Navigating Writing Conferences

Conferring and Feedback

Take a moment to reflect upon why we hold writing conferences with our students.  Brainstorm a list of reasons.

When conferring with your students, what are the overall goals you hope to accomplish?

When you think about these goals, do they change based on the mode of writing you are teaching?  Why or why not?

Think about the modes/authors you study and create an essential conference question(s) for each of these modes/authors. 

Mode or  Author________________________________________

Mode or Author_________________________________________

Mode or Author_________________________________________

Essential Conference Questions for Three Writing Types

Narrative:

Is your story about one thing?

Are you telling the inside story (the one nobody knows but you) or the outside story?

How did you introduce the setting?

What do you need to do next?

Is there a place for a splash of dialogue?

What is the problem in your story?

Do you have any lazy sentences (strong verb is absent)

Is there tension/conflict?

How do you reveal your characters to your readers?

Does your story have a satisfying ending?

Informational:

What is your text about? What made you choose this topic?

Did you present the information in a logical order?

What sources did you use?

How did you take notes?

Why would anybody want to know this information?

How did you develop your ideas?  Anecdotes?  Statistics?  Quotes from experts?  Facts?  Opinions? Descriptions?

Opinion:

What made you choose this topic and position?

Show me where you state your opinion clearly.

What is your most important evidence to support your opinion?

What sources did you use?  How did you include them in this piece?

What kind of tone (expert? angry? whiny?) does your piece have?  What makes you think so?

Types of Conferences

Process Conferences

• What are you working on?

• How is it coming?

• What are you going to do next?

• Goal is to help person become more reflective and self-reliant.

Status of the Class

• Whole group conference at beginning of workshop.

• Each student makes a public commitment to some kind of work.

• Students may run status of the class and record in upper grades.

Topic Search Conference

• To help students generate a list of possible topics.

• To help to narrow the topic.

• To find a focus or “so what”.

• Teacher can be the recorder and hand over list at the end of conference.

• Sometimes in pairs or small groups to generate more good ideas.

Content Conference

• Conversations aimed at discussing and developing ideas.

• To develop the meaning or content inside a research report.

• Teacher may offer information, authors, and sources.

Ear Conference

• Read aloud the entire piece or a portion.

• A way to hear own work and get a sense of “flow”.

• Students can be encouraged to pause as they notice problems or

  get new ideas.

•Teacher can read a section to the student, pausing to allow

  students to make changes or note problem areas.

Evaluation Conference

• Stress ongoing process of inquiry and search for revisions.

• Outcomes – specific writing goals entered in a log or folder.

• A form – portfolio conference scheduled quarterly.

• Sometimes can involve the student in the grading process or ask

   for a written self-evaluation as a product of the conference.

Praise/Question/Polish

• Often a small group or whole group conference.

• Look for writer’s strengths to praise.  Be specific.

• Are you left with any questions as the reader?

• Offer one key suggestion to improve.