Wrapping Up Semester One

As I finished "How's It Going?" I realized that there are a lot of mechanics of conferencing that I needed to work on. For example, it was very helpful for me to think about how long my conferences were lasting. I think that I was having these last too long. Rather, they should be quick- and last roughly 6 minutes. Additionally, I, like Anderson in his first few years of teaching, initiate my conferences. I had the same concerns he had about meeting with each student equally across the week and year. However, Anderson speaks about the importance of developing independent writers and that occasionally students should be able to seek out a conference or request that teacher and student conference at a later time. I think that this is an important point missing in my writing block now. An underlying facet of this option is that students deeply understand the reason for a conference. I think that this is a revisit I need to have happen in the beginning of next year. I don't feel as though my students are looking at conferences as a time to work together on their writing as much as they're looking at it as a special time working with Ms. Dantzler.

I also really appreciated the management piece of these chapters. What are the other students supposed to be doing? What does developing independence look like with 6 year olds? Anderson layed a great point when he talked about the importance of envisioning the workshop. It is vital that I have a vision for what I want the workshop to be! I have found this really important in a lot of aspects of my practice in my second year. It's really important that I know exactly what I want to have happen.

I found it really helpful reflecting on the independence level of my students in a writing period. I think that it will be really important to review these strategies in the beginning of next semester, as well as working on sustained writing. Independent writing stamina is vital for being able to conference with other students.

I think that "How's It Going?" will be a text that I will revisit frequently based off the current need in my classroom.

Laura

I really liked how Anderson helped us wrap up all the content of what it means to confer with students to help them become better writers.

Before the end of the book, I still had a roaming question- How do I get there? How do I teach them about the different writing strategies? what are my mini-lesson going to be on? -knowing that Common Core only talks about three types of writing, but nothing in specific.

Although Anderson could not asked to all of my questions, he did a pretty good job at guiding me towards the right places.

For me Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 were the most knowledge revealing, I learned a lot of things from Chapter 7, but luckily there is already a culture of respect and love in my classroom, and I hope when conferring it does not get too out of control. I will def. review constantly the steps, rules, and guidelines of the classroom when there is conferring time, and will make sure students practice and model the correct behavior constantly, explaining the why of our attitudes.

The most revealing and helpful topic to me, was mini-lessons. I learned that it is extremely important that our decisions about what to teach in mini-lessons are based on our assessment of student’s needs as writers:

According to Lucy Calkins mini-lesson are all about context. In mini-lessons, we teach into our students’ intentions. "Our students are first deeply engaged in their self-sponsored work, and then we bring them together to learn what they need to know in order to do that work. This way they stand a chance of being active meaning-makers, even during this bit of formal instruction."

Students tend to develop their agendas for their writing in response to whole-class teaching- mini-lessons.

Mini-lessons give us opportunities not only to give students information about different kinds of writing work, but to persuade students to adopt our agendas for them as writers as their own, and equip them to try out what we teach in their independent writing.

Mini-lessons are effective when students are inspired to constantly try what they were taught.

Effective mini-lessons have an enormous impact on conferences. We don’t spend our conference time teaching about new kinds of writing work, because we’ve already done that teaching in mini-lessons.

Teachers who give effective mini-lessons plan not only what they are going to teach, but how they are going to teach in a mini-lesson. The way they structure the mini-lesson remains constant.

Suggested structure of mini-lesson: we begin with a connection in which we tell students what we will be teaching them and why, next, we teach students about a kind of writing work or by helping them gather information about that work, after we teach, we let students try what they have learned, finally, we end the mini-lesson by linking the lesson to students’ independent writing.- ask who is using the strategy.

Make sure that at the end of each workshop there is a share portion. This will help students see what writing is really for. As teachers are duty is not only to teach about content, but also to make sure that our students are making those bigger connections to skills and real life applications. Are our students asking themselves why do we write? why is it important? where does this fall in my literacy language development? how does writing empower me to be what I want to be? 

 Chapter 6 made me reflect on those questions that I need to be asking myself to have successful conferences. 

“I see that teachers talking with students about their writing. It seems that conferring takes a lot less planning than teaching a lesson to an entire class.” Pg 155

This quote really resonates with me, I identify completely with this when I get observed. Most of the observes do not seem to understand the value of having a conversation with the students about their writing, and they assess me with negative comments saying that I do not follow the curriculum, nor use data to drive my instruction, and do not follow the curriculum guidelines such as tiering vocabulary, or unpacking the standard.

