Strategy Rings

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When I confer with students (in reading or in writing), I really like to leave them with some tangible reminder of the strategy I taught them. That way, I have a record of what I taught them, and so do they.

I used to rely on Post-it notes, which was fine in the moment, but it was often difficult for the kids to find them when I came around to confer with them the next time, so I ended up referring to my notes most of the time. This left me wondering if they were really using the reminder at all.

As I thought about this, I wondered if a more lasting reminder system would lead to more transfer of the teaching done in conferences. That’s when I thought of strategy rings. I love the ring system – the rings are relatively cheap (and even cheaper if you use half of a pipe cleaner instead), and they are easy to add to but definitely durable. This system isn’t groundbreaking – it’s exactly what I was doing with Post-it notes, but it lasts longer and is easier for the kids to use.

Every time you have a conference, just hot whatever you teach on a (pre-hole-punched) notecard, and let the student at it to their ring of strategies. This makes it easy to hold them accountable, and they can trade with their partners when revising.

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11 thoughts on “Strategy Rings

  1. Julie,
    I love your ideas but I teach kindergarten. Can you give me sites of kindergarten teachers from your school I can look at for anchor charts, etc. I woud appreciate it. Thanks!

  2. Thank you so much for this! I use a lot of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model reading bookmarks when I conference with kids. They don’t seem to be able to keep track of the bookmark, so I’m really excited to try this!

  3. I love this idea! Thanks for sharing!! Do you have a list of different strategies I can recommend my students to use? Thanks!

  4. We had a full day of Training & Development today. I was talking about the importance I place on conferencing. Just love this idea. Thank you so mych for sharing it.

  5. This is the best idea thank you so much for sharing, I am a third grade teacher and plan on doing this in my classroom. I was wondering where you got the rings and what their specific name is. Thank you very much once again!
    Take care!

    • Hi Laura,

      They are called binder rings, and you should be able to get them at any office supply store. They come in several sizes. I like the smallest ones. šŸ™‚

    • Hi Cheryl,

      I don’t have a list of strategies, as I typically come up with them on the run based on what I see the child doing or what I know their individual goals to be. I always start out making the cards because it’s faster, but as they get used to it, I have them make them, as it tends to stick better if they write it themselves.

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