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From A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences of The Classroom Essentials Series
Invite students to have a real give-and-take with you.

Even though in conferences you're a teacher talking to students, you're also a (more experienced) writer talking to (less experienced) fellow writers about what writers do-come up with topics, make a plan for a piece of writing, write a lead, develop a section
with detail, use commas in a series, and so on. In this give and take, you learn about what students are trying to do as writers and how well they're doing it, and the students learn how they can do their work better.

Speak in a conversational tone.

Tone is the foundation of the good relationships you want to develop with students over the course of the school year. Speaking in a warm, friendly manner puts students at ease and makes it more likely they will talk with you about what they're trying to do as writers. What you learn from this talk helps you assess students and decide what you should teach to help them grow.

Sit alongside students, at their eye level.

How you sit with students helps you establish a positive tone in conferences. You might grab a nearby empty seat or sit on one that you carry with you around the classroom. As you sit, it's important to make frequent eye contact with students and make sure that your
facial expressions show an interest in what students are telling you.

Use "active listening" strategies.

For example, give some wait time after asking a question so that students have the time and space they need to come up with a response. Ask students to "say more" about what they tell you. And repeat what children say to check that you're hearing them correctly.
Using these strategies shows that you have a real interest in what students are saying and that you're really trying to understand them. Students will usually respond by talking to you more.

The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

Learn more at Heinemann.com

Carl Anderson is one of the nation's leading experts on teaching writing to students in grades K-12. He dedicates his energies exclusively as an education consultant and writer.

Carl recently worked for Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University as a Lead Staff Developer, providing staff development in the teaching of writing grades K-8. He spent school days in New York City elementary and middle schools demonstrating effective teaching in the writing workshop and coaching teachers. He gave day-long workshops for teachers at Teachers College on launching the writing workshop, conferring with student writers, mini-lessons, and developing curriculum for the writing workshop.

Carl is the author of numerous books including the bestselling How's It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers, as well as Assessing Writers and the series Strategic Writing Conferences: Smart Conversations that Move Young Writers Forward Grades 3-6.

His latest book, A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences, is part of the Classroom Essentials series. Full of classroom video, the book helps teachers understand the underlying principles and reasons for conferring with students, and how to make writing conferences a part of teachers' daily routines.

Follow Carl on Twitter @ConferringCarl

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The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

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Group 1

Group 2

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Takeaway- looking at skills through a lens, think about the next upcoming skill/lesson you plan to teach and look at the writing through that lens

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Takeaway- looking at skills through a lens, think about the next upcoming skill/lesson you plan to teach and look at the writing through that lens

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Melanie

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It is imperative that we write as if we were our own student for modeling thinking, adding details, and crafting a story, but I also like the added component of writing below and above our grade level.  This helps us to guide our students as they progress and to understand where they are and what they need to focus on to reach the next level of achievement.  -Tim

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The brevity of this mini lesson planner optimizes student participation and interaction.  I can see a routine like this helping students focus on their work during scheduled asynchronous time. -Tim

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Assessments have always seemed overwhelming and a bit daunting to me, but the idea of using a particular lens to focus on a certain set of skills is definitely going to be a game changer. This session has also helped me to reflect on what student facing tools I have for my class, and is going to be an area for which I have a lot of ideas to work on.
- Amna

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I like the similar structure that the conference and small groups has.  In my capacity as an ELL teacher, it will help students become used to practicing strategies and reflecting both with their homeroom teacher and in my small groups, which has a mix of students from different homerooms. -Tim

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Trying yourself is a great way to see  by the student eyes and understand their progression and how they can improve. Checking the other levels can help to show the students what they can achieve and help them to reflect and set goals.

- Amanda

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The mini lesson modeling is great. Really served as a good example for teaching with brevity and clarity. It is also very important to point out to the students to help them along their thinking of small moments with someone who matters to them. Almost all the moments happened with some sort of problem or incident with something happened unexpectedly, which makes a good story with excitement. Susan

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The mini lesson modeling is great. Really served as a good example for teaching with brevity and clarity. It is also very important to point out to the students to help them along their thinking of small moments with someone who matters to them. Almost all the moments happened with some sort of problem or incident with something happened unexpectedly, which makes a good story with excitement. Susan

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I like the use of Slides as a tool for norming across the grade level or for yourself. It is beneficial for seeing trends and gleaning valuable data from student work.

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On Zoom, it is important to use both brevity and clarity.  I like the idea that 2/3 of the students are our focus, and that the mini lesson is not where the deep learning or "sticky" part of the lesson happens.  We can create many opportunities to teach, and the mini lesson planner is the place to prepare for this concise delivery. -Tim

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In the last few weeks, I have been planning both small group meetings and office hours, and I will implement the RDT overview as a way to structure my discussions with students. The biggest challenge has been wifi stability, and many times we resort to a discussion when sharing resources or documents is too cumbersome. The discussions can still contain strategyic information, but there is much to glean from what students say about their stories, struggles, and successes. --Tim

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Teaching K5 kids with mini lesson is awesome, with them we need to be brief during zoom classes . I loved how you gave examples and how you thought with clarity and brevity.

- Amanda

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I loved how he approached the kids, with a natural conversation, looking them in the eye and asking them what kind of help they need, what they think about it. Amazing.

- Amanda

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Amanda small group on information writing

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I like the idea of creating low, medium high levels with your students. Having them take part in the learning of expectations and how they can improve.
- Tess

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I love that mini lessons are not the main focus. I have always thought that all my time would need to be spent on the mini lesson then also told that they had to be between 8-12 minutes. I was thinking, HOW? But now that I have taken more courses in R&W Workshop and have slowly learned that the weight of the teaching should be spread over the entire RW & WW time, I feel relieved that I can plan better and create more mini interactions with my students.
- Tess