Just looking at a teacher confer may seem deceptively simple, but it is NOT. It takes a lot of thoughtful choreography before we confer in order for conferences to go well.

I love how Anderson guides us through questions we need to ask ourselves so that we can plan for a smooth process of conferring with each of our students. Some of the questions that I really need to think about are:

-where should we conducte conferences?

- what tools do we need to help us confer?

- what do students need to have with them during their conferences?

- at what point in the writing process should we confer with students?

- who will initiate conferences?

- how much time should we devote to each conference?

These are crucial questions that we need to have answers to. It will not be ok if we make this decisions arbitrarily. This will make us be prepared to help our students in their writing process, to have everything handy and ready, and to know when is the right time to intervene.

A decision as simple as were does the conference take place, is so important that it influences students’ willingness to talk with us, as well as the tone of our conversation with them.

I have been making a conscious effort for position myself as a peer, as a friend. To usually lean down, and be at the same height and posture of my students. Even when I am giving instructions, or simply reprimanding for bad behavior.  I don’t want to impose myself in a commanding way, and I don’t want my students to feel fear out of our interactions.

Anderson explains that conferring is not a conversation between equals, but that students seem more relaxed when we meet them at the place in which they feel most comfortable.

Calling students up to the desk put a damper in the conversation, they seem to freeze the moment they arrive there, given that desks are usually a sign of power and authority as a teacher…although I purposefully removed my desk from my room, specifically to take away anything that would represent me as an authorative and unreachable teacher. I placed myself as reachable to my students. I still have a table I use constantly, and I need to make the effort of going to my students, even though this may seem to take a little bit more time. – same with having a special conferring table.

We need conscious effort to develop a conference voice- sometimes even when my voice is lower, I can see myself getting aggravated with those students that are not paying attention to what they are doing, or simply don’t know how to answer to the questions asked.

Tools that we need as writing teachers:

Record keeping forms – this records helps us keep track of when we conferred with our students, what we talked about, and what we learned about students as writers.

I will definitely have a conference folder in which I have a space for each of my students, notes about our conferences, goals, and progress.

Keeping conferences records is worth the effort, you might get confused about what student you were conferring with and what was the conference about. It is also easy to overlook some students, and to think that you have conferred with them when in reality you have not.

A good form could be having  a weekly/monthly calendar with the name of the child you are conferring with under the specific day of the conference, and then write notes below it. I really like this, because it would help me to  keep track of my conferring schedule and to not overlook any student. 

When students are conferring with us, they also need to have their materials ready: Writing notebooks, their most recent drafts, all previous drafts, any piece of literature they as individuals or the class as a whole is using as a model- tell and practice the expectations of having these out

When to have conferences?

We have conferences at all points in time of their writing: - brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing.

It is important that we let them know how valuable the time of conferring is for each student, and that they need to honor and respect it by not interrupting it, just like they would not like to be interrupted by other students in the middle of their conference.

It is ok that after students understand what a conference looks like, and how it is highly regarded in the classroom, that they can request conferences depending on their needs, but prior to that they have to have had a peer conference, and have a specific mini-lesson strategy, or a text read in class that they could make reference from.

So it is ok to do both, to initiate conferences, and allow students to initiate conferences as well. But make sure that you have a schedule in which you give equal opportunity to all students to meet with the teacher.

Anderson suggests to confer with about 4 to 5 students in a 30 minute period, This would be conferring with each student every 6 to 8 days, and is more than enough to help develop the student as a writer.  This way our conversations will not be rushed, neither extremely lengthy that there will be no time to see any students in reasonable periods of time. 

Keeping Mini-Lessons "Mini" by Allaisia

This truly is the book that keeps giving!  I love the way Anderson sequences the chapters in this book to parallel a teacher's likely thought process as they attempt to create or improve their Writer's Workshop.  At the beginning of the book, Anderson focuses on how to lay the groundwork for Writer's Workshop.  I appreciate the way that at the end, he focuses on specific ways to make important decisions that help to facilitate things.   He also helps to break down how a mini-lesson should be structured, which was something i really needed guidance on.  I also took a lot from his advice on managing the classroom during Writer's Workshop.

On making decisions, it was especially helpful to read that Carl Anderson advises teachers to spend 5 minutes on conferences on average.  I have read that about 4-6 minute is best, and I've also read about some shorter and longer time frames being used on conferences.  When I am actually in my classroom during Writer's Workshop, I often find that I get nervous that I'm not facilitating conferences correctly or not seeing enough students and I begin to rush my conferences.  Sometimes I start out really devoting my time and attention to conference but as I grow anxious over timing issues, I begin to cut them short or I pay less attention because I'm busy obsessing over how little time I have.  It helps to find that an expert suggests 5 minutes, and I loved reading about how committed he is to making sure students get that time.  It helps me to be calmer in my approach, and more confident that I am doing things in a way that is truly beneficial for my students and is the best use of our small window of time.

