Conferring and Small Group Strategy Work

Conferring and Small Group Work:

While students are engaged in independent writing time, the teacher will conference with individual students or a small group of students, to provide differentiated instruction and support. The writing conferences and strategy groups are opportunities to have conversations with students about their writing and to personalize instruction. Scarsdale teachers use various types of structures, described below, to support students.

We believe that a writing conference is first and foremost a conversation. Teachers often confer with students individually about their writing to address specific needs and goals and give them tools that they can use in the future. These tools may support structure, development, or language convention. One-to-one conferencing is an effective way to personalize instruction and meet the needs of individual students. Students' writing improves over time with one-to-one conferencing. We believe that focusing in on one teaching point in a conference is the most beneficial way to approach this method of teaching.

Important steps for a writing conference include:

        • RESEARCH what the student is doing as writer;

        • ASSESS how well the student is executing the skills;

        • DECIDE what to teach the writer;

        • TEACH towards tomorrow.

The TCRWP learning progressions for narrative, opinion, and informational writing along with Next Generation ELA Standards, help to guide our differentiated instruction decisions.

1:1 Conferring: Goal Setting Conference

1:1 Conferring: A Conference is a Conversation

Table Conferences:

At the beginning of a new unit of study our teachers often employ table conferencing to get a sense of how students are approaching writing. They start by taking a quick glance at the work of students sitting at one table. Next, they identify a teaching point that could benefit most of the writers at that table. After complimenting the students work, they invite the entire table group to listen in on the conference.

Small Group Writing Strategies:

An effective method of writing instruction used by our elementary teachers is small strategy writing groups. Whether students are working at, above, or below standards, teaching in small groups is an effective way to help students develop and stretch their skills. During these brief ten-minute sessions, students are given personalized instruction in their zone of proximal development.

Typical Small Group Strategy Lesson:

1 - 2 minutes: Teacher briefly introduces reason for small group

Teacher defines the teaching point for students: “Today I want to teach you...” to help students understand what they are about to learn. Teachers may use a mentor text or other sample of writing to show the strategy.

5 - 6 minutes: Children work (together or individually) as teacher coaches students

As the teacher coaches into the teaching point, students continue to try the strategy taught.

1 minute: Teacher concludes group

Teachers encourage students to do the work practiced in the strategy group across multiple texts. Students return to their other writing to continue this strategy.

How to determine your strategy group

· Teachers look for patterns among students through individual conferences, and create strategy groups for students with similar needs. Students can be heterogeneously or homogeneously grouped.

· Teachers use the student checklists from the writing units as a quick reference to consider the skills students should master in a particular genre.

Conferring & Small Groups (1).pdf

Writing Conference Prompts and Record Keeping Sheets

conferring cheat sheet.pdf
Copy of Conferring Conference Notes for Adult Writing Workshops.pdf