Three Core Lesson Planning Components to Make Conferring with Students Easier.
Ever feel like your weekend is basically one extended lesson planning session? Lesson planning is definitely NOT my most favorite part of teaching. When I was a classroom teacher, I was tired of spending my weekends typing away on my computer trying to plan for 1-on-1 conferences and small groups the next week.
I had to think about who I was going to be meeting with each day. Keep track of how many times I was meeting with each student to make sure I was touching all of them.
What skills do my students need now? What strategies will help them get there the fastest?
Do I need to demonstrate how to do it and if so… HOW?
What strategy card or post-it note can I give my students to take back to independent work time so they don’t forget what I just taught them.
Oh my goodness! The to-do list for planning conferences and small groups can feel like it goes on and on and on. If you feel this way, let’s put an end to the lesson planning stress when conferring with students.
But Conferring All-Star Teachers™ use a 3-STEP approach when they begin to plan for 1-on-1 conferences and small groups with students. I even have a FREE lesson plan components pdf template that you can have in my Conferring with Readers & Writers Like a Pro guide. All you have to do is click the link above, download the guide for FREE, and the lesson planning template is yours!
In Coaching Conferences and Strategy Groups, come prepared with the strategy you are going to teach.
If you are doing coaching conferences & strategy groups; you will need to come prepared with the strategy you are going to teach or reteach. This is a good time to analyze student evidence such as:
- Conference note-taking forms
- Reader’s notebooks
- Stop & jot sticky notes
- Student writing pieces
- Pre & post assessments
- Your mini lesson notes
- Teacher observations
Once you have a clear focus on what skills and strategies your students’ need from that student evidence; then it’s time to plan. You do not want your conferences or small groups to run long just because you don’t have a clear, easy to follow lesson plan in your back pocket. So let’s dive into the 3-STEP approach to lesson planning for conferences and small group instruction for reading or writing.
RESEARCH before you start lesson planning to get a clear focus on what skills and strategies your students' need.
The first step of the lesson plan components for conferring with students is RESEARCH. What is researching BEFORE you do a conference or small group?
It is when you look at student evidence to determine which skills and strategies that student needs the most right now. This research will help you decide what the focus will be for the 1-on-1 conference or small group.
So, in the lesson planning components pdf template inside my Conferring with Readers & Writers Like a Pro guide there is a box for research. In this box, you will write down the TOP 3 skills or strategies you know will support your student in becoming a stronger reader or writer.
Now how will you know what skills to choose? That’s where analyzing student evidence comes in. You will use this data to help you make this decision.
Just so you know, you do NOT have to research BEFORE every single conference or small group you do. It just depends on the conferring method’s purpose and structure. For example for Compliment Conferences, you do NOT need to research beforehand. You actually research after you start the meeting with your student.
When Lesson Planning, DECIDE on ONE Strategy to Teach in a Conference or Small Group with Students.
The next core lesson planning component is DECISION. Oh boy, Conferring All-Star Teachers™ have a big decision to make. You must decide on ONE strategy you are going to teach in the conference and/or small group. Yep, I said it.
Just one, teacher friend.
I understand that there are so many teachable moments throughout your teaching day, and conference or small group time is no exception.
There are so many skills and strategies your students may need and it can feel like an impossible task to only pick just one strategy. Let me tell you why it’s so important to choose just one strategy to teach.
Take this scenario:
Let’s say you are about to teach your student a strategy to improve their fluency skill by noticing mid-sentence punctuation. You’re right in the middle of the conference and you notice they get stuck on a word. You might be tempted to switch gears and teach a decoding strategy.
In most cases, my advice is to stay focused on the one thing you taught, take note of what else you noticed, and plan to support what else the student needs in a future conference.
Have mentor texts already marked up to demonstrate strategies IF your students need it.
The last of the components for lesson planning is the mentor text demonstration phase. For several conferences and small groups, you will want to have a mentor text right by your side to demonstrate strategies IF your students need it. Remember the more time you spend modeling and talking; the less time students will have to practice the strategy. Which means you will have less time to coach in and give strategy focused feedback.
And the educators inside the Conferring All-Star Teacher™ Programs, know when to model and when not to model.
According to Jennifer Serravallo, author of “Teaching Writing in Small Groups” and “A Teacher’s Guide to Reading Conferences” states:
“I used to do a lot of modeling/demonstrating in conferences and would spend two or more of my five minutes doing a lot of talking, showing, and telling. My experience tells me that in a one-on-one situation, it’s just as effective (and much more efficient) to get the student to just try what you want them to do and give them coaching and teacher feedback as they work. No demonstration needed.
So now, I always try that first—I just tell the step-by-step strategy, and get the student to practice while I coach. If the student needs a quick example or demo, I’ll do it only after I’ve given them a chance and they show me they need more support. And even then it’s short—just one quick example.”
So, whether you're adjusting an existing lesson plan or starting from scratch, try these THREE core lesson plan components planning for conferring time so much easier.
Hey, teacher friend!
Don't forget to grab my FREE Conferring with Readers & Writers Like a Pro guide. My 3-STEP lesson planning template is inside just waiting for you to print out and use in your classroom today.
Plus you'll learn the 8-STEPS you need to meet ALL your students' needs in 1-on-1 conferences and small groups. Even if you feel like you don't have time to fit these conferring methods in your already packed literacy block.
Just remember this: there is no ceiling on what you can do and how many students you can reach.
When you have a clear, easy to follow lesson plan in front of you...
your meetings with students will be more purposeful, you won’t get side-tracked, and you will more likely stick to the timing of the conference or small group too.
If you’re looking for even more FREE training, strategies, and resources on lesson planning for conferring; come on over to my Facebook page and the Literacy Teacher Greatness Facebook Community.
Have an awesome year, teacher friend!!!
Remember this is the year to grow into your literacy teacher greatness!