Anderson's writing on how to conduct mini-lessons was probably the most helpful part of this reading for me!  In the section on keeping mini-lessons "mini" he runs down all of the things that keep us from giving true mini-lessons.  I was surprised and a bit tickled to realize that I regularly do ALL of the things he advises teachers not to do in order to keep mini-lessons short!  I invite way too much student talk--ofen not wanting to cut them off or wanting to make sure their comments or thoughts are valued.  I never quite realized that I don't have this problem of cutting kids off if I never invite them to say anything.  I phrase things in a very inviting way during my mini-lesson, and since our learning in all other subjects has become so discussion-heavy, it's no wonder they have so many things to say!

Also, I make it a point to read a piece of literature for the first time when I am giving certain mini-lessons.  It's so helpful to realize I can use texts that have already been read, and just go back to parts that really help us to understand the skill.  And, I repeat myself!  I seem to need constant validation from my students so if they seem unenthusiastic or if they aren;t giving me the feedback I crave, I assume they dont get it and go back to square one.

Lastly, Anderson's section on how to manage the classroom during writing gave me some great ideas.  I have come a long way with classroom management, but things will be so much better now that I've read about identifying the main things that kids need to be able to do to work independently.  Classroom management is about so much more than making sure students are on task.  It also involves making sure students are using their time in the best way possible.  How can they do that if they spend an entire block trying to think of a new idea because they aren't sure how writers do this?

Ashley

There were several things that stuck out for me in these last few chapters of the book. I found the layout for the architecture of a mini lesson to be very helpful. The layout of focusing on a connection, teach, have-a-go and linking will help me to stay on track with my mini lesson. Through mini lessons I’m able to teach new kinds of writing work and through conferencing I’m able to confer with students to deepen their understanding of that work and to extend their thinking. Two strategies that stuck out for me were Students say something to Neighboring Students and Students Look at their Writing and Make Plans. I’ve never considered letting students turn and talk to their neighbors about the mini lesson and discussing how they can use it in their writing or examining their own writing and thinking about how they can utilize what was taught in their writing sample (using post-it notes is also a really useful tool to use for this step).

                Chapter six answered one of the questions that I had about writing conferences which was…when do we confer with students? I conferred mostly during revising and editing stage (which the author points out as a common misconception of when to confer). I learned that we can confer at any stage as long as it helps to improve their writing.  “We have to keep in mind that our goal in conferences is to help students become better writers. If we confer with a first grader about how to find a topic to write about, we’ve helped him become a better writer” (p.166)

                Lastly, the toughest thing about teaching writing to my students is having them become really fluent independent writers. Some of my students are very dependent on me to help me move them through the writing process. I realized that I should have spent more time building writing stamina and how to help them find ideas to write about. The strategies listed on page 176 were very useful as I think about how I can help my students develop their independence. Strategies like: making a sketch, using objects and people to spark ideas, free-writing, and thinking about previous readings for ideas are all great ways to help my students become more independent.

                This book was very helpful in how I teach writing.   As I wrapped up the book of How’s it Going? I have to say that this book has really helped me to evaluate how I conduct writer’s workshop in my class. Although I’m not teaching ELA explicitly, I’m thinking about ways I can help students improve their writing and become better at writing like mathematicians and historians.

 This resource has been SO helpful. I'm looking forward to implementing some of these strategies next semester and incorporating more writing in math and social studies. 

Writers, it's time for you to get started with your work for today. -Kelsey Ferguson

I love the practical guidance that this book provides for writer's workshop.  Reading these last three chapters made me feel a little bit like Carl Anderson was reading my mind on the questions that I still have circling with my writing block.  In these chapters, I was drawn most to the theme of independence in the development of strong writers. Creating an environment where my students can truly thrive without my help has been something that I have worked to foster this year. I always encourage my students to solve their own problems when it comes to spelling words or needing supplies.  I have given them the resource and the words to use when they need these things.  I am here for the problems when they truly need to guidance of the teacher.  This has also worked to create a sense of teamwork in the classroom where they are working together to come a solutions for their own problems.

