1. Providing Effective Feedback Student Conferencing
Professional Growth Day
January 18, 2012
Required Slide
Introductions

2. The Joys of Writing
“If our teaching is to be an art, we must draw from all we know, feel, and believe in order to create something beautiful. To teach well, we do not need more techniques and strategies as much as we need a vision of what is essential. It is not the number of good ideas that turns our work into art but the selection, balance, and design of those ideas.” -Lucy Calkins
Required Slide – You may choose a different quote to focus
Instilling the love of writing is at the heart of teaching writing. As teachers, we are the lucky ones that get to instill this passion and love of writing. Conferencing with our students is a powerful way to guide our kids through the challenges of writing.

3. Moving Writing Forward
Take out your quick write that you wrote this morning about someone who inspired you to be a writer.
Quick write for 1 min and add to your piece (or completely re-write it) of how you instill the love and passion of writing for your students.
Required Slide – You will use this activity later in the presentation.
Facilitator notes: At the end of the session the participants will conference with each other about this quick write. Let the participants know that they will be sharing their piece of writing with each other.

4. Outcomes for This Session
Learning and Sharing:
Building a writing culture
The importance of student conferencing
Strategies for applying the critical elements of conferencing in the classroom
Techniques for managing conferencing in the classroom
Required Slide
Consider stopping and soliciting questions. What do you want to know about conferencing, what would like to hear ideas about today. Post them on the white board or chart paper. Visit them at the end of the day and make sure you covered them.

5. Conferencing in the Common Core
Common Core Anchor Standard 5 states:
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Read the common core
Teaches students to ask questions about their writing and begin to look at their writing critically
Students are more engaged and take ownership in their writing
And Creates independent writer
Here is where we can acknowledge the different writing environments that teacher create. This anchor standard is the backbone to your writing environment. Whether your lesson produces a framed writing, a free write journal entry, a prompted write or you are writing across the curriculum conferencing can occur.

6. How Do We Build a Writing Culture?
What have been your most powerful strategies you use for building a culture of writing in your classroom?
Encourage table sharing and report out

7. Building a Writing Culture
Instill a love and passion for writing – your excitement for writing will inspire the kids! Share your work, love of words, and tell them you can’t wait to read their ingenious pieces of work!
It starts with building a culture for writing
Validate their writing, students see you write (model writing), peer validation (buddy share, author share whole group)M
Many students are reluctant to write because it exposes what they don’t know… spelling, handwriting, process, etc.
How can we create a culture where those students feel validated?
Establish an atmosphere of graciousness, care and respect.
Tap into the children's love of stories and favorite authors.
Use peers to help inspire.
That makes me think of… I remember when I…
Encourage authors to add an “about the author” page to their finished piece
-Mentor Text- Encourage students to see themselves as authors. Validate where they are. Praise, praise, praise!
-Practice, Practice, Practice
-Develop a management system that supports your writing culture

8. Why Student Conferencing?
“Thinking formatively means not judging the value of the writing or its overall success, as we would do to assign a grade. It means questioning, discovering intentions, offering strategies for continued improvement in writing.” Beth Hewett
Required Slide-
In the following video, look for these elements, as well as elements from the previous slides (coaching, affirming the value of the writer and a variety of responses.

9. Inspire First! Evaluate Second!
Be guided by what might help this writer rather than what might help this writing -Lucy Calkins
Writing instruction is a coaching process, grounded in explicit feedback, focused on instruction, student goals, and developing next steps.
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” -John Wooden, UCLA Basketball Coach
Orientation slide – Suggested
Conferencing is focused on the child, not the writing

10. What is A Writing Conference?
A student/teacher conference is at the heart of teaching writing
The conference gives direct and immediate feedback
Conferences are short – one to five minutes
Conferences are often driven by mini-lessons but are a chance for individualized instruction
Students are equally in the driver’s seat and take ownership of their writing
Required Slide
Summarizes the video
Part of creating the writing culture is getting them excited… that means some noise to a first grader!
Bring in examples of student work that you’ve conferenced about For example: what are some of the mini lessons you’ve taught? The notes below are also on the handout as additional ideas for ways to conference. Once you share your ideas, have the table groups share an example of a way that they conferenced with students and moved the student’s work forward. Have them be specific.
Keep a “Status of the Class” to organize where each student is in their writing process
The first time Writers’ Workshop occurs while the teacher is conferencing, shorten the writing time. Once done, discuss with the class:
What went well?
What do we need to improve?
What were the benefits of meeting with the teacher one on one?
Here is where you help teachers understand, even with larger class sizes, or our youngest students, this is how you manage to fit all students into conferences and ensure conferences occur regularly.
Try to meet with every student often – at least two to three times a week
Teachers read the writing silently to themselves. Teachers talk to the students about content, style, and structure: information, organization, language, reflection, direction, significance, character development, leads, conclusions
As you get to know your students, conferences allow the teacher to individually challenge students and help others who may be still struggling
Often just asking the student if you can read their writing sets the stage for a positive experience. Here are other opening questions to begin the conference

