Student-Led Portfolio Conferences

November is a time for Parent-Teacher conferences, which I must admit are not my favorite. I spend so much time trying to think of everything I need to say to a parent, organizing my ideas, gathering work samples and finding just the right way to phrase some of those difficult messages. And inevitably, the minute a parent leaves or an hour later it hits me... the one thing I forgot to tell them!

Spring is another conference, but this time around students are leading the way. Over the next few weeks I will spend time reflecting with my students, sharing in their joy of obstacles overcome and looking at what challenges still lie ahead. It is hard enough for me to organize my own thoughts, but to get students to do it and share it with their parents is even harder! The students have individualized short and long term goals, but that is just the start!

Last year, teaching third grade, there was one standard sheet that the students had to fill out for every subject area they reflected upon. While I think it was good to get the kids into the mindset of reflecting upon their own work with the same questions over and over, the drudgery of the same sheet of paper with each reflection wore some of them down. So, this year I decided to spice things up a bit and create a mix of forms for the kids to use. A few self-assessment sheets where they get to fill in smiley faces or number bubbles, some charts and lists, and then a few written responses and goal setting sheets.  We will spend the next few weeks reflecting, organizing, and preparing for conference day, when the students will take the lead and share their own assessment of their progress so far this year. I am looking forward to their thoughts, opinions and reflections!

I have tweaked a few of the sheets so that they are more generic for any other teachers who may be looking to do something similar with their own students, and I have placed them in my TpT store. Included is a long-term goal sheet, a short-term goal sheet, and a full set of printable sheets for students to use as a reflection tool for a student-led portfolio conference. Reflection sheets are a set of questions that a student can answer related to that area, and can be used in conjunction with work that they have pulled from the year. Sheets include:
*Cover Sheet
*Student Checklist
*Math Self Assessment (4th Grade Everyday Math topics up to Ch. 7)
*Math Reflection Sheet
*Reading Reflection Sheet
*Writing Reflection Sheet
*Spelling Scores Recording Sheet
*Science Reflection Sheet
*Social Studies Sheet
*Work Habits Self Assessment
*Growths and Goals Sheet
*Goal Setting (with parents) Sheet
*Special Area Reflection Sheet
*Generic Reflection Sheet