Sunday, March 9, 2014

Bright Ideas Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  Today I am excited to be participating the second "Bright Ideas Blog Hop!"  This hop was designed to give our readers some great tips and ideas for implementation in the classroom!  In case you missed my last post for this, you can catch up with it later by clicking here.  I would like to thank Shelley and Amanda for organizing this hop for us!


My tip today is all about conferring during Writing Workshop!  I just love teaching writing!  Over the past 11 years, I've worked hard on getting the management/conferring piece of the workshop figured out.  There are so many things to think about while your students are writing.  Are they engaged?  Are they staying on task? Am I helping the ones who need it?  How can I push my advanced writers?

I use my district's grading checklist to keep data on my kids in Writing.  Each day, I call students 4 to 5 students up to my table and observe and confer with them during Writing time.  This allows me to check how they are doing as well as keep data on them.  It gives me time to help push my high students and work more closely with my struggling students.  It takes about 6 days to meet with all of my students.  It is hard to leave the struggling writers at their seats, but I always have to remind myself that I do have an ENTIRE class that you I'm responsible for.

While meeting with my students, I keep my "conferring caddy" at the table with me.  It has everything I may need in it...pencils, highlighters, stapler, tape, sticky notes, and more.  The time I have to meet with my kids is limited so I have to keep everything at my fingertips for easy access.  This caddy is also great for conferring with students around the room vs. at a table.  When I used to do that, I carried the caddy with me.


I hope you enjoyed this little post!  To see more Writing ideas, click here!  “Next up on the blog hop is Alyssa from Teaching in the Fast Lane.  She has an great post for you all about test prep ideas! Just click on the button below to check it out.


xo
Megan



5 comments:

  1. I love your conferring caddy! Great way to be organized and ready for anything!


    Buzzing with Ms. B

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  2. Love your conferring caddy!! You are so smart! Making one this week!
    XO
    Laura
    Peace, Love, and First Grade

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  3. This is a great way to get organized! Love it!

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  4. Megan- I love your organization tip (conference tote) and general classroom organization. We never have enough time, so any time saving step is a blessing! Thanks
    Cindy
    Granny Goes to School

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Thanks for your comments!