This is evident through writing block in several ways.  First, through the discussion of writers who can speak from their own experiences.  Our students are able to engage in discussions about the strategies that they are trying and how they are going through both mini-lessons and peer conferences.  When students know the strategies that they are using and are able to articulate them to the teacher and to their peers, that is powerful (Anderson, p. 147).  There is power in knowing what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how that practice affects your writing.  Peer editing and conferences also creates a sense of independence in writer's workshop.  These provide a space for students to come together with one another and talk about their work, their strategies, and share their ideas.  I think that the thing that I have learned most from writing block this year is the power of sharing ideas. My students love to share what they are writing with one another and with me as frequently as possible.  It is motivating. It helps give students ideas.  It works as a way for the students to be teaching skills to one another without the teacher's voice.

In "Decisions, Decisions," Anderson discusses the need for development of strategies to foster independence. This is something that I want to work on in writing block.  While we are at a place where my students can work independently on their writing for extended amounts of time, they still call on me far too often when they are experiencing a difficulty in determining a strategy to use.  I want to teach a mini-lesson this week on using strategies such as peer conferring, recalling a mini-lesson, or studying a mentor text can help to solve writing problems before you need to reach out to the teacher (Anderson, 167).  These strategies enable students to know when they need conferences with the teacher rather than the teacher always being the initiator.  Independent problem solving gives agency to students while freeing up the teacher's time to move about the room conducting conferences.

The final thing that Anderson pointed out to foster more independence in my writing block is changing some of the structural aspects.  I had never really considered how some of these were wasting my conferencing time and it was a good reminder and pointer for increasing my ability to maximize time with my writers.  Anderson outlined three pointers specifically (p.174):

• "Students could have a peer conference whenever they needed one provided that the corners of the room designated for that purpose was empty."
• We have two designated tables for peer editing in the classroom.  This allows me to keep track of where the students are in their writing process.  It also helps me to manage the classroom noise.  I know that the students at the table are working on their writing when they are chatting with one another.  Having them move to and from these spots independently frees me up to work with other students.
• "Students could go to the writing center if there were no more than two students already there."
• We do not have a writing center in my classroom but I love the idea of having a space where all of the writing supplies - mentor texts, writing notebooks, papers, pencils, etc. are located.  This will keep students from coming to me with small problems and give them the ability to provide for their needs during work time.
• "Students could visit the bathroom as needed if the bathroom pass was hanging on the hook by the door."
• This makes so much sense. WHY have I not done this so far this year?  My students are old enough to be completely independent when it comes to using the bathroom.  They know that one person is out of the classroom at a time.  They can manage this themselves and not waste my instructional time begging the question "Can I use it?"

These chapters also made me think of my students more as WRITERS.  They need to be referred to as such regularly so that they are seeing themselves as writers and creators rather than simply students working at a task in a classroom.

So, writers, let's begin.

Teaching young writers-Tenagne Turner

I am so appreciative of having this amazing resource to strengthen writing workshop in my classroom. This book has truly given me ways to reflect and build upon what is currently going on during this time. These last few chapters of the book were very helpful in really grounding my understanding of how to motivate the young writers in my class.

Reading through these last couple chapters has led to me the understanding that the key to a powerful writing conference lies in understanding that it is a conversation with a clear purpose and a predictable structure. I am learning that this is the best lens through which to view the task of holding writing conferences with my students. The book shows us how we can take what we already know about having effective conversations and use that knowledge to improve our writing conversations. 

Usually, we begin our writing workshop with a short mini lesson (a whole group lesson), then students work independently on their writing for 20-30 minutes. During this independent writing time, I usually circulate around the classroom and confer with students. Chapter 5 really allowed me focus on the art of crafting mini-lessons that are effective and helpful to my students. The components of an effective mini-lesson include the connection, the teaching, and the have-a-go.

I know that I have a habit of inviting too much student talk during whole group instruction. I  love to see the way new learning is shaping and changing the way my student's think. When they are engaged in conversation, it is easy for me to see the connections they are making on their own. I want to aim for fifteen minute (or less) mini lessons.  I believe that learning comes by doing not by listening to someone else talk about the doing. Therefore, I need to leave the bulk of Writing Workshop time for students to work. The simplest way to keep lessons short is by adhering to that one key point and committing to ending the lesson when time is up.

I love the idea of focusing on NOT being a GateKeeper when it comes to controlling how our students move through the writing process. Earlier this year, I made a huge writing pencil where students can move a clothespin with their name on it up and down the stages of the writing process. I want to begin to let students move through the process when they decide instead of having to always check in with me. This will give them a sense of ownership, responsibility, and accountability. 

