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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After watching the DVD and reading about the power of whole group conferences I decided to give it a try. I had never done a really focused whole class conference before. It was really nice to have seen some examples from real classrooms to see how it can work. I even used the “Secrets From Second Grade” idea for their writing.
ReplyDeleteI had one of my higher writers read his story aloud to the class. They followed along on the document camera. He had a really good story, but didn't have an engaging lead or ending that tied it all together. We talked about this as a whole class and then took a look at his spelling. There were a couple of words that he misspelled that I saw as a teaching point. He had written kept as “cep” and blanket as “blancet.” We talked about soft “c” and what we could do to make sure the words sound the way he wanted them to. I thought this was a really good thing for all the students to hear and they could all benefit from in reading and writing. I also noticed that after the conference many students went back and revised their beginning and endings to hook the reader and tie up their piece. It was really good.
The second whole class conference that I held was with a struggling writer. Although this student struggles to write a story that would pass a rubric he had a really interesting story to tell. He read it aloud to the class and we all had a good laugh together. One thing I noticed in his writing was that he just put a period at the end of each line. We edited his paper together and talked about punctuation. I think this will benefit many of the first graders in my class that are struggling with conventions.
In both conferences the students were willing to take a risk and share their writing with the class. The class was very supportive and I feel like the whole process was nonthreatening and helpful. I will definitely continue to conduct whole class conferences in my room.
Assignment 7
ReplyDeleteConferencing with my student was a great success. I asked the student what he was working on today in his writing. He told me about his story and I asked him to read it to me. I praised him right away about his opening sentence. I was very interested in hearing his story. I had him read it again to the group and he was very proud and his peers were complimentary. He then continued reading his writing.
My teaching strategy was to work on keeping his sentences interesting and not boring the reader. We stretched some of his sentences and added more details. I talked to him about the reader wanting to be able to picture what he is writing. I then had him go back to his seat and work on his own. He came back and read the finished product to the group.
The student completed his best paragraph of the school year. He cared about his sentences and worked on adding details to his story. He also worked harder in spelling and handwriting. I just mentioned that the writer needed to have respect for the reader. I explained how the writer wants to make sure the reader can read all the great information the writer is sharing. Overall, these little tips made him feel more important and worthy of the reader’s attention.
I chose to conference with a student who has been working on a story for a few weeks. We have had mini conferences throughout, but I have not been able to sit down one-on-one with her to go over her story. She has been using her personal dictionary for frequent and high frequency words as well as a few storybooks. In the last year her writing has really grown. She is enjoying writing, expanding her writing, and adding a lot more details in her stories.
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to see what she has accomplished on her own. I reinforced how much she is attempting and is spelling on her own (I’ve set higher expectations). I could tell that she has reread a lot and added to her story. WE discussed how it is important to show that by crossing out rather than erasing because not only is it difficult to erase clearly, but when you erase no one knows how hard you’ve worked on it. I struggled with what to have her work on specifically for next time. It wasn’t what necessarily to work on, it was the how to state it to nudge her rather than make her feel like it wasn’t good. Since she has been working on the story for so long without eyes on it, she felt like it was great and almost done. I need to review the language Regie suggests in chapter 9 and become comfortable with using that so I can be quick with my responses. I was able to guide her in rereading and looking at one section to go back to help it flow. I reinforced how her beginning was so great because it flowed well sequence and structurally, but the middle needed was a little bumpy. I asked some questions to help guide her thinking and she was able to come up with some things to change/add.
Overall I felt the conference went well. I wish I would have had a conference with her sooner, but she is showing she is reaching for those higher expectations!
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you plan to continue to use conferences in your classroom! The whole class conference is very powerful and reaches so many students without us having to nag them or repeat ourselves over and over. Your examples of the period at the end of each line and how many of your students, on their own, went back to their seats to revise their leads and endings is exactly what makes whole class conferences worthwhile. :D
Leah, I agree, those little suggestions and comments makes a world of difference! Your student feels like a writer and IS a writer! Thanks for sharing.
Tia,
I'd have a list of those comments right by me when I was conferring so I could phrase what I wanted in a positive way. :D And it sounds like you did exactly as you should. We want to focus first on the WRITER then the writing. If building her confidence is what was needed right then to continue moving her forward in her learning, then that's what the focus is. It sounds like you did this, but saying something like, "I agree your paper is awesome, the only suggestion I have for now is this one section here...can we make it even more clear/descriptive/exciting (whatever you want to say) for the readers? Do you have any ideas of how to do this? Give it some thought and a try and I'll check back in with you in a little while (or tomorrow.")
Jackie and I LOVE conferring, it's so quick and easy and the students love it too!