It makes me laugh when I think back to my recent first attempts at conferring and starting up with comments such as "How's it going?" It was easy for me to see the validity to this type of approach in order to allow students to do most of the talking during the conference. However, I had not thought of one key component - not all students will naturally begin a detailed conversation providing insights into themselves as a reader when they are not sure what their role is in conferring. With Allen's book I had an aha that I needed to be more intentional in talking to students about why we were conferring, what their role is, and how I would like to see them progress as they get more comfortable with conferring. I made a note to myself to check in with my students. It was not a very long check-in, but I noticed a huge change automatically. From time to time I will talk to my students as a group to redefine and guide students to taking their conferring comments to the next level as I notice the need. For now, just having a simple conversation has helped prepared students to be ready to do the talking, rather than giving me confused looks or expressions that let me know they are wondering what the purpose is when I sit down to confer with them. While some students were able to naturally open up about themselves as readers without having discussions about conferring as a whole class, I am so glad that Allen's book made me realize that it is necessary for overall success for the whole class.
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