Reading Conferences



A reading conference is a scheduled discussion between a teacher and student.

It provides the most useful insights into an individual students’ reading habits, interests, processes and strategies (Snowball & Bolton). They are also cyclical conversations where guided and directed instruction takes place with a ‘just right’ text independently chosen by the student.

As teachers head into another school year, reading conferences are the perfect opportunity to build relationships with students and set individual goals for reading.

When do they occur?

An individual reading conference typically occurs during the independent practice stage of the Reader’s Workshop model, but can also be conducted whenever students are reading. In fact, conferring with students across all areas of the curriculum will provide the most in-depth information about students’ strengths and needs as a reader (Snowball & Bolton).

How often do they occur?

There are no hard and fast rules about how many conferences a teacher must do with each student in the classroom. Teachers need to know their students as readers, so conducting individual conferences on a regular basis key. According to the Literacy Toolkit, teachers may realistically conference most students once a month, meeting more regularly with students who have specific reading needs.

 The reading conference affords the benefits of assistance with text selection, micro scaffolding of reading strategies and guidance with goal setting (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001), it also opens up the conversation for dialogic teaching. They are an essential part of the Reader’s Workshop and have the power to elevate students as readers and inform teaching instruction.

References

Reading Conferences: Assessment for Teaching and Learning: Diane Snowball & Faye Bolton

Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann. 

Department of Education and Training. (2019). Literacy teaching toolkit.

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