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Monday, November 15, 2010

"CHIT- chat"- A cute acronym that gets to the heart of purposeful, effective, and complete conferences

Ever think, there's got to be a better way? I just don't feel like I am as effective of a conferring partner as I could be. You are not alone. :)
Below is a cute acronym that helps teachers remember to do ALL of the parts of an effective conference. Check out "CHIT- Chat" below and see if it helps you to have more purposeful, effective and complete conferences with your readers, writers, and thinkers.

CHIT-Chat” Conferring Anecdotal Note Technique



Check progress— Since last conference or mini-lesson. Name the area the student has been working on as a reader, writer, or thinker.


Have dialogue— How’s it going? What are you reading? What are you working to improve? Child reads orally to you as you listen for oral fluency and comprehension and monitor for a teaching point.


Instruct— Instruct student in their Next Step (i.e. breaking apart a word, using a pic. clue, etc., stopping to visualize and check for understanding) What will the student will try to implement?


Try-it—Let them try the instruction point with you before you move on.

Coming soon: A video of a conference using the "CHIT- Chat" technique.
Try it and share your comments below!
* Thanks to Amy Grimm who shared this technique with me.

4 comments:

  1. I love your Chit-Chat conference idea and had never thought of having students specifically explain that visualizing helps them understand the setting and characters (rather than just saying "the story"). Such a simple idea, but so good! Thank you again. - Jill, K teacher

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  2. Love it, Sarah! Thanks for sharing. I especially like having the student TRY the instruction point with me before they move on.

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  3. I think that I will use this in my classroom. Yes, I did read the blog.

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  4. Wow- another great idea for me to use.

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