Leila's Reflection (Ch. 4)

What I learned from reading about chapter four is that reading conferences allow you to learn about the students. You can find out which students need to be reading a variety of genres or what kind of cueing system the students are using. From my running records with fourth grade students, when they come across to an unfamiliar word then they would sound it out. Therefore, you know who is reading fine and who needs a little more help with reading without embrassing them in front of the class. Then you can direct you attention to those students who needs help reading.

These reading conferences does not run by themselves. You need to initiate it in the classroom. Make time in the morning to go around and do a couple here and there. That is what I do in my field placement. I hold off correcting papers to do my running records. You can always correct paper another time in the day but you only have that moment to hear the students read. I go around telling them that I just want to listen to the story they are reading. Casual. Don't make it so that the students feel likes they are being tested on their reading because that isn't the point of running records. After I heard them read, I write down a little note about what I observe about the students' reading on each of their record sheets. For example, are they able to self-corrected themselves? But I don't share these notes with my students. That is what I am guilty of. Sharon's shared in this reading that we should write notes to our students based on how they are doing or what they need to practice next time. From these notes, the students will start to initiate reading conferences with you. I'm going to try this technique with my students and I hope you do to (if you are not doing so right now).