Reading Workshop
Session 4: Independent Reading
What is an Independent Reading
Conference?
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Teacher works one-on-one with a student
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Teacher may do a table conference
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The teacher assesses (researches) what the student needs to learn, decides what to remind, reinforce, or re-teach then teaches the reader.
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Mentor Text
What Is Essential?
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Conversational tone
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Consistency
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Motivation- develop identity as a reader
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Research, Decide, Teach (RDT,R) and record
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Teach the reader, not the book
If you know your standards…..
AND
You know your readers……
THEN
You will be successful at researching to identify a teaching point!!!
What are the Goals of the Reading Conference?
Conference Goals for the Teacher
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To coach the student to think actively
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To assess what the student knows and needs to learn
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To teach the reader
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To motivate the student to read more and to apply the strategies taught
Conference Goals for the Reader
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To apply reading strategies
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To develop meta-cognitive skills
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To talk about books in a variety of ways, (e.g. author’s craft, character development, preferences).
Four Part Conference Structure
Research
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What does the student know?
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What does the student need to learn?
Decide
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Select 1-2 things the student is ready to learn next.
Teach
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Explain and model the strategy
Record
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Record what you taught and expect student to practice for follow-up at next conference.
Four Domains for Conferring in Reading
Four Domains for Conferring in Reading
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Engagement
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Decoding
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Comprehension
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Fluency
1. Talk about what you see the reader doing at the moment
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I see you are laughing. What’s so funny?
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I see you have lots of sticky notes in your book. What are you writing?
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I see you’re reading the back of the book. Tell me about that--what kind of information does it give you?
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I see you have selected many nonfiction text. What do you like about nonfiction?
2. Talk about what you worked on last conference
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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?”
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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…
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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. Ask 1 or more open-ended questions
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How’s your reading going?
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Tell me about this book…what’s it about? What’s happening so far in the story?
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Tell me about the character in the story?
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Why did you select this book?
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Can I help you with anything in your reading?
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Share one of your thinking notes with me?
Take Away Messages
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Reading Conferences follow a Research, Decide, Teach, and Record format.
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Four domains of reading: decoding, comprehension, fluency, and motivation.
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Teach the reader not the book.
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Conferences involve active teaching and follow-up.
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Recording conference points helps students take responsibility and an active role in growing as a reader.
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A reading conference is “reading surgery.”
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As teachers we grow in our ability to confer. We start with a handful of strategies. Over time we develop a basketful.