11. Conference Architecture
Research:
Ask questions to get more about the child’s intentions
Decide:
Pinpoint what we can teach that will make the biggest impact on the child as a writer
Teach:
Help the child get started
Refer to mini lessons, mentor texts and peer models
Link:
Praise what the child has done as a writer
“An explicit link helps the child transfer what we have taught today into his independent writing process”
~Lucy Calkins
How’s it going?
Tell me about your writing.
What are you working on?
What do you have so far?
“As a reader, I can’t see, feel or hear X. What can you do?”
“What would happen if you tried to do X here?”
How do these questions ensure the student leaves the conference motivated and eager to continue writing and apply new strategies?
What other questions have you used that help inspire students?
Research:
Understand what the child is trying to do as a writer
Ask questions to get more about the child’s intentions
Praise, name what the child has already done and remind them to keep doing it
Decide:
Decide if you want to accept or alter the child’s current plans and process
Decide what and how you will teach for the next best step- CHOOSE ONE
Teach:
Help the child get started doing what he/she will do
Refer to mini lesson charts, mentor texts, peer models
Link:
Name what the child has done as a writer and remind them to continue this
This will help student transfer what has been taught into the independent writing process

12. Content Design Process Evaluation
~Lucy Calkins
Kinds of Conferences
Content: These conferences are interested conversations about the content of writing or even about the content of the students’ lives. In first grade this is where you get the student to be the story teller. Get it out verbally and then encourage them to write
Design: Once the author has landed on a “story” or event a design conference will focus on how to go about getting that event onto paper. What will the flow of the story be, is this a sequential event, what kinds of structural elements are important to this story?
Process: As first grade teachers this is where we are hitting key points on re-reading and fixing-up our work. This might include conventions of print issues, spelling, etc. Another key piece of process is to re-read for meaning. Often our students will zoom through a piece and neglect to re-read dropping meaning along the way.
Evaluation: These conferences handle the “Am I done?… Is it good?...” questions. As student has come with a finished piece and they are looking for a “What do you think?” kind of response. This is a summarization conference on what the student did well. Be sure to point out what was executed and what you expect to see carry over to other pieces of work. (Great beginning/ending, attention to details, interesting word choice, etc)
“Sometimes the purpose of the conference is simply to respond. Other times, if the moment seems right, we try to extend what the youngster can do as a writer.”

13. Student Conferencing Required Slide- PRIMARY GRADES VIDEO
In the following video, look for these elements, as well as elements from the previous slides (coaching, affirming the value of the writer and a variety of responses.

14. What have been your most powerful strategies for student conferencing?
Discussion points: Look for strategies to reinforce how students are taking their own responsibility for writing, how they are getting descriptive feedback and being guided toward next steps.

15. Modeling Our Practice Role Play Take out your quick write
Conference with your partner for 3 minutes about the piece of writing.
Reflect on how the process felt as a writer and a teacher.
Required Slide
Facilitator notes: This is the practice session.
Role play:
Try out the Conference Architecture: Research, Decide, Teach, Link

16. Reality Check Peer Conferencing Student check offs Sign-ups
Record Keeping
Scheduling

17. Share
Share what works for you and your management system for student conferencing.

18. Three Things To Remember About Student Conferencing
Conferencing is focused on the child, not the writing.
By focusing on the child, you are looking from a position of their strength and growth.
Inspire First! Evaluate Second!
Required Slide

19. tsevilla@powayusd.com amfousek@powayusd.com
Comments? Questions?
Required Slide

20. Resources Nancie Atwell – Lessons that Change Writers
Regie Routman - Writing Essentials
Lucy Calkins, Amanda Hartman, Zoe White- One on One
Lucy Calkins- The Art of Teaching Writing
Require Slide
Feel free to add additional resources