Conferring with Student Writers
- 1. From Carl Anderson’s How’s it Going? Assessing Writers
- 2. A conversation To help students become better writers Communicate that you care about students as people and writers.
- 3. Beginning a Writing Conference How’s it going? What work are you doing as a writer today? Student talks about his work.
- 4. First Part of a Writing Conference The Teacher’s Role The Student’s Role Invite student to set an agenda Ask assessment questions Read student’s writing Make a teaching decision Set agenda by describing her writing work Respond to teacher’s questions by describing writing more deeply
- 5. Assessment Questions Initiating Writing Why are you writing this? Which genre are you using? Why? Who do you hope will read this? Writing Well What are you doing to write well? What does your draft still need? What revisions did you make? Why? Process Where are you in the process of writing this piece? What steps are you going through in writing? What strategies are you using? How are they helping you write well?
- 6. Second part of writing conference Teacher’s Role Student’s Role Give critical feedback Teach student Nudge student to “have-a go” Remind students to use what they’ve learned in their writing from now on Listen carefully Ask questions to clarify and deepen understanding “Have-a-go” with what teacher suggested Commit to continue trying with what teacher taught
- 7. Effective teaching point Clear , precise feedback Name strategy, technique, or language convention “Something writer’s do is . . .” Why it’s important How writers do this – give examples Our own writing; Published texts; Student writing Cue student to “Have-a-Go”
- 8. Traits of Good Writing Meaning Author’s point or angle on topic Meaning influences almost all decisions writer makes while composing (Some children see writing as retelling instead of communicating meaning) Structure Sections of a text and their interrelationships Meaning helps writer decide which parts to include & which to expand Leads, transitions, & endings guide reader to create meaning In narratives, ordered in time In non-narratives, ordered by logic
- 9. Traits of Good Writing (Continued) Detail Every detail helps writer develop what he wants to say about topic Use descriptive words to describe topic or what happens Voice Writers presence on the page – person behind the words Use voice to enhance meaning In the way sentences are written In punctuation use In choice of details
- 10. Traits of Good Writing (Continued) Conventions Spelling, punctuation, grammar Student errors Careless errors Signs that they are growing as writers Errors when they are on “syntactic thresholds” Learning to write more complex sentences
- 11. Example of student writing
- 15. Conferring with Katie Where are you going to start?
- 16. My Aunt’s Wedding I went to Vermont for my aunt’s Wedding. I was her jr. brides made with my cousin Amanda. The first day we went to a bridge waterfall the waterfall was beautiful. We went into the waterfall hole. We went tubing. The secound day we had the weding. I wore a green butterfly dress with a matching hat. And the third day we went horseback rideing. My horse was named Chester. He was a brown and black horse. The next time I went there I had the same horse.
- 17. Helping Students Write Examples of Writer’s Work When Writers have This Intention They Can Use These Strategies Find an idea to write about Figure out focus for a piece Organize draft Write ending Free-writing Let objects spark ideas Ask, “What do I really want tell readers about my subject?” Study model piece Make outline or chart Study endings of model pieces Brainstorm several endings
- 18. More Examples of Writer’s Work When Writers have This Intention They Can Use These Strategies Add information to a draft Edit draft Read piece to someone - add information the person wants to know. Draw picture to help think of what else to say. Read piece out loud to selves Read out loud to someone else
- 19. Decisions about conferring Where? Student seats; other students can also learn Tools? Record forms, mentor texts, post-it notes When? At whatever point in writing process student is Who initiates? Teacher in most cases How long? 5-7 minutes; confer with 4-5 students
- 20. The Groundwork for Conferences Mini-Lessons Connection– to students’ needs as writers In our conferences yesterday, I saw you were having trouble with . . . So today I am going to teach you . . . Teach Explanation “After an interruption, writers often re-read what they last wrote to get words flowing.” Example Show writers’ work with transitions Demonstration Write poem using ideas from writers notebook “Fishbowl Conference with student in front of rest of class Class discussion
- 21. Mini-Lessons continued Have-A-G0 Neighbor nudge Look through writers notebooks or drafts & write note or stick Post-its where they could try out lesson Try writing for few minutes, then ask what it was like Link to independent writing Show of hands . . . if you can use what we discussed Promise to “Make Students Famous”
- 22. What are all the Other Students Doing? Classroom Management Teach Independence – Students must be able to work on writing independently for half-hour or more Students must be able to find ideas, write fluently, & know what to do when finished with a piece Teach primary students how to stretch out sounds in words, use word wall, ask neighbors Teach intermediate students what to do when “stuck” Re-reading what they’ve written so far Free-writing about topic Read to classmate & have classmate ask questions
- 23. Questions to ask yourself Regarding Classroom Management Are students invested in their writing? Ample opportunities to publish? Share finished drafts with audience Am I a gatekeeper? Must they check with me before moving to next step? Is my presence felt around the room? Do students have easy access to writing materials?
- 24. We need to be affected by students . . . and them by us. In love for the first time