Conference Tips For Teachers

 This week we have parent teacher conferences.  This is the first year that I am sitting on both sides of the table for the SAME conference.  Luke is in my class this year, so I really have a different perspective of what I would like to see in a conference as a parent.  Here are a few of the things that I prepared this week along with a few helpful tips that may help you get through your own conferences.

Let's face it, we all have busy lives and tend to forget things.  I send a notice home to let them know when their conference is scheduled, and then a second follow up reminder. These are the ones I sent home this year:

 

I found this AMAZING freebie from Jodi Southard from Fun-in First on TpT that had everything I needed already done for me!  Did I mention that it was FREE?  The best part?  Not only is it Free, but it is customizable!

 

Sometimes parent teacher conferences can be just as nerve wrecking (or even more) than our teacher evaluations!  I know that I am sometimes nervous to meet with parents (especially if there have been any issues with their child).  One way to ease those nerves is to remember that the parents are truly your partners.  They have their child's best interest at heart and most likely want to help you to help their child be successful in school.

The best way to open a conference is by sharing an anecdote about the child.  Parents appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to know their child.  A brief story about a comment made during a read aloud, an entry in their writer's notebook, or a compliment about their social interactions on the playground really personalizes the conference and makes it more satisfying for the parents.

If you have pictures to share - they will love them!

                                                       Yep!  That's my Luke's sweet face!

                                                                I love the look on her face!

Next, have the parent share their impressions of how school is going for their child.  Ask them to share what is going well for their child and what they think their child might be struggling with.  Ask them if they have any specific questions they would like to have answered during the conference.
 

Draw on their expertise when it comes to their child.  If you are having a problem with their child finishing work, you might ask, "Is this a problem at home?  What things seem to help the situation?"

Last year I had a student who had a hard time following directions.  At his parent teacher conference his mom suggested that sometimes he needed extra time to process and think about what you said.  She suggested giving a direction, waiting a minute or two, and then asking him if he remembered what he needed to do.  Once he verbally repeated what my directions were, he would get started.  It was almost like a miracle! 

Don't make snap judgements about parents or their parenting styles even if you have heard rumors from previous teachers.  Face each parent as if they are your ally in working with your student.  Remember, no one is a perfect parent, we each are trying to do the best we can with what we have. I hope I don't judge myself to harshly! :D

If you can, provide parents with resources to help their child including: internet sites, educational apps, and even extra worksheets.  Be creative in coming up with solutions and ways parents can help.


Don't forget to share reading resources as well.  As teachers we tend to throw around reading levels (Fountas & Pinnell, DRA, AR) but forget that this means nothing to the parent.  Have a few books available at the child's independent level to show the parent what it looks like.

 

 Go into each conference knowing exactly what you want to tell each parent.  I put together a folder of all the important data and work samples that I want to share. I put sticky notes to remind me of places I need to highlight or things I want to remember to tell them about.

Some things I include:

*Report cards
* DRA scores
*MAPS scores
*AR and AM results for the quarter
*Writing samples from the beginning of the year and now
*Student self assessments

I always ask my students to rate how they feel about their performance in school.  They are almost always completely honest, and in some cases even harsher critics than I am!  Jodi has included this form in the freebie as well, and I have shared a few of my student's responses.

 

 

What's your best parent-teacher conference or tip?  Tell me about it in the comments below.

Learning About Your Students - Reading Interest Surveys Worksheet Wednesday #5

Today is Wednesday - otherwise known as Worksheet Wednesday over at The Teaching Tribune.  That means there's a whole lot of FREEBIES for you to grab!  Make sure you head over there when you are done downloading my freebie.  There are a ton of great ones this week!

For my freebie for the week, I have created a Favorites List.  I got the idea as I was reading 100 Minutes by Lisa Donohue for our book study earlier this summer.  Donohue suggested grouping students by interest levels.  This idea intrigued me, so I created a form to capture my new students' interests at the beginning of the year.

I had said in that previous post:

I looked on-line but couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I created:

My Favorites List  (You can download it free here)

Knowledge of students' major areas of interest helps a teacher to select appropriate instructional exercises. Research has shown that students read interesting material more easily and with higher comprehension. By understanding what students' interests are "we can guide students to select books from the classroom library that will allow them to become engaged readers." (Moss & Young, 2010, p. 56)

  As we all know, if a child is interested in the material, he or she will be more willing to complete the lesson. I can't wait to find out what my new students' interests are next month!  I have had the same class for two years in a row, so it is going to be an adjustment to learn about new students.

I am also going to have them complete this Activity Rating Scale from Laura Candler (pgs. 3-4).  The first two pages are an alternate reading interest survey you could use as well. 

How do you learn about your new students at the beginning of the year?

References:
Moss, B. & Young, T.A. (2010) Creating Lifelong Learners Through Independent Reading. Newark, DE. International Reading Association

Minute to Win It

I know many of us are out of school and enjoying our summer vacations, but for those of you who are still in, I thought I would share a fun freebie for you from Tonya's Treats for Teachers that we used the last few days of school.  Even if you are out of school, you can file this idea for next year because it is so easy!

Last year we played some Minute to Win It games as well, but I spent hours searching for them on-line and this year was just too stressful and busy to do that again.  I was relieved when I found out that Tonya had done all of the work for me (and for FREE!).  Woo hoo!

The directions were so easy I was even able to leave it for a sub when I unexpectedly had to take Cody to the doctor for his broken arm check up.

Here are a few of the games in action in our class:

So much fun!

You can download this freebie below:

Minute to Win It

5 For Friday - March 14

Another week down - and this marks the last day of our 3rd quarter - this year is flying by!  Time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday for a look back at our week.

This week started out with baseball tryouts for Tyler.  This year he has moved up a division in Little League and will be on the Juniors (a step above Majors).  If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that Tyler LIVES for baseball.  Luke will be playing this year too, but he is on Farm, so he didn't need to try out yet.

We celebrated reading week this week and every day had 30 minutes of Stop, Drop, and Read.  The weird thing about it was that my kids normally do Daily 5 and have incredible stamina - a sub once commented that they read non-stop for 50 minutes. So, you would think they could handle this. No... They groaned every single time the announcement came over the loud speaker and I had to bribe them with extra recess just to get them to read the whole time.  GRRR!! Amazing what semantics can do.  Nevertheless, some of them did enjoy their books.

We have been working on Close Reading and Response to text this week.  We independently read an article about the dangers of soda.

Then we worked in groups to carefully read and discuss the article.  One group noted that companies paid schools to sell soda.  They labeled it "bribery" - I was impressed with their astuteness! 

I have been working at Cody's school directing the Drama Club.  While we were there he decided to tape Luke to a chair.  Ahh .. the perils of being a younger brother!  Luke was laughing the whole time, so I couldn't really be mad.  I just did what any other mother would do and snapped a pic - blog fodder right? Don't judge!

And finally, I have a little St. Patrick's freebie for you! I am linking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday!

These task cards are perfect for reviewing for state tests, or just general instruction.  You can get them from my TpT store here.  While you are there, don't forget to like my store so you can be notified of new freebies and updates.  Also, you will be qualified to win a $25 TpT gift certificate in my monthly giveaway!  I will be picking March's winner soon!

Have a great weekend!