1. Getting to know your students as writers
Writing Conferences
Getting to know your students as writers
Presented by: Katelyn Mountain

2. Understanding The Writing Conference
Carl Anderson
Assessing Writers (2005)
How’s It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferencing with Student Writers (2000)
Gathering information about these students as writers vs. simply reading completed pieces of writing
Observing them at work and discussing the writing process as writers
Student centered
Begin every conference with “How’s it going?”
Allow the student to set the agenda

3. Understanding The Writing Conference
Realize the needs of each student individually and meet them within the conference
Allows you to build a profile of the collective needs of the class
Create clearly defined goals of where you want students to be
Use the student profile form during conferences, and build your class profile from this information
Detected patterns become the topic of class mini lessons
Sometimes what you want to address as the teacher will outweigh the student’s agenda

4. The Writing Conference In My Classroom
An important piece of the writing workshop time
During independent writing time
Usually followed a mini lesson
might discuss the focus from the day’s mini-lesson (e.g. exclamation marks, main idea)
Could be a check-up point to see what stage of the writing process a student is at

5. The Writing Conference In My Classroom
Assisted students in developing ideas
Assisted students in preparing their writing for “publication”
Cooperating teacher and I would discuss the conferences before writing time, and what students we hoped to see that day

6. The Process Mini lesson
Before returning students to their desk, discuss with each where they are in their writing and who will be conferencing that day
During independent writing meet with student either at his or her desk, on in another meeting place
Begin a conversation with the student
The student might have something he or she would like to address

7. Conference time can be used to discuss many different things
What the student is writing about
What stage of the writing process the student is at
How the writing is going, and if the student needs any help
Sharing time
Follows independent writing time
Usually focused on the topic of the mini lesson
mini peer conference with a partner
Students are welcome to share with the group as a whole

8. The Fishbowl Allows students to watch an interaction around writing
About the Authors: Writing Workshops with Our Youngest Writers
- Katie Wood Ray with Lisa B. Cleaveland
Allows students to watch an interaction around writing
Like looking into a fishbowl from the outside and watching things as they happen
Could watch other students, teachers, or older students who have more experience
Followed by discussion, breaking things down and pulling out the important parts
Point things out and/or ask the students what they saw

9. The Value in Conferencing With Your Students
Student-teacher communication
Know where students are in their writing
See students who might not normally ask for help
Can intervene where might not have the opportunity otherwise
Students take ownership of their writing

10. The Value in Conferencing With Your Students
See every student in the class individually
Assessment tool
Ability to have students explain their writing
Students develop conversational skills
Develop personal relationships with your students

11. Closing Thoughts
The point of the writing conference is to make students better writers, not to make their pieces better!
Get to know your students as authors, why they are writing, who they write for, and what they know about writing well. The writing conference is about them. It might be a valuable assessment tool, but it is about what THEY get from the process!
(Anderson, 2005) (Anderson, 2000)

12. Thank-you!