Reading, Writing, Teaching, and Living Tools for Impassioned People
How to Have THE BEST Writing Conferences
for all content areas and ages!
"It will take too long." "I can't leave the rest of the students hanging." "It's too hard to do them because the kids don't meet deadlines." "I don't know English stuff well enough to conduct a writing conference."
Yep, I know. It's easy to think of reasons why writing conferences don't happen in your classroom.
BUT
if good teaching is all about making connections, and writing conferences allow you to talk face-to-face with each of your students AND give constructive feedback to help them become better writers, why not try to make writing conferences happen?
Facilitating writing conferences in your classroom will hold students accountable for their individual work, allow you to tailor feedback to each student, and (most importantly) help you develop strong interpersonal relationships with the kids in your classes!
Here are some tips to help you!
1.
Make sure your students know it's coming. Provide multiple reminders, and clearly announce your expectations for their completion of the task at hand. I typically attach some value to their work, whether it is part of the final rubric or daily points.
2.
Be ready to go before your students get there. You should have a spot in the class prepared for you to have a one-on-one conference that also allows you to monitor the other students in the classroom. Have a list of student names and a grid to take notes, typically referred to as the "Status of the Class". I've attached one version here, similar to the ones I use in my high school classroom.
Additionally, the students in the class who you're not conferencing with should have a directive from you. Whether they have a new assignment or are expected to continue working on the writing assignment at hand, they should be busy and quiet, and there should be clear consequences if they aren't working.
3.
Set time constraints. Some students will have a million questions and want to take all of your energy for the class period. Don't let them. Each student should have around five minutes per conference so you're able to give your undivided attention to each person individually. If it seems tedious, remember: you're building your relationship with each student while creating stronger writers.
4.
Make yourself approachable. It's so important for your students to feel comfortable, and this is YOUR job. For some students, these writing conferences are freaky. After all, they are forced to sit close to a teacher for a period of time. You're not only assessing their abilities, but you're having an interpersonal conversation with them, which requires talking softly, maintaining eye contact, and staying focused. For some kids, this might be the most anxiety-provoking thing they will do all week! Here are some tips I've learned to make it a more comfortable experience for everyone:
*Speak in a normal conversational tone. Don't use academic language. Talk to them like they're people.
*Smile a lot.
*Use humor (mostly self-deprecating humor). Be careful with sarcasm. The last thing you want to do is offend them when they're already in this vulnerable position.
*Give LOTS of praise for good things you see. Be specific! Circle the good stuff on their papers!
5.
Give constructive feedback. While you need to point out things your students should work on, the point of writing conferences is not to belittle your students. If you do that, they won't want to do it ever again, which will be annoying for you and detrimental for them.
Don't fix all of their errors; make them do it! It's a learning process for them, and you don't want to keep correcting every single error on every single paper, you need to teach them to be self-sufficient.
If there are several errors, focus on three big, repetitive ones. Point out why they are problems and explain them verbally. Ask that they work on these errors before the next conference.
For every piece of negative feedback you must give, find something positive to say to them. Even "This topic is really interesting" or "I love the word you chose in that sentence" can help offset the negativity and help your students' mindsets.
6.
Don't be so serious! Have fun with your kids while still being firm about deadlines and work ethic. Let students know this is a learning process, and it is okay if their writing isn't perfect. Use the time as a means to get to know your students better, and remember why you're there. You're not there for this particular assignment; you're there to help them grow as people!