Small group conferencing_
- 1. ReadShare Presentation: Small-Group Writing Conferences: How to Use your Instructional Time More Effectively Author: Holly Slaughter -The 4 different types of small- group conferences -How are small groups actually formed? -How can you stay organized when conferencing? -Practical tips -Helpful strategies Emily Doher, Suzanne Russell, and Katie Bueche
- 2. Small-Group Conferencing: 4 Types: Table Conferences Skill Conferences Expectation Conferences Progress Conferences
- 3. When launching a new unit of study When reminding students about strategies weāve already taught When introducing a layered or challenging writing technique Table Conferences: When presenting a variation on a When to Conduct minilesson When sharing a studentās work When sharing a one-to-one conference from which everyone will benefit
- 4. Skill Conferences: When to Conduct When addressing patterns of student response When studying craft When students are revising their work When teaching conventions When working with students in the same stage of the writing process When students are reflecting on their current writing and setting goals for future writing
- 5. Expectation Conferences: When to Conduct When establishing expectations at the beginning of the year When helping students who have difficulty following expectations When helping students who rely on you to get them started When introducing a new classroom procedure When helping students meet deadlines
- 6. Progress Conferences: When helping students meet bottom-line standards When to Conduct: When helping kids keep pace with the class as a whole When promoting accountability (āI care, I remember, and My Words Matterā)
- 7. How to Make Conference Groups * Conference groups can be made up many different ways. Here are a few ideas that the book emphasized upon: -Don't always place the students who are writing well together. Sometimes it can greatly benefit struggling students to see a classmate explain it to them in their own words rather than the teacher being the only one able to assist during conferencing. -Teach or reteach a mini lesson with a few students who are struggling with a specific step in the writing process. -Form groups based upon what type of conference you want to hold. Examples: skill conference, expectation conference, progress conference, or a table conference
- 8. Systematic Planning and Record Keeping: PLAN YOUR CONFERENCES THOROUGHLY! KEEP RECORD OF WHO YOU HAVE CONFERRED WITH!
- 9. Practical Tips to Follow When Conferring Don't Overconfer! Allow for Choice Work with Colleagues Build and Nurture Relationships
- 10. Students Monitor Their Own Writing A tool that Jennifer Process McCafferty teaches her students to monitor their own writing is a "prewriting" plate. How this can help small group conferences: How to implement this in your If the teacher sees that three own classroom: or four students are all revising, she/he can gather Each student puts their name them as a group and teach or on a clothes pin and moves it reteach a revision technique on the plates through the or skill. stages of their own personal writing process.