The discipline you learn and character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself. -- Bo Bennett
Student-Led Goal Conferences
I meet with students and their parents three times each year (October, January, and April) to discuss their strengths (areas in which they feel they do well, exhibit confidence, or enjoy) and areas for growth (areas in which they feel they do poorly, lack confidence, or dislike) and to help them plan an academic or social goal for the entire year. During our initial conference, I work with them to establish an appropriate goal and next steps that everyone involved can take to support students at home and in school. I take notes in a shared Google Doc and update it during each subsequent conference in order to change strengths and areas of growth as needed and plan whatever additional next steps everyone must take to ensure that students will accomplish their goals. I begin those subsequent conferences by asking students to rate how much they enjoy working towards their goal right now and how often they work on their goal at home right now, using a 1-5 scale. I try to always emphasize that their progress towards their goal is directly related to the amount of time they spend working on it, so I will do whatever I can to help them. I record our entire conversation as an .mp4, using QuickTime Player, and upload it to the student's Google Drive account, which is shared with his or her parents. A blank template for notetaking is available here, and examples of completed templates for different goals, along with the strengths, areas for growth, and next steps discussed during the first two conferences, are listed below.
2015-2016 Goals
2014-2015 Goals
Goal Work Exemplars
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Each week following the first goal conference, students are responsible for approximately 30 minutes of goal-related work for homework. This takes the place of their regular reading and writing assignments. During that time, they may have conversations with their parents, who send me notes via email; write a reflections and share them with me via Google Docs; produce a pieces of writing to read; or prepare presentations to give at the end of the week. Examples of goal-related work are shown on the right.
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Student-Led Reading Conferences
I meet with students and their parents three times each year (September, December, and March) to discuss their reading. Depending on the time during the year, we may discuss fiction or non-fiction. I begin each conference by asking students to rate how much they enjoy reading right now and how often they read at home right now, using a 1-5 scale. We next discuss books they have enjoyed reading in the past, and I pick one to search on Scholastic Book Wizard, showing them how they might use authors, genres, and recommendations to find new books to read. We then discuss their strengths (aspects of reading in which they feel they do well, exhibit confidence, or enjoy) and areas for growth (aspects of reading in which they feel they do poorly, lack confidence, or dislike). I always try to emphasize that their progress in reading is directly related to the amount of time they spend reading, so I will do whatever I can to help them find books that are interesting and accessible for them. Finally, I introduce the Diagnostic Reading Assessment or D.R.A., along with the corresponding rubric for oral reading fluency and reading comprehension as well as success criteria we develop in class, to help students do their best in both areas. I record our entire conversation as four separate .mp4 files, using QuickTime Player. First, our initial discussion. Second, the students' read aloud. Third, our conversation about the read aloud passage. Fourth, our conversation about the entire book.
When administering the first part of the D.R.A., I introduce the specific text the student will be reading. Next, I listen to him or her read the first passage, which is a predetermined length, thereby allowing me to calculate words per minute, and written on a separate sheet of paper I use to take notes, thereby allowing me to record errors and the manner in which the piece is read. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess oral reading fluency using the corresponding rubric, highlighting current expression, phrasing, rate, and accuracy on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess it again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
When administering the second part of the D.R.A., I prompt the student to think about what he or she has just read as well as the title of the text and pictures from the passage. Next, I typically ask him or her to describe the characters or setting and make three predictions about what might happen next in the plot. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess these parts of reading comprehension using the corresponding rubric, highlighting use of text features and prediction on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess them again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made. The student then finishes the rest of the D.R.A. text by reading to himself or herself.
When administering the final part of the D.R.A., I prompt the student to use the text to help support him or her in giving answers to any of my questions. Next, I typically ask him or her to summarize the plot, answer a factual question about the plot, answer an opinion question about the plot, and reflect on what the author's message might be. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess these parts of reading comprehension using the corresponding rubric, highlighting scaffolded summary, vocabulary, literal comprehension, interpretation, and reflection on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess them again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
Before the student and his or her parents leave, I provide them with a copy of the color-coded rubric and ask him or her to articulate a next step in both oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. I also send them an electronic copy of our conversation during the conference.
