ASSIGNMENT SEVEN: Student Writing Conference - Choose one or two children (classroom students, relatives, neighbors...) to conduct an informal conference with. You may choose to use one of Regie’s formats, your own or the one below, which I use in a conferring notebook. You need to find a system that will work for you. Example 1 (and below) is the format I use for each writing conference that I hold with students. Keep in mind that while you are conferring with students, the majority of other students should be writing!
(Note: If you aren’t currently teaching please find a school-age child to do a conference with. We believe you will find it is worth the effort.)
Student Name: Date:
? (Question- Teacher asks)- “What are you
working on today in your writing?”
C (Compliment)- Compliment the student on one
strategy they are using well.
TP (Teaching Point)- What is one
strategy/point/goal you can teach this student to
move them forward?
FNT (For Next Time)- What needs to be a focus
during the next conference/what were set goals?
ASSIGNMENT SEVEN: After completing your one or two conferences, please reflect on how well they went and how they will impact your whole group, small group and independent instruction in your classroom. Post your reflective response to the blog.
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Assignment 7
ReplyDeleteConferences
Roving/on the run conferences:
I generally engage in this type of conference during a 90 minute class period. While the kids are writing responses to questions or working on paragraphing, I circulate the room constantly and glance to see which kids are “getting” the assignment and which are struggling. I offer encouragement to the kids who are doing fine and a pat on the back and then I move on to spend more minutes working with the kids who aren’t on track for whatever reason. I find this really useful as I can zero in on the kids who need help in a brief amount of time and if they still need help, I have the option to sign them into our AT (access tutorial/study hall time) for extended one-on-one time. Generally the kids respond to this quiet, kneel by the desk and ask questions moment quite well. The kids feel freer to indicate that they are stuck or not sure of the assignment when I am face to face with them and not asking in front of the class. I will now incorporate the idea of a seating chart map and making notations as I go. That makes such sense and I am not sure why I hadn’t thought of that before.
One-on-One Conference
I worked with 2 of my kids during our AT time on-on-one and that was great as it gave me time to teach on the spot in the weak areas and to praise the strengths of the paper. I also was able to use the time to read the paper out loud to the student and let him listen for sentence fluency and voice.I asked him what he liked about the paper and what he thought he needed to change for clarity and focus. The 15 minutes was productively spent.
Class Conference:
I just started to use this method and it seems to work. The key is making the situation in which I read the material relaxing and fun. This is how I have used this idea and feel free to offer any suggestions to improve! I collect all of the assignments and read them randomly. I literally close my eyes and choose. As a class, we listen for thesis and fluency and offer suggestions for improvement as well as applauding the good. I find that once the initial fear of hearing one’s work read aloud is overcome, the kids are clamoring to have their’s read as they realize that the feedback that the class gives is genuine and helpful and mine is too. It’s as if they are getting a one-on-one conference in the midst of a crowd! I don’t read the author’s name unless he/she claims it afterwards.
Essentials of Writing: Assignment 7 Jenny Lucas
ReplyDeleteReflection of Conferring
As a literacy coach, I often have the opportunity to observe writer’s workshop in K-6 classrooms. When I do this, I always confer with at least one student. This is a way for me to get to know students in my building and it gives me valuable information that can direct the work I do with teachers.
I use a note-taking devise that has been adapted from Patrick Allen’s book, Conferring. Most of the teachers in my building use it as well and this makes sharing information we gather from conferences easier. We start by asking the student to read the piece of writing they are currently working on aloud. Then, we note something that the young writer has done well. Like Regie emphasizes, starting with celebration is so important. We want to acknowledge what the student does well in his or her writing. Next , we give the student a “nudge”. This is usually a small suggestion that can elevate their writing skills. We want the student to take ownership, so the nudge is not a directive. It’s usually a question that leads the student to come to his or her own conclusion. It might sound something like this: We have been talking a lot about using descriptive words about characters in our stories. Are there some interesting descriptive words you can think of to describe your character? If the student comes up with some descriptive words, they are ready to go. If not, we would offer suggestions to the student. The last thing we do in the conference is leave the student with a plan. This almost always is linked to the nudge. It would sound something like this: O.K. You have said that your character is ‘full of laughter and always smiling’ make sure to include those words in your description. You are making your piece exciting to read. Great Job!
