After
almost 20 years of doing parent/teacher conferences they are not the
scary thing they once used to be for me. I really enjoy meeting the
parents and sharing how their kids are in school. Here are some things
I've learned over the years.
1) Start with the positive ... always.
Each
and everyone of the kids we teach have many wonderful qualities. I
like to celebrate them first. Below is a form that I use to guide my
conferences.
I
also like to ask what strengths the parents see at home. Sometimes the
parents and teachers see different things as strengths. This is always
a great conversation.
2) If you have an exceptionally kind, considerate, or conscientious student, tell mom and/or dad "Good Job!"
While
parenting doesn't account for all great traits in kids, it really does
play a big role in a lot of them. As a mom, I know we don't hear
compliments a lot, but when I do get a compliment (as a mom) I
absolutely treasure it. It also sets the tone for a positive
conference. Before I had kids, I always asked the parents of the kids
that were wonderful in my class the kinds of things they did as
parents. It was my way of learning from them. I always remember that
parents are a child's first and most important teacher.
3) Listen and ask questions.
I
find conferencing my biggest tool in motivating my kids. If I have a
difficult customer I ask the parents what their kids enjoy at home.
Whether it be a particular character, game, song, or anything I try to
use it to motivate that child in school. I also ask about things like
what their consequences are at home, how the kids manage homework, where
and when they do the homework, chores, and other things that help me
get a bigger picture of the child in their surroundings. I feel that so
much valuable discussion can be centered around listening, and so many
confusions can be cleared up. For example, I had a little guy who was
taking hours to do his homework. When mom and I talked, we found a
solution to modify what he was doing and include math facts practice on
the computer to supplement. After that, homework was much more
manageable for her. I also always like to have the parents come in with
wishes for the school year that they and their child have. I send home
the paper below to have them bring with them to the conference.
4) Have evidence.
For each talking point that I have with the parents I have evidence to show how their child is performing. I especially highlight growth. This is super fun in writing because first graders grow so much so fast. I also show them where they need to be at the end of the year by showing samples of writing from the previous year's students and an end of the year reading passage. I organize all of the work in a folder and put writing/reading on the left hand pocket and math on the right and pocket. In the center prongs I keep the report card. Anything loose in the folder are resources that I'm giving the parents. I place all the folders in a file box and then put them in the cupboard until the next round of assessments/conferences. I have also seen evidence organized in a 1 inch three ring binder, which I love. I just haven't done it yet. Next year, during back to school sales, I will buckle down and buy a class set.
5) Make a 6 week plan for those who need it.
A
six week intervention plan is very important for any of your littles
that are struggling or that you are worried about making end of the year
benchmarks. My wonderful colleague, Christine, developed a Microsoft
Word form for this, but below is my version. I try to limit it to 3
goals. The easy part is the what (the goals), but super important is
the how (the school and at home interventions). I always schedule my 6
week plan conferences to be longer because I need to help my parents
with strategies. I often give them 2-3 things that they can do each day
with their child. I give a copy of the plan to the parents and I keep a
copy for myself. This is great documentation for any student study
teams you have on campus or if you need to show that you had an
intervention plan. After the six weeks we meet again and either devise a
new plan or discontinue it if the student is at grade level.
Last, but not least, thank the parents.
Parents,
just like teachers, have busy, busy lives. I always want to honor their
time by being prepared and thanking them for making the conference a
priority. Below I have a little note I use.
FREEBIE! All of the above forms are FREE. Go to my TPT store and download them using the link below.
I love to see my little guys working together. Here they are hunting for new vocabulary in our story and recording where they are finding it. I love that they are beginning to train themselves to look for textual evidence in this fun activity (it can be found in my Johnny Appleseed Unit).
2) In my opinion the best way to tell if a student really knows a strategy is to see if they can explain or teach it. We've been focusing on using this as a learning strategy and using the scaffolds of a solved problem in front of them firsties can succeed. I love the way this little guys explains the take from ten strategy perfectly. I try to make math fun by making up little stories to go with each strategy and tool. This one is in the math unit I'm currently working to get out on TPT.
3) Another fun way to incorporate discourse into our math is letting the kids decide who did the best job on the work. I usually use fake character samples when I give them problems, but I put up things that the students commonly do like leaving off labels or forgetting to answer the actual question in a math statement.
4) I have had so much fun watching my little cheerleader (flier on the right with hand in the air). For her first year in high school she has had a blast cheering her team on. Even though rushing out on Thursdays from school to catch the afternoon game was at times a little stressful, it was worth it every time. I love seeing my baby girl have fun!
5) Even though I'm usually trying to get a run in before the sun sets, it's these spectacular moments that I will always be grateful for. This is a snap from one of my runs this past week. I am so thankful that my legs take me on these runs and that I am blessed to have such a great place to run.
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