Writing Conferences

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, effective writing conferences happen early and often in the writing process, beginning in the prewriting stage. 

Writing conferences should zero in on one or two areas of need rather than the whole writing piece. 

These conferences can be, but do not have to be one-on-one, they can also occur in a small group.

"Writing conferences do not have to be time-consuming, planned events that occur only after a student has written a draft. Conferences that directly improve writing often occur spontaneously and last less than one minute." (Kentucky Educational Television, 2000). 

Peer conferences are ways for students to learn off of each other, while praising each other at the same time. 

• While viewing the We are Teachers blog, I discovered neon revision. Neon revision is just what you see in this picture. The teacher gives students 3 highlighters and encourages them to look at the sentence starters (looking for differentiation), use of adjectives, and use of verbs. This could also be used to check for alliteration, use of expression, etc. 

• Proofreading spectacles make peer editing engaging for students. I found this while looking at the We are Teachers blog. This helps students feel motivated to work with their peers in editing and revising their writing. 

"Teaching writing must become more like coaching a sport and less like presenting information. You have to do more than call out the errors."

                                             ~Lucy Calkins (Klein, 2011)

Resources:

Blog - WeAreTeachers. (2015). Retrieved June 24, 2015, from http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/10/07/5-peer-conferencing-strategies-that-actually-work 
How to Improve the Quality of Writing Conferences. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2015, from http://www.ket.org/education/guides/pd/writingconferences.pdf

Klein, S. (n.d.). The Inspired Writer blog. Writing, learning, and living with the Common Core Standards. Retrieved June 24, 2015, from http://writestepswriting.com/Blog/tabid/241/EntryId/6/3-Secrets-to-Great-Conferences-with-Young-Writers.aspx