Assessments for Differentiating Reading Instruction

To Confer or Not to Confer

You won't have time to confer with every student after reviewing assessments. I try to confer once during a semester or trimester with every student. Meetings with students who are successful are brief, however, they need to receive feedback from you to boost their self-confidence and stretch their thinking.

Students who "get it" can self-evaluate (see Forms 76-98 in the Companion Folder) or discuss their work with a peer. Many times you'll find that making the rounds, pausing a few minutes at each student's desk to point out what's working and what needs additional attention, will suffice. Other times, you'll ask students who understand how to apply a reading strategy or figure out unfamiliar words using context clues to confer with a partner. It's helpful to have partners document their discussion on a piece of notebook paper and turn it in to you.