Using Google Forms for Reading & Writing Conferences

I love using Post-Its for the informal, quick assessments, but  I recently came across a fantastic resource for more formal conferences: Google Forms!

Have you ever used Google Forms before? They are SUPER easy to create and you can access them from any computer, including iPads. Plus, they have fun backgrounds to choose from, so it makes me smile every time i pull them up ;)

Farrah, from Think * Share* Teach has a wonderful tutorial to take you through this entire process! I created one for my own classroom and believe me, it took no time at all!

You can see a few pieces in the screenshot above, but here's the full list of what I have on my Reading Conference form:

• Name
• Book Title
• Fiction/Nonfiction
• Level (drop down menu with levels J-T+)
• Fluency (1-4 based on unsat-advanced)
• Comprehension (1-4 based on unsat-advanced)
• CAFE Strength (I used checkboxes so I can check off more than one)
• Examples 
• CAFE Focus 
• Focus Strategies (I left this blank so I can type it in quickly)
• Observations
• Next Steps

You can see the full example of my Reading Conference form HERE.

 

My Writing Conference form is similar and uses the 6 Traits if Writing. The specifics are:

• Name
• Title/Topic of Piece
• Mentor Text/Minilesson that inspired this piece (if applicable)
• Quick Draft Assessment (1-4 based on unsat-advanced)
• Writing Strengths (using 6 Traits categories)
• Examples
• Writing Focus (using 6 Traits strategies)
• Teaching Points & Next Steps

You can see the full example of my Writing Conference form HERE.

I LOVE Google Forms since I can customize each section based on what I need and what my kids need- yay! Plus, I can put a bookmark to these forms on my iPad and use it all over the classroom with any student- very easy!

I also love that it timestamps each entry- are you as bad as me with dates?! I have found so many notes throughout the years that have not date and I feel it renders the info useless- Google takes care of that down to the second :)

Best of all, you can access your data in a spreadsheet and graphs. Super-neat, super-organized, and all ready to go for grouping, conversations with other teachers, your principal and/or parents, report cards... everything!

I am so excited to use this next year! Be sure to stop by Think * Share* Teach for the full tutorial. What else do you think you could use Google Forms for? I am thinking other informal assessment times... maybe math groups?