Writing Conferences K-2

1. Writing ConferencesK-2 EQ: What are writing conferences and how can we effectively use them in our classrooms? Information taken from One to One: The Art of Conferencing with Young Writers. By: Lucy Calkins

2. Think about this… • Writing conferences are similar to the interaction between a doctor and a patient, a client and a hairdresser, or a car owner and a mechanic! • ALL human interactions!  • HOW LONG DO YOU THINK A WRITING CONFERENCE SHOULD LAST?

3. Overview of what a writing conference should look like… • The teacher does not stand above the child giving directions. • The teacher and child sit side by side, the teacher at the child’s eye level. • The child should do MOST of the talking. • The teacher may start the conversation by asking a broad question.

4. Conferencing

5. 4 steps to a writing conference: • 1. Research • 2. Decide • 3.Teach • 4. Link

6. “RESEARCH” • Observe and interview what the child is trying to do as a writer. • Examples: “How is your writing work going?” • “What have you been working on as a writer?” • This step sometimes is the “watching” step to see what the child is doing. • Once the children have been in writing workshop for a few months, they will be able to answer your questions.

7. Study what the child is doing or not doing in order to decide what to teach. Make sure to provide compliments. Our conferences will be more meaningful if we look for the child’s successes for teaching opportunities. Name what the child has already done as a writer and remind to do it in the future.

8. Share Sudhir’s Story • Pg 47. • What do you suspect Sudhir is trying to do when he works on this story?

9. “DECIDE” • Decide whether you want to accept or alter the child’s current plans. Decide what you want to teach and how you will teach it. • Take the curriculum into account and make a decision about WHAT to teach and HOW we will teach it. • Winning Trophy Example- Show don’t Tell.

10. ‘TEACH” • Help the child get started doing what you hope he or she will do. Intervene to lift the level of what the child is doing. • A conference is similar to a minilesson. • We connect what we will teach to the child’s ongoing work.

11. Teach (cont) • “ No matter what teaching method we use in a conference, the most important part of our teaching occurs when we STOP teaching and say to the child “Now YOU try it!”

12. Video Link of Conferencing • http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749217

13. Organization of Materials Writing Folders Writing Tools

14. Conferring Area One to One Small Group

15. “LINK” • Name what the child has done as a writer and remind the child to do this often in the future. • We name what the child has learned and done- referring back to what we told the child in the beginning. • Give a second compliment (complimenting the new work) • The explicit “link” helps the child transfer what we taught to the independent writing process.

16. Take a moment to look at your samples you brought • Role-play with a partner and ask questions about his/her writing. (One be the teacher and one be the student) • What did you notice? • Good Habits Great Readers has a wonderful conferencing card to assist teachers with questions/comments. • Take a moment to look at your conference card.