Product Details

• Author: Patrick Allen
• Year: 2009
• Grade Range: 1-8

• Media: 232 pp/paper
• ISBN: 978-157110-768-8
• Item No.: WEB-0768

In professional workshops with teachers over the years, Patrick Allen has encountered a list of "counterfeit beliefs" about the process of conferring with readers, including such comments as: "I don't have time, I don't know what questions to ask, It's too hard, I don't know what to write in my notes, I don't even take notes, I don't know how to go deep. . . ."

In Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop, Patrick maintains that the benefits of conferring are worth the effort of learning to do it well. Then he sets out to reveal how teachers can overcome their perceived obstacles and make the somewhat intangible aspect of conferring with readers tangible.

Just as the keystone -- a symmetrical, wedge-shaped stone at the center of an arch -- forms the foundation of a structure, conferring lays the groundwork for effective reading instruction. Allen defines the word confer as a verb "meaning to consult together, compare opinions, or carry on a conversation." Conferences with students are purposeful conversations that scaffold reading comprehension strategies that guide the reader's progress, and ultimately, through the gradual release of responsibility, create independent readers.

In this book, teachers will discover the strength, power, and necessity of conferring with readers.Patrick begins by explaining what conferring is and what it's not, and then unpacks the essential components of the conferring process: intimacy (the social context), rigor (the cognitive context), and inquiry (the analytical context). He explores the fundamentals of conferring -- including classroom environment, goal setting, instructional points, listening, rapport, challenges, and teacher learning -- and provides prompts that lead teachers through the reader's conference from start to finish.

Table of Contents

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Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Why Confer?
Chapter One: Counterfeit Beliefs About Conferring
Chapter Two: Conferring Goals and Guiding Principles
Chapter Three: Building the Environment for Conferring--Five Requisite Ashlars
Chapter Four: The RIP Model--Bringing Thoughtful Structure to Our Conferring
Chapter Five: Cultivating Rigor, Nurturing Inquiry, and Developing Intimacy
Chapter Six: Conferring Walk-Aways
Chapter Seven: Conferring Ain't Easy
Conclusion: Adieu
Appendix
Bibliography
Index

Patrick Allen
Patrick is the youngest of ten children---five boys and five girls. "My parents were wonderful role models of literacy and learning, hard work, and humility," he says.
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