Why (and How) Kindergarteners Belong at Their Conferences

It was right around the turn-of-the-century (this century) when I first learned how to involve kindergarteners in a parent-teacher conference.  I attended a workshop given by a couple of wonderful teachers who had developed this new approach to conferencing.  I wish I could give them credit here on my fledgling blog for what became one of my favorite experiences as a kindergarten teacher.  Unfortunately, I do not remember the names of those teachers but if they should ever read this post, thank you, thank you, thank you!

So, why do I love, love, love student-involved conferences in kindergarten? By including the student at a conference about his progress in school, we empower the child, we show parents how to work with their child, we clarify our expectations for parents, and we strengthen the home-school connection.  Plus, it is really a lot of fun!

So, how do I prepare for and conduct annual student-involved conferences?

First, like all teachers, I collect initial data in math, reading, and writing for each of my students. In addition to AIMSweb literacy and numeracy data, this is the data I collect in the first 6 weeks of school:

          Math:  counting to 100, identifying numerals to 20, and identifying 2D and 3D shapes
          Reading:  identifying letters, identifying letter sounds, reading pre-primer sight words
          Writing:  a first signature, re-visualizing and writing upper case and lower case letters

For each of the math and reading skills listed above, I have a graph which the students color after the initial assessment and at the end of each trimester of kindergarten or until the goal is achieved.  Here is a sample and you can grab a copy HERE:

I put all of the graphs for each student in a data-collecting folder.  I also have certificates of achievement which I award for mastery of each of these skills.  I organize the data collecting folder so that there is a blank certificate behind each graph.  On the other side of the folder, is a My Goals sheet that looks like this and you can get a copy of it  HERE.

Next, I decide on three activities for reading, for math, and for writing.  The activities suggest a range of difficulty which I note with one, two or three stars on the task cards.  For example, here are the three task cards for writing:

A few days before the conferences, I send home a reminder that our parent-teacher conferences include the student, as well.  At our Parent Night (Back-to-School night),  I always tell parents that I conduct conferences with the parents and their children.  Here is what my reminder note looks like and your copy is HERE.

Along with the reminder note, I include a reflection paper for the child to fill out with her parent.  The purpose of the reflection paper is to start the conversation between parent and child about what she is learning in school.  The child brings the completed reflection sheet to school and we discuss it briefly at conferences.  Here is what my reflection sheet looked like this year:

You can grab a copy here but you will have to edit it, of course.

Right before conferences, I prepare the class for conferences.  Here is a video clip of me preparing the class:

After introducing the concept of a conference to the whole class, I show the activities at each table to half of the class at a time: 

After showing and telling about each activity (but not actually doing any of them), I go around the table and record everyone's choice of activity with a 1, 2, or 3.  I love hearing their choices.  Most often, I can predict who will choose just the right activity for himself and who will choose without any self-awareness at all.  Actually, very few children make random choices.  And, if they do, this is also very informative.  Here is what my table indicating student choices looks like and your copy is  RIGHT HERE.

On the evening/day of school conferences, I set out the three leveled activities at each of three tables.  I set the stack of data-collection folders at the first table. I place each child's stapled collection of Writer's Workshop pieces in a pile at the writing table. I usually have a tray of cookies on another table for the children to enjoy at the end of their conferences.

Conferences at our school are scheduled for 20 minutes.  Student-involved conferences usually take most of the time.  After greeting each family at the door, we sit down right away at the first table where I explain that the student is going to show her parents how she challenges herself to learn the most she can at school. 

The child attempts the activity she chose, I scaffold it (if necessary), and I offer feedback.  Some parents will also offer feedback or, at least, praise and encouragement.  Then, I open that student's data-collecting folder and we look at the graphs and certificates for that subject area.  If a child has already mastered a goal, then I award the certificate.  I have a secondary goal for some of these skill areas ( example: if you can already count to 100, let's now try to count to 175 which is how many days we have been in school.)  If the child has not yet mastered a goal area, then we write a short term goal on the My Goals sheet (example: By the end of the first trimester, I will count to 25.)  One of the most powerful aspects of student-involved conferencing is setting the goals in front of the child and having her sign the goal sheet at the end of the conference.

While the child enjoys a cookie and looks at books, I ask the parents if they have any questions.  Usually, they do not have any academic questions because we have thoroughly discussed these at the activity tables.  Sometimes, they have concerns about how their child performed and I try to put these in perspective.  If a child has significant learning or behavior issues, this conference will not be the first time I have discussed them with the parent (and probably not the last....)  And, if ever a parent needs more time to talk, I always reassure them that we can talk further by phone or in person, if they want.

While it looks like a lot of work to prepare and conduct student-involved conferences, it is not so much work once you have created the task cards and student-data collection folders.  After the first year, you will find student-involved conferencing is actually much easier than the old way.  And, if you are at all like me, you will find it is way more satisfying.