When administering the first part of the D.R.A., I introduce the specific text the student will be reading. Next, I listen to him or her read the first passage, which is a predetermined length, thereby allowing me to calculate words per minute, and written on a separate sheet of paper I use to take notes, thereby allowing me to record errors and the manner in which the piece is read. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess oral reading fluency using the corresponding rubric, highlighting current expression, phrasing, rate, and accuracy on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess it again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
When administering the second part of the D.R.A., I prompt the student to think about what he or she has just read as well as the title of the text and pictures from the passage. Next, I typically ask him or her to describe the characters or setting and make three predictions about what might happen next in the plot. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess these parts of reading comprehension using the corresponding rubric, highlighting use of text features and prediction on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess them again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made. The student then finishes the rest of the D.R.A. text by reading to himself or herself.
When administering the final part of the D.R.A., I prompt the student to use the text to help support him or her in giving answers to any of my questions. Next, I typically ask him or her to summarize the plot, answer a factual question about the plot, answer an opinion question about the plot, and reflect on what the author's message might be. I then share my observations with the student and his or her parents as well as how I would assess these parts of reading comprehension using the corresponding rubric, highlighting scaffolded summary, vocabulary, literal comprehension, interpretation, and reflection on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve those parts, and I highlight how I might assess them again after a second or third attempt, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
Before the student and his or her parents leave, I provide them with a copy of the color-coded rubric and ask him or her to articulate a next step in both oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. I also send them an electronic copy of our conversation during the conference.
Student-Led Writing Conferences
I meet with students and their parents three times each year (November, February, and May) to discuss their writing. Depending on the time during the year, we may discuss opinion pieces, fictional narratives, or letters, or alternatively, opinion pieces, informational texts, or fictional narratives. I begin each conference by asking students to rate how much they enjoy writing right now and how often they write at home right now, using a 1-5 scale. We next discuss their strengths (aspects of writing in which they feel they do well, exhibit confidence, or enjoy) and areas for growth (aspects of writing in which they feel they do poorly, lack confidence, or dislike) as well as how often they are writing at home. I then read the first draft of a recent writing assignment aloud for students and their parents so that everyone gets the gist. I introduce the corresponding rubric and explain organization, content, style, and conventions before reading the piece a second time to assess it for organization, a third time to assess it for content, a fourth time to assess it for style, and a final time to assess it for conventions. Alternatively, I have assessed pieces for genre, usage, and conventions. I record our entire conversation as an .mp4, using QuickTime Player.
As I assess for organization, I note the presence of all essential elements on the piece itself and highlight them on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve upon those parts, and I highlight how I might assess the second and third drafts, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
When I assess for conventions, the process resembles editing. I correct any mistakes I notice in the areas of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. I then highlight the corresponding items on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. I highlight how I might assess the second and third drafts, in green and orange respectively, if the changes I suggest are made.
Before students and their parents leave, I print them a copy of the color-coded rubric and ask students to articulate a next step in all areas of writing -- organization, content, style, and conventions, or alternatively, genre, usage, and conventions. I also send them an electronic copy of our conversation during the conference.
During the time I taught using the California Academic Content Standards, I used the following rubrics: a blank rubric for fictional narratives is available here, a blank rubric for letters is available here, and a blank rubric for opinion pieces is available here. During the time I have been teaching using the Common Core Content Standards, I have used the following rubrics: a blank rubric for fictional narratives is available here, a blank rubric for informative texts is available here, and a blank rubric for opinion pieces is available here. List rubrics from past conferences are listed below.
As I assess for organization, I note the presence of all essential elements on the piece itself and highlight them on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. If necessary, we brainstorm ways to improve upon those parts, and I highlight how I might assess the second and third drafts, in green and orange respectively, if the changes we discuss are made.
When I assess for conventions, the process resembles editing. I correct any mistakes I notice in the areas of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. I then highlight the corresponding items on the rubric in blue. Students and their parents have an opportunity to explain why they agree or disagree. I highlight how I might assess the second and third drafts, in green and orange respectively, if the changes I suggest are made.
Before students and their parents leave, I print them a copy of the color-coded rubric and ask students to articulate a next step in all areas of writing -- organization, content, style, and conventions, or alternatively, genre, usage, and conventions. I also send them an electronic copy of our conversation during the conference.
During the time I taught using the California Academic Content Standards, I used the following rubrics: a blank rubric for fictional narratives is available here, a blank rubric for letters is available here, and a blank rubric for opinion pieces is available here. During the time I have been teaching using the Common Core Content Standards, I have used the following rubrics: a blank rubric for fictional narratives is available here, a blank rubric for informative texts is available here, and a blank rubric for opinion pieces is available here. List rubrics from past conferences are listed below.
Writing Rubrics
California Academic Content Standards |
Common Core State Standards |