I had the opportunity this week to confer with a 1st grade writer. He was working on an informational piece about chicks. His class has been monitoring the growth of baby chicks this spring. They studied several eggs kept in an incubator and were very excited as the chicks began hatching. It was clear as he read his piece to me that he was quite enthused about his writing project, but in his excitement, he had forgotten to include some punctuation that could confuse his readers. I started by complimenting him on his lead in; The chicks are hatching! The chicks are hatching! I thought that this was a very clever way to open his piece and I wanted to congratulate him on this. I told them that this line really grabbed me and made me want to read more. The “nudge” I wanted to give him was around punctuation. My hope was to encourage him to re-read his writing and fix punctuation mistakes. I made sure to tell him that this is something all writers have to do. As his piece went on, he began to neglect putting in periods. I read those parts aloud without the punctuation and he said “That sounds funny!” I was happy that he could hear that. I reminded him that reader read the punctuation marks as well as the words and that it is the writer’s job to include punctuation so that the writing makes sense. The plan I left him with was to re-read his piece and put in the missing periods. I checked back with him after about 5 minutes and noted that he successfully added the missing periods.
Reflecting on the particular conference, I can’t help thinking about Regie’s Whole Class Share model from her DVD. I would have loved to have done this conference in front of the whole class. The 1st grade teachers in my building talk about punctuation challenges a lot. This could have been a powerful way to show a whole class how important editing for punctuation is. I mentioned this to the teacher and we are planning to view the DVD together next week. I’m excited to be bringing this valuable information to my teachers.
Lukas is a second grade student who struggles with getting started and keeping the flow going. He has good ideas but when I was roving around the other day I noticed he had not begun his “Weekend News” writing. I asked him how things were going and he said he didn’t know what to write. This is a pretty typical response. Since he didn’t have any writing on the page I started by having him explain something he did over the weekend. He listed several activities so I asked him to limit it to just one. He chose to write about his trip to his families cabin and more specifically, riding in the canoe. Next, I had him describe the canoe event. He started to explain what happened and I would stop him occasionally to clarify or repeat what he had described. Once he finished describing an exciting part, I repeated what he told me but I added a few transitions and exciting comments to make it sound interesting as Routman had suggested. I asked him if that was right and he gave me the okay. Next, I asked him to write what he had told me. I checked back in ten minutes or so and he had a fair amount of text, which he read to me. I commented on what a great start he had and how his description of the river (it was very full because of the rain but it wasn’t overflowing yet) helped me imagine what it was like. Next, I asked him to read a passage again. The wording in the passage was awkward and didn’t send the message he intended. After he read it I asked him if it made sense. He said, “Sort of.” Then I asked him to read it to his neighbor who said it didn’t make sense. I let him know that if the reader doesn’t understand it, he needed to make some changes. At this point I had not commented on the glaring errors in mechanics but focused on content as Routman suggests. I asked him what he wanted to say. After he repeated his intended message, I repeated it as well. He then wrote it down. After, he read it from start to finish and it made sense. His neighbor agreed. Next, I asked him to work on the beginning and he referred to our class made list of ways to start writing. He decided to describe the setting to get the reader’s attention. Finally, I asked him to work on the ending and after he shared his piece. Students offered positive comments. The entire process began with a roving conference, became a one-on-one conference and ended with whole group share.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this conference process highlighted some of Routman’s suggestions and gave me a reference point to improve future conferences. Some of the positives were: talking before writing, re-reading for content, peer sharing and feedback, and using our class resources to improve content. I also noticed that Lukas has not internalized these strategies and therefore is not as capable of independent revision. This highlights the need for whole group conferencing in order to demonstrate strategies.
My next conference was a whole-class-share focusing on a student’s writing that she agreed to read. Often, I will present a list of criteria that I would like to see in their writing. I usually ask the class what they think they should include in their writing. Typical answers include: great lead, compound and complex sentences, similes, metaphors, juicy adjectives, etc. I usually will add one skill such as end all sentences with a period. When kids share out (voluntary) we see how they did based on the criteria we’ve agreed upon. For this interview, I let them know they could certainly include these elements but our main focus was to make our writing interesting and entertaining for our readers. I showed the 2nd grade rubric listed on page 241 or our reading. In retrospect I should have shared some good writing or demonstrated a shared write but we didn’t as we had been at the carpet for a while. As students began to write, I was roving the room to help/monitor students. Once we finished, a few students wanted to share. Indi is a second grade student who is fairly diligent in her work habits and writes with good mechanics. While we were working I specifically touched base with her to try to steer her in the right direction of making her writing more interesting. What is funny is when I asked her how could we make this sound like you, she responded by referencing criteria from our previous goals of good leads, adjectives, and dialogue. The dialogue is what helped in this instance. She chose to write about a friend coming over. She added what she had said out loud: when she heard the doorbell ring, greeted her friend, and conversed with her friend about their soft toys. She had also added a good lead after I asked her how we could make the beginning more exciting. As she shared, she seemed excited and when she finished, we all reviewed the second grade rubric from the reading. I started the comments with a positive about her beginning and then invited others to offer positive comments. Next we specifically asked if she had met the criteria from our new rubric (I write about my topic, My beginning makes the reader want to read more, My details make my story interesting, My ideas are easy to follow, I use interesting words.) The final criteria of, “It sounds like me and uses my voice,” was harder for kids to pinpoint but most referred to the dialogue as proof. This pretty much marked a beginning for us on exploring what voice is but with more example and demonstration I feel confident the students will develop a sense of voice.
