Thursday, October 17, 2013

Ready for Parent/Teacher Conferences!


I decided to share a little glimpse into how I put together my Parent/Teacher conferences each year!

First, I start out by sending home this parent/teacher conference request form.


When the parents return this form requesting a parent/teacher conference I schedule their conference and send home an appointment notice letting them know the day and time their conference is set for. 





I also send home this parent questions and concerns form.  This really helps me make sure I am not caught off guard by any questions the parents might have and make sure I have all the resources available to answer their questions during their conference time.  



Before conferences I put together a folder for each child that has all the information, paperwork, etc. that I am going to discuss during conferences with the parents. 





Each folder has….

...a benchmark note that explains to the parents the different tests and data we use to measure how a child is performing academically.  It explains the data and where a first grader should be at this point in the school year.  It also lists how their child is performing at this time.





...Printable reports such as their child’s Accelerated Reader reading report, STAR Reading level report, report card, etc.

 

...An evaluation of how their child’s work habits and behaviors are at school.


...Handouts and ideas on how they can help their child at home.  This might include sight word practice pages, handwriting practice pages, math fact practice, reading fluency pamphlet, writing prompts, non-sense word practice, syllable count practice, etc.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

During conferences I set out this bulletin board outside my classroom door.  This bulletin board has helpful information for parents to read while they are waiting for their conference time.  The bulletin board includes handouts and practice pages they can take home to help their child at home.  Many parents want to help their child at home, but just don’t know how.  These handouts and practice pages give the parents easy ways to help at home.




Click HERE to download my Parent/Teacher conference forms, bulletin board, and practice pages on my TpT store!
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19 comments:

  1. I really love the take-homes! I'm not a classroom teacher this year and don't teach 1st, so this wouldn't be especially relevant for me, but the idea of having something ready to go that I can send with parents is such a great idea. I will definitely keep it in mind for the future!

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  2. I really like the idea of the board out in the hallway with things for them to read while they are waiting. We switched from DIBELS to Easy CBM this year, but I really like the idea of having the short explanations already printed to hand out. It would save me a lot of talking.
    Kelly

    I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

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  3. Our conferences are coming up as well, you have a lot of great tips and ideas.
    Tammy
    First Grade @ Storybook Cafe
    dtklinger@gmail.com

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  4. I love your "Practice at Home" board! We have a Make-It, Take-It night at our school, and a set-up like this would be wonderful to provide for our parents there! I am pinning this so I can remember it later! :) Thanks so much!!!

    www.thetallytales.com

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  5. Thank you so much for having a blog that can help any teacher at any time. This is my first year in first grade and it hS definitely been in a challenge for me. Just by reading your posts I have made a list of needs and wants for my classroom and I cannot wait to begin tomorrow! Thank you for inspiring many teachers like myself! I did have a few questions:
    1.would you mind sharing your weekly lesson plans since you do them on the computer? This would help understand and see his other teachers set up there day which leads me to my next question.

    2.would you be willing to share a schedule of your day?

    3. What does your language arts block look like for the 1.5-2 hours of language arts? Do you do reading groups the whole time? What DIY out do for whole group lessons? What is the remainder of the class working on (in the buns) while you are with reading groups? What are centers/activities you have in place that have worked for you?

    4. What does your morning work calendar look like?

    Ahh I know I know it's so much! Please feel free to answer what you would like. I know teachers are so busy with their work at school and don't have much time outside of school do I completely understand! I have tons and tons of questions that I would love to chat about! If you would like you can email me: ivaniaap@gmail.com
    So sorry I bombarded you with so many questions! Again thank you for being that inspiration some teachers need this time of the year!

    Ivania

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I am so glad you were able to get some helpful information off of it. I will try to answer all your questions the best I can!

      1. I will definitely look into adding my lesson plans to my blog. What a great idea! I know how helpful that would be, especially for new first grade teachers.
      2. Here is how my schedule is broken down for the day:

      9:00 - 9:20 Accelerated Reader Tests/Library
      9:20 - 9:45 Morning Work
      9:45 - 10:00 Calendar
      10:00 - 10:30 SLB (Phonics)
      10:30 - 10:45 Reading Series
      10:45 - 11:25 Literacy Centers (1 on 1 reading with teacher)
      11:25 - 11:55 Lunch
      11:55 - 12:25 Recess
      12:25 - 1:15 Computer Lab (M, T, W)
      Science/Social Studies (Th, F)
      1:15 - 1:30 Reading/Spelling Words
      1:30 - 2:15 Math/Mad Minutes
      2:15 - 2:30 Writer's Workshop
      2:30 - 3:15 PE/Music/Art
      3:15 - 3:40 Math Centers/Handwriting (1 on 1 reading with teacher)
      3:40 - 3:55 Pack -up/Read Aloud/Classroom Meeting/
      Staggered Dismissal

      3. By looking at my schedule you can see that my reading block is divided into different lessons and activities. I will be doing a blog post on my literacy center activities soon. I have changed the way I am doing my centers this year and I love it! So check back soon for a blog post on that. 
      4. You are giving me some good ideas on what to blog about! I will definitely explain my morning work drawer system and post some pics soon too!

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  6. AHH! Thank you so much :) That is very helpful when working through my schedule once again. Like I said, this is my first year in first grade. I taught 2nd and 3rd grade before. I work at a school that loops (mandatory). Hopefully that will change soon because I love first grade and would LOVE to stay and really get used to the curriculum and everything else.

    Thank you so much for helping me through this by explaining. I know how little time teachers have and for you to take the time to explain everything is very helpful. Monday is a teacher workday for us in my county and I wanted to get everything prepared then. I have already begun getting centers ready (games, instructions, bins, supplies, etc) and was going to try out the circle rotation for math and reading centers, but if you are trying something new that is really working, I would loooooove to hear about it. If you could, would you mind quickly explaining it through here so that I have an idea of it? I know you need to find time for all of that, so IF you can that would be amazzzzzing! Of course I would still be looking forward to your in detail post on literacy and math centers :)

    I have ZERO idea as to how you do your morning work haha so I will just wait on the post for that! Thank you so much once again, Amanda You're help is so appreciated! Can't wait to hear from you soon!

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  7. Great post! These are some awesome tips. Keep up the great work!

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  8. I love the handwriting practice page! Can you share what the name of the font is that you used? I have students that could use this in a chunked format and not all at once.

    Thanks!

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  9. Can you send me a pdf of your pre-conference questionaire?

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  11. I love this resource for conferences. I am wondering if it is editable? I teach kindergarten and need to be able to change information to reflect that. Thanks so much for all your had work!

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    1. The editable version is not included in the download. However, if you include your e-mail address in the feedback or comments I will e-mail it to you. :)

      Thanks!

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    2. I just purchased this conference packet on tpt, but I need to edit some things, such as we have 6-week marking periods. Can you please send me the editable version?
      Tricia
      adejo7@yahoo.com

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    3. No problem! I e-mailed you the file.

      Thanks!

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  12. Hello Amanda! I've had this pinned for at least a year and I think this year I'll finally have time to put it together! I was wondering if you had the editable files that you might be able to send my way?

    Thanks!
    rebeccamckee28@gmail.com

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  13. Can I purchase just the work habits and behavior evaluation page?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can find it here --> https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Evaluation-of-Work-Habits-and-Behavior-Checklist-for-Parents-Editable-2597791

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