Calkins speak in a workshop before, every time I read this document, I hear it in her voice. It explains in depth what students are expected to be able to do at each guided reading level (Fountas and Pinnell).
Next I have numbered dividers for each student.
For each student, I have a strategy checklist that I created. It is essentially a simplified version of the very long “Matching Books to Readers” document. Who has time to read through all of that during a quick student conference – or ever??
You can grab the checklist here in my TPT store. It’s a best-seller, as so many teachers find it super-helpful.
Next a have a simple log to keep track of conferences. The goal is to reach each student at least once a week through individual or group conferences.
You can grab the conference log here for free!
Last, I have a Sharpie and some sticky notes in the front pocket. A teacher should leave a “strategy card” with the student to help the child keep in mind what he or she was taught in the conference. You can read more about strategy cards here.
What else does my conferring binder need??
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