TeacherBoss Hack: Class Dojo Reading Conference Notes
Regardless of the process or style you subscribe to, if you’re teaching elementary reading, you’re probably doing individual reading conferences with students. As a third grade teacher that teaches only reading, this became really overwhelming for me. I’ve tried keeping my notes in notebooks, in binders, and on clipboards; but it still felt like extra things added to my plate. This year I had 65 readers and after the first round of conferences for my students, I knew I had to find a solution or I would lose my mind. My solution was Class Dojo.
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My entire team uses Class Dojo faithfully (an essential since we are departmentalized) so I decided to use that for conferences. When it was time for me to meet with a student, I would take a picture of their book box (so the parents could see the type of books they are selecting) and the book that they read for the conference. I like to be able to see the text on the page in the photo, so parents can get an idea of font size, if graphics are included, etc. I’d listen to them read and then have a conversation with them about the text. We would discuss their goals, a glow, and a grow. Afterwards, I would take a minute to type up what I’d just observed and discussed with the student and post it to the student’s story.
On Class Dojo, when you post to an individual student’s story only that parent or family can see it. My parents loved being in the loop and would often reply with appreciation or follow-up questions within the hour. The next time I met with that student, I would take a minute to scroll their timeline to remind myself of what they were reading and what their goals were.
Using Dojo for conferences not only made my life easier, but connected me more to my families. I will definitely be doing this again next year and looking for new ways to improve! Drop any of your tips or strategies for reading conferences in the comments.
Talk to you soon,
Adrienne
