TEACHING AND LEARNING ALLIANCE

How Can I Use the Tools in my Conferring Toolkit to Enhance My Conferences?

4/7/2020

by Sarah Lacourciere, TLA Staff Developer

If you are an educator who utilizes a workshop model to teach writing, chances are you have heard people talking about the importance of a Conferring Toolkit. You may already know that some useful items to have on hand in this toolkit are previous conferring notes, rubrics, checklists, writing paper, exemplars, mentor texts, mini-charts. But what you may not know, is HOW these tools can be used to ensure the teaching sticks and the writer grows.

Below you will see a sample of two column notes. The left side includes what the teacher and student are saying and the right side includes tips for the teacher and what to think about during the conference.

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TAlking to Kids aBout Books

3/30/2020

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by Stephanie Maze-Hsu

Parents at home, and teachers in classrooms, virtual or physical, have long asked us to help them create a list of some tips for conferring, or talking to children about the books they are reading, without having to have read every book. These tips will help you have conversations that are powerful and productive and can lift children’s motivation to read and keep them thinking deeply: Click the link below for the video and a FREE download of tips!

Watch the video here!

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How to Support your Kids Writing at Home

3/23/2020

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Watch the video here!

by Stephanie Maze-Hsu, Project Manager & Senior Staff Developer

One of the best ways to keep the home-school connection going is through writing. Learn a few practical tips that will encourage children to create a special place to write at home, as well as suggestions for the types of writing that will keep that learning alive. This video shares ideas for writing in many different genres, including narratives, informational, opinion pieces and poetry including a FREE two-page guide! If this motivates kids to keep writing and writing, we would LOVE to see some of their pieces and celebrate their thinking.

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In RESPONSE TO COVID-19

3/20/2020

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We are all stunned at the rapidity of life changes we have had to face in the last 2 weeks, as we are sure you are. We are struggling to adapt our lives to our new reality, although it feels like we are in a novel.

First and foremost, we want you to know that we are thinking of you, hoping you are all staying safe, sane, and healthy as you scramble to figure out ways of educating your school-children and coping with your own fears as well as homeschooling your own children. We are doing the same, and working to reinvent ways TLA can provide support, when you are ready. We will be able to provide virtual coaching through a variety of models.

We also welcome any ideas or suggestions for ways we can be helpful to you as you regain your footing and navigate these uncertain times.

Take care of yourselves, and feel free to post pictures of your creativity both as you educate your classes online and in your own homes.
- All your friends at TLA

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How to Host a VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB

3/18/2020

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by Becca Ward, Education Consultant

In the midst of #social distancing, we are so encouraged to see how creative teachers, parents and students are being! Technology is bringing people together so we can stay connected socially and emotionally even if not physically.

One strategy classroom teachers often use to foster love of reading is getting kids sharing and talking about the same books in a book club. Just because kids aren’t in school doesn’t mean those clubs need to stop. In fact, we think now might be a great time to LAUNCH a new one. So today, we are back today with a step-by-step guide for how to get your kids (or yourself!) in a book club using the online technology available to us today.

Step 1: Consider your students! First, think strategically about who might be a good fit for a book club. Perhaps you have a group of students who are very interested in STEM? Maybe they can all listen to or read the Andrea Beaty series. Is there a group of 4 boys in your class that are LOVING the Amulet series? Maybe you can have them watch an interview with author on youtube? You’ll also want to consider your students access to the internet and social emotional skills as you plan for who should be grouped together. We would also encourage you - don’t overthink it! Your kids are missing their friends and setting up this virtual “community” will be a big highlight for them.

Step 2: Choose a book! Since we can not guarantee that all students will have a physical copy at home, we recommend choosing from a variety of high-quality online options. There are several companies that are making their resources available for free during this time. We’d recommend: Epic, & StorylineOnline

Step 3: Choose a platform to host your book club! You’ll need to know how to use a web-conferencing tool in order to have your kids (or your own friends) together virtually. We’d recommend Seesaw, Google Hangouts or Zoom. Don’t let this intimidate you! Developers have worked really hard to make these tools as user-friendly as possible. We’d recommend trying out the tool a little first. Call up three of your friends and ask them to be your “test subjects”. We’re sure they need a little laugh right now too. In our experience, we have found that kids in grades 3-5 are more skilled at these tools than we are.

Step 4: Gather your students! In class this only requires you to call your students by name, present them with their book club book, and establish a few norms. Unfortunately, this step is a little more complicated. You’ll need to connect with the parents of the students via email and ask them if they’d be willing to have their child participate. You’ll need to offer a short explanation of the technology they’ll be using and the “text” they’ll be reading and discussing together. Many parents are very eager for ideas to support their students learning while at home and would be so enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Step 5: Host your club! Finally and most importantly - try it out. We guarantee that the first time will not be perfect. That’s okay! Connection itself is a sufficient goal. The first time the kids might not have much to say besides “oh my goodness it’s so cool to see 5 of you on my screen!”. That’s okay! We could write another blog post about “What are good conversation starters for a virtual book club”, but for now we are thrilled about getting kids engaged in a shared experience together.

If you are trying this out, we’d love your feedback! Let us know how it worked for you. If you need support, let us know. We are happy to email, text, or jump on a virtual call ourselves to support you.

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How Can I Use the Tools in my Conferring Toolkit to Enhance My Conferences?

TAlking to Kids aBout Books

How to Support your Kids Writing at Home

In RESPONSE TO COVID-19

How to Host a VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB

TLA Staff

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