Conferencing

Conferencing is such a great way to help the students realize that their writing is going somewhere without making that thought seem intimidating. It is always helpful to know that the first person who reads your writing is going to be someone who wants to help you with it and give you feedback on it, not to judge you for it. It's also an extremely great way to connect to the students and to help them to feel connected to the teacher. It can be unnerving to have to share something you've written with your peers, especially in a large group setting, but having the attention and approval of the teacher first can put a student's mind at ease as they come to value their writing and themselves as writers.

Also, the feedback that is given at conferences can be a great jumping off point for a new idea to come forth from a student's piece. If they are stuck or just don't know where to go with their writing, having someone else's input can tell them where they might need some clarification, what points seem most interesting and could be elaborated on, or what questions a reader might still have. Also, this can be a time when a teacher might point out conventional issues, but as we discussed in class, these are primarily to help the reader know how to read your writing. I really like that idea for children. When they are learning these rules that might seem annoying or unimportant, putting that spin on it definitely makes it seem important and necessary to learn and use proper conventions. It's like making sure you're writing in the same language as your reader - you want them to understand what you mean. I just liked that idea a lot...

Sharing is so important with writing and I think that if we get children to share and get comfortable with sharing with small groups, but especially with the whole class (as described in the book - even if it is only a small section of their entire piece), they will be more likely to continue to do so in the future. If they want to share, they have to have something to share... so they have to write! I think that inspiring children to feel appreciated when they share with others will encourage them to continue to do so as they go through their schooling. If they enjoy the feelings of sharing, then they will put more effort into their work so that when they do share, it will be the best thing they could have done. The sooner this starts in the elementary school, the better.