I LOVE going to conferences!
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| That's me chillin' at the Peabody. |
This week I went to IRA's Annual Conference in Orlando and it was a blur... er... a blast!
No really, I had a great time. It was three days chock full of sessions, speakers, authors, and vendors.
Here are some things I LOVED hearing during my sessions:
1. Running Records are good (get rid of fluency testing: aka- DIBELS)
2. reading and writing go hand and hand (get those kids writing more!)
3. background knowledge is key to comprehension
4. get rid of levels on books (book stores don't level books for adults)
5. provide feedback to your students about their reading/writing often
The sessions were refreshing and inspiring BUT the exhibit floor was the place to be! Free books, posters, and authors waiting to be drooled over.
I nerded-out big time!
I will have to pull together some more information I learned for y'all. Good stuff...
Posts
I love conferences too!What is the reasoning for not doing fluency testing? Just curious
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Third Grade Experience
In a nutshell, Allington, Routman & the Sisters all stated that it is overused and has been replacing better ways to gather data and that it wasn't indicative as to whether or not a child is a proficient reader.
ReplyDeleteI TOTALLY agree. Fluency is great and all, but I try to look at teaching reading with real life in mind: When I read myself, I don't re-read for fluency- I may reread for understanding, but not really to make it sound great. I LOVE the idea of not leveling books too- this conferences sounded SO up my alley! thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeletemrs tabb =)
What great tips! Glad you had a good time!
ReplyDeleteThat conference sounds AMAZING! I totally agree with your #1 item. I'm in the middle of doing my end of year testing and I find some of this information useless. Their ability to read for me, retell the story, and write about what they read is way more helpful!
ReplyDeletewww.teacheristatales.blogspot.com
Oh I agree with not doing fluency testing. I was just curious as to the research behind the idea that it's not best practice. I still believe that fluency needs to be worked on though- just not tested as a measure of how good a reader a child is/isn't.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Third Grade Experience
It looks like fun!
ReplyDeletewww.littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com
Is that Mrs. Wishywashy? I loooved her as a kid! Your blog is so cute!
ReplyDeleteMiss B, Busy Bee
I think that's really interesting to think about getting rid of leveled readers. We do 100 Book Challenge in our school where they all have a level. It is helpful since a lot of our students are ESL and struggle with English. But it's true, bookstores don't sell books based on your level! :-) I just appreciate that perspective on it, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYa....I'm confused about the whole "get rid of leveling books". How can that work? I want to hear more! :) Aren't we supposed to be working with students on their own level, so how do we not level the books? What do you think?
ReplyDeleteWell, basically the issue isn't getting rid of leveling texts because we DO want our students reading books on their levels but rather the problem is what this sentiment has evolved into. They were saying that most schools they visited had books available in their classroom libraries and school libraries with books displayed according to their level (not the good old dewey decimal or grouping books by similar characteristics.) It becomes very obvious to EVERYONE what the student's reading level is and they found this practice to make most students discouraged from checking out books and reading altogether. You can still level books and teach students how to pick good fit books but it is very important to teach students how to find books that interest them and are at their level without the "crutch" of making it so obvious for them.
ReplyDelete