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"When we come to a conference with an agenda, we're teaching students to be compliant thinkers who aren't independent." (Quote on Twitter)
“Our job is to teach the writer not the writing and change the writer’s life forever from the conference.” Lucy Calkins in The Art of Teaching Writing
"Until the child speaks, nothing significant is happening in the writing conference." Donald Murray
Primer on conferences 1 pgr a copy.pdfWhy take the time to confer? Read this blog for one teacher's thoughts.
Check out this conference that Carl Anderson has with a novice writer. In the video, you'll see how he listens hard before offering some tips
ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFERRING FROM RUTH AYERS: What’s everyone else doing while you confer?
ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFERRING FROM RUTH AYERS: What’s everyone else doing while you confer?
This is a great question, because it gets to a foundation of conferring...students must be working as independent writers. Conferring is contingent on students working independently as writers. It’s a simple concept to write, but challenging to work out in real life.
Like sometimes, much to my chagrin, students chain sticky notes together while I confer. Years ago, I was conferring in my classroom and saw a student grab a stack of sticky notes from the writing center. Then he fastened 32 of them together. They marched off the side of his draft -- 8 notes long and 4 notes wide, making a giant yellow block. I wanted to stop him as he placed each sticky note perfectly aligned with the one before, trailing across the carpet. My blood was boiling, but I was in the middle of a conference. I pretended that a sticky note train was not being constructed, hoped the principal wouldn’t walk in the door, and I focused my attention on the conference.
I have to make this choice about what to ignore moment after moment in writing workshop. I can’t get everyone to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, so I’ve learned to establish routine and structures to allow for students to work independently as writers.
When I finally made it to the sticky note express, I was surprised to find the student had nearly filled all 32 sticky notes with words. When I asked what he was doing as a writer, I realized he was engaging in sophisticated revision work. He wrote more in a few minutes on those sticky notes than he had in the last week on his draft paper.
The more I’m around student writers, the more I realize that when I let go of control, their independence skyrockets. Independence positions students to grow as writers.
Here are a few ways to empower students to work independently.
Send clear messages about work time in writing workshop. Give students an overview of your expectations during writing workshop. Here’s a minilesson video I use to start the conversation. (Stevi Note: this link may not work. It may be blocked by your country. You might try this video where she teaches students what their role is in a conference.)
“I’m DONE!” is okay. It feels good to finish a draft! Instead of asking students to jump into revision, ask them to start another draft. (Not a second draft, but a totally new idea. For example, if a student just finished writing a narrative about fishing with her grandpa, she could write another narrative about catching frogs with her cousins.) I think it’s best to have a few drafts to SELECT from when ready to revise. (Here’s another minilesson video to hammer out this selection process.)
Are you a gatekeeper? If students have to get your permission before moving on as writers, then you are going to limit the work they can do independently. Check your procedures and make sure they empower independence.
Talking is a good thing. Writing workshop is build on the foundation of a community of writers. Everyone is a writer and we work together as writers. Students must be given opportunities to work as writers and make choices as writers. They can learn to depend on one another instead of always coming to the teacher.
We, as teachers, must let go of perfection. It’s okay for students to make choices as writers that are different than the choices we might make. (It’s not okay to NOT work as a writer, but as long as they are working as writers, it is all good!) Take time to establish procedures that support students to be independent as writers...it is a prerequisite to successful conferring.
Happy teaching,
Ruth
Sarah Zerwin's thoughts about taking conference notes:
Sarah Zerwin's thoughts about taking conference notes:
Tips for conferring, includes both reading and writing conferences:
Tips for conferring, includes both reading and writing conferences:
Watch Kelly Boswell confer with a student virtually. Be sure to notice her teaching moves: listening to her student, naming his strengths, providing direct instruction, urging him to make decisions, and summarizing her teaching points.
Ideas from Two Writing Teachers
And here are some templates:
Ayres_ConfNotes_gridsystem.docxAyres_conferring questions cheat sheet.pdf
Conferring Note Collector from Amy Ellerman, teacher, coach, and blogger with Two Writing Teachers
Conferences Coming to Know Students_Ersha.pdfCONFERRING CHEAT SHEET.pdfAnd check out this blog from Two Writing Teachers about the compliment conference.
Thoughts from Penny Kittle and a college writing center:
Thoughts from Penny Kittle and a college writing center:
Conferring_WBT_Kittle_TchWriter_Feb2017.docxConferences in Action:
Conferences in Action:
Watch Penny Kittle confer with three high school writers. Be sure to pay close attention to the time, the common elements of each conference, and the structure of these conferences. Consider what she must have taught them prior to the conference and see if you can notice and name the routines that are a part of her conferences.
Want to see a 1st grade conference?
How about a second grade conference?
Watch Jen Serrvallo confer with an intermediate writer.
Here's Nancie Atwell conferring with a middle school writer.
Want more?
Want more?
Read this chapter from Katie Wood Ray's thoughtful book on writing workshop.
How about those pesky reading conferences? Want to confer like a ninja?
How about a writing conference tool kit? Take a look at this blog and video to see what one would look like in elementary school. For secondary folks, my guess is that you can adapt.
A Handful of tips from lucy calkins:
A Handful of tips from lucy calkins:
Teach for independence
Be sure you've taught students your expectations and that they know their role while conferring and their role as you confer with others.
If students keep interrupting your conferences, teach them to search for the answers on their own. Don't let them depend on you for all the answers. Be sure they know where to find mentor text and that they have a writing partner who they can turn to for support.
Respond to their questions with responses like, "What do you think?" Remind them that they can be their own problem solvers.
Teach the writer, not the writing. The writer needs to learn something she can use on another day.
Take your time during the research stage, and pursue more than one line of questioning in your conference. Consider a question like: What are some of the other things you plan to do with this writing today?"
Ask the learner to tell you her intentions, strategies, self-assessments, plans -- not about the topic.
Kristin Bond encourages Matt Foss, a high school teacher, to talk about how he confers with students. (Scroll to the second half of this blog.)
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