This was a great chapter for learning everything you always wanted to know about conferences but were afraid to ask... :) Wow! I loved all the different ways that conferences can be held. It is amazing how I have always had a type of conference in my mind and have tried hard to make that work. And then, I find that some of the other types of activities I have been doing during writing was actually conferencing.
I really could relate when she talked about students who think they are ready to conference but have not edited their paper as they have been instructed to do. Also, we use peer editing in class and there are times that I cannot even tell that someone else has read the writing piece and helped with editing. I liked the idea of making some very concrete, visual rules about editing for the writer and also for the peer editor.
I liked her statements on page 220 about simplifying writing conferences. I agree that sharing some positive comments about the students' writing is imperative. That one comment can sustain and motivate the student to move forward in his or her writing to continue to prove what a great writer he or she is.
I just cannot express enough how this book and Tamara's workshops have helped me relax in teaching writing and to enjoy the process even more!
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3 comments:
It is so nice to hear that you are a more relaxed teacher. (Not that I thought you weren't) When teachers are relaxed in their teaching, kids can feel it, and they too relax. Only when our students feel safe and comfortable will they produce the kind of writing that is buried within them.
Do you think we were all taught the same way to conference with kids in writing because colleges don't know any better?
I really think college prep classes need to use this book to train their teachers. It would have made me love working with writing more. I think back to all those years we were beating our heads in 4th grade on the writing rubric. This makes sense.
I too found the self editing expectations to be of particular interest. I find it frustrating when I conference with a student and there are careless errors made that tell me they didn't proofread or edit. I will work to make this a set expectation using a lot of frontloading.
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