Conferencing with the students about their reading is extremely intimidating to me. I have no trouble working with students individually on Math, but Reading is not my best subject. I am much better when I think I can help with something that has an exact solution. It is a good thing that we are being forced to conference, kidwatch,etc. with students about their reading. Hopefully, practice will make the problem much less intimidating.
One on one observation is very personal to the student. The most intimidating part of conferencing with the student is trying to record their miscues/mistakes without making them feel bad because they made a mistake. I am very slow at this. I held my blue card, a copy of the script, and a clipboard all while trying to Also, I do not want to distract from their reading any more than they might already be distracted.
Also, another hard part, is finding the time to conference. While working on the Miscue Analysis, I will grab one student at a time, whenever I can. I have to use homeroom time, independent reading (of course), and bully meeting time. In general, I am still working on timing in all aspects of my teaching. I am finally learning to line up and get to the hall quicker, I am learning to collect papers quickly, etc. So, I hope that with more practice conference will have plenty of time since I am becoming more efficient.
The most important part of the conferencing, has been learning my student's issues with reading. I realize how much help some of my students need. In most cases their reading performance is directly correlated to their performance in math or Science. I tried reading a test to one of my students that is struggling in the focus group and it made a huge difference. Reading has importance in every subject!
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI love your honesty and I too, have struggled when implementing conferencing. Like all new structures it takes a few times to figure out what works/what doesn't/ and to teach students the routines so that they can independently read and work while you are meeting with students. I've learned to keep it simple and to value the time I have in that brief time to listen to and learn about each student and to use that valuable information to guide my instruction so that it is an investment that has a return on student achievement. Sincerely, Dawn
Laura, when I first started miscue I felt so awkward and nervous, too! The more I did it the more comfortable I became. I also realized I don't have to be perfect! Any information I can glean is more information that I had before I met with them! One thing I tell them is that they are reading to me and I am making notes of what they say so I can help them become a better reader. That way they don't know I am only recording their miscues. I also tell them to "think about what you are reading" so they know not to just focus on pronouncing the words. After you have done it with them a few times it will become "old hat" for both of you! Thank you for being willing to step outside your comfort zone in order to make a difference in your students' reading!
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