ReplyDeleteThis week I have been trying my hand at more informal writing conferences and one student really stuck in my head from this experience. This one girl has been struggling to grasp the concept of capital letters at the beginning of her sentences. Besides the basic rule and constant reminding her to check for capital letters, she still did not use them. Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning, her writing was about a princess so I told her that each new sentence needs a crown at the beginning and capital letters are like crowns. We went through each sentence and looked for places to put the crowns. She really liked this and began to find sentences that needed a crown. I am going to make a class chart and note in her box that says to “Look for Crowns” so this will remind me to reinforce this strategy with her. I think I will write this idea down on my clip board to use next year as a fun way to help my students remember to use capital letters at the beginning of their sentences.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I need to work on is keeping the other students engaged with their own writing process. Some students were waiting to conference with me and getting off task. I had them get their book bins out and read, but the whole point of this time is to write. I tried to have my students read their stories to each other, but they are not quite independent on that stage yet. Hopefully with the new strategies and confidence I have acquired, my writing instruction will become more fluid and engaging.
Hello Mary, Glad you picked up a new idea (seating chart for notes) to add to your arsenal of tools to help your students become stronger writers. It sounds like your students are receptive to the feedback from you and the students. The only thing I would suggest is as you continue to confer is to try to cut the time down from 15 minutes. This way you will be able to reach more students in a period. Though this is hard for many teachers, Jackie and I included, having the time limit helps focus conversations and keeps the discussion specific and to the point. We have found that the more conferences you do the easier it is to keep them brief.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny, I would imagine that having your staff (for the most part) use the same format would enable information to be more easily shared. The plan part of the conference (our For the Next Time) is a vital piece for students. It is best to be clear and specific with students and not assume that they know what they should be doing next. This way there are fewer misunderstandings. How did the teachers like seeing the DVD? Also, I love that you told your students that readers read the punctuation as well as the words; simple and a great reminder.
Hi Don, As I read your post about Lukas, I thought that this would be a great whole group lesson to show how to choose a topic to write about. In my head I saw on the board or screen large letters saying WEEKEND NEWS, the several activities that he mentioned, and then noting that the list needs to be limited to just one, Trip to Family Cabin, and then off that or below it riding in the canoe.
I often mention the importance of oral share and feel it’s worth mentioning again here. When teachers work with students and have them say what they did (or what they want the piece to say) and hear back what they said, this helps the writing process immensely, especially for our younger and struggling writers. Once the student is on the right path to creating a story that makes sense the teacher sends them on their way to write and then checks in on them after a little bit of time, as you did. Focusing on content rather than grammar, mechanics and errors at this point is a definite must to avoid discouraging the child. Encouraging their effort and attempts and helping them make the piece make sense is what needs to happen in the early stages of the writing process.
Great point that Lukas, like many other students, is not yet able to independently revise his paper. The teacher needs to scaffold support for each student to the level necessary to create confident writers who are willing to take risks trusting they are in an environment that is safe to make mistakes and errors. Having the classroom resources posted and easily accessible, like charts, is another way to support students while fostering their independence.
Hello Megan, Great job in finding the “magic” piece needed to help your student want to look for the crowns. :D We love having fun and so do students so turning the task into something the student enjoys doing was a great strategy. Def. make a note of it for next year, if it worked for one student, there are sure to be others. Yes, we strongly suggest that students write during conferring time. As with reading, you need to help your students develop their stamina over the course of the year. Keep it short in the beginning of the year and add more time each week/month. Developing those writing muscles takes time and patience but the more they write the better writers they become. And like any muscles that aren’t used, if they don’t write often, they won’t be strong writers.