Sharon continues describing her conferring approach, emphasising how giving students space to reflect develops their self-regulation. With a second Year 3 student, she identifies his awareness of misreading words without knowing how to fix them. By teaching the strategy "try a different sound," he immediately corrects all errors, making previously difficult text accessible. Sharon notes the importance of recording these strategies on Reading Calendars with dates. She emphasises conferring should occur with appropriately challenging books, helping students develop strategies for accessing increasingly complex texts rather than keeping them in their comfort zone.
Part 2: Strategic Reading Interventions
The conversation continues as Sharon and Phil discuss the importance of giving students space to develop their own strategies after receiving initial guidance. Sharon emphasises how the boy's Post-It note idea emerged because she asked him how the strategy helped and gave him time to reflect. She notes this technique would be temporary but highly effective as he transitions to chapter books.
Sharon then shares her experience with a second Year 3 student reading a more complex chapter book. This boy demonstrates good decoding skills but makes mistakes he doesn't correct. Sharon records words he reads correctly and incorrectly, noting that he seems aware when he misreads but lacks strategies to fix errors. When she points this out, he confirms: "I don't know what else to do."
Returning to the misread words, Sharon introduces the strategy "try a different sound" without specifying which letter to focus on. Remarkably, the boy immediately corrects all four misread words, including "kindy" and "manage." This success transforms his reading experience, making previously difficult text accessible. The strategy is recorded on his reading calendar with a specific date, creating accountability and a reference point for future reading sessions.
Sharon explains how these conferences build a comprehensive picture of students as readers, far more detailed than multiple-choice assessments could provide. She stresses that conferring should happen with books that challenge students appropriately—not too easy, as Tim Shanahan has advocated. Teachers need to equip students with strategies to access increasingly complex texts, especially as they progress through upper primary years.
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