Common Core Conferencing

Have you ever wanted to try going paperless AND bring your student reading conferences to the next level? 

If you answered yes to both of those statements (and even if you answered no!) then read on as I describe how I conduct my student reading conferences and keep them aligned with the common core AND am able to easily communicate that data to many different audiences with the click of a button!

So now I am going to offer a glimpse into my paperless Common Core Conferences that I have with my RTI (Response to Intervention) students. As you know, I am a reading specialist who loves all things technology and paperless. Because of this, I developed a way to consistently measure my students against the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) while also keeping excellent paperless data that I can then communicate with the student, his/her teachers, administration, and parents.

First, I want to go over the tools I used to create and implement my Common Core Conferences. I first created the documents in Pages (the CCSS info I got from an awesome Common Core App from Mastery Connect), uploaded them to my Google Drive, from there put them into Notability (an iPad app) and then take notes on my iPad during my conference/interactions with the student. Having a nifty stylus that offers a fine point also helps with this process (and using the type to text feature in Notability)! I got mine from my principal- but you can easily order one on Amazon.

Now, lets walk step by step through the process with a 5th grade student example. I have two versions of the Common Core Conference form for each grade. A "short" form and a "detailed" form. I use the short form, a snapshot of this form is seen below, to take quick notes and to summarize the more detailed findings as I learn them about the student. 

Along with this form, I use a detailed version of the same form to go into a little more depth of how the student achieved the standard and also break down the standards a little more to possibly find where problems may arise. A snapshot of this detailed form is seen below:

So what do these forms look like when they are filled out? Here is an example from John Smith, an obviously fake name of a real student that I have in a 5th grade group right now. You will see from the short form, where I take quick notes as to when he passes (or progresses through) certain standards, and then on the detailed form where I mark how and when he ultimately achieves each CCSS. These two forms work together to give me a great snapshot of his learning and I can also refer to them for when I am meeting with his teachers during an RTI meeting, with his parents during a conference, or even with him as we discuss his progress in our group.

CCSS 5th Grade Short Form Sample

CCSS 5th Grade Detailed Form Sample

As you can see, both of those are screenshots taken from Notability- the app I use constantly to keep this form updated. Once the form is complete, or if anyone needs to see it, I simply upload it to my google drive from inside Notability and share it with the teacher or anyone else. This keeps the process completely paperless while keeping everyone completely informed. 

Think you want to try this on your own? Head on over to my Teachers Pay Teachers storefront to checkout my listings of Common Core Conference forms. Here is the short form link and here is the detailed form link.

Please feel free to comment or leave feedback below- and if you are doing something similar- lets chat and share ideas! If you aren't even close to something like this yet- lets chat about that, too, and maybe I can help!