As I move forward next semester, I want to be able to revisit and reflect on our progress in writing workshop in my classroom. Too often do we have an amazing resource, read it, reflect, and then put it down. I love how our program forces us to revisit these resources to help strengthen and improve our practice. 

Making the most of our writing time

By Joy Harrison

The last two chapters helped fill in all of the gaps that I had been wondering about while reading the beginning of the work. They brought everything together and made me feel more comfortable with the structure and purpose of writing conferences. I especially enjoyed the chapter on mini-lessons, because sometimes this is the hardest part of teaching writing -- making sure that the mini-lessons are indeed mini, and that they are contextualized and intentional so that students can relate to them and grow because of them. Sometimes I feel like the planning of mini-lessons is a mystery because I'm never quite sure what I should be doing/saying so that I can really teach to my students' intentions. Chapter 5 demystified the structure and components of effective mini-lessons, so I feel more comfortable leading them during Writer's Workshop.

I love the advice that Anderson gives to start off our mini-lesson with noticing: "In the first part of the mini-lesson, we let students know what we've noticed about them as writers, and what we're going to teach them to help them be better writers" (144). I have done this without even thinking about it but I think that I need to be more intentional about it. I also have to make sure that I'm not just saying "we're working on editing because I realized that no one truly knows what editing is in this classroom." Not that I've said exactly that to my students, but sometimes my noticing is framed as somewhat negative. Now of course I need to be responsive to my students' needs but the noticing part of my mini-lesson should not be discouraging.

I rarely plan the "have-a-go" (p. 147) part of the conference and I think this is what is missing in my mini-lessons. I remember writing in one of my daily connections about feeling frustrated that my students are not actually doing any of the things that I have been teaching them in my mini-lessons. I have struggled empowering my students to practice and implement the skills that I teach during my writing mini-lessons. Anderson gives some very practical and helpful solutions to this problem -- the "have-a-go" and the link to the students' independent writing. These are two important steps that I am missing and without them, my mini-lessons will be useless.

Chapter 6 helped me revisit the structure of my mini-lessons. When I first started doing writing conferences, I had students come to my small table, and I recorded conferences notes in my binder. I thought it was going fairly well, especially because I felt as though my note-taking strategy was helping me build upon the previous time that I had worked with that child, but after reading Anderson's ideas about positionality and the importance of coming to the writer instead of the writer coming to me, everything changed. One of the downfalls of having students come to me was that I was majorly interrupting their writing, the conferences were going too long, and I wasn't able to see enough students during my writing time. A few weeks ago, I started holding conferences around the room. I bought a conferring chair at Ikea (I'm serious -- it's a little stool that's very portable) so that I can walk around the room and sit down next to a child to get on their level. I have been able to meet with 6-10 people in one Writer's Workshop, which is so much better than before when I was only able to see 3-4 students a day. My students and I are still getting used to this new structure, so I am excited about getting to see more of my writers each day which will hopefully lead to their growth. One of my other goals is for my students to have peer conferences, but we're not there yet.

The last chapter helped remind me of the things that I can do to make sure that my writers are making the most of their writing time. I have always wanted my students to get into a "writing zone" where they are not distracted and they can work independently without me giving them a reminder every 5 minutes. I have recently started playing classical music in our Writer's Workshop -- it helps me focus (hopefully it helps the students too -- most of my students have said that they like it) and it also helps keep the tone very calm and serene. I like the idea in Chapter 7 about there being "no talking, no walking time" (p. 173)  for the first few minutes of independent writing. I think that starting off the independent writing time with the right tone is so important. When students get up to go the bathroom or sharpen their pencil in those first few minutes, it definitely affects the tone and flow of the writing time. I want my students to understand that independent writing time is not about just staring at your Writer's Notebook and waiting for Ms. Harrison to confer with me -- I want my students to take responsibility for their writing and be motivated to write independently. In this chapter I also enjoyed the reminders that students need to be "invested" in their writing if they are expected to continually and independently write during Writer's Workshop (p. 178). I want my students to be publishing more frequently (but not too frequently) so that they have a sense of purpose for their writing. Sharing and celebrating is an invaluable part of Writer's Workshop -- without this, students will start to dislike writing and will not grow as writers.

I'm so glad that we read this book together. It was so helpful and practical. Thank you all for challenging me as a writing teacher! My writing instruction has improved so much from last year.

Putting it all together - Kelsey Mitman

The end of this book really helped me put everything together. It answered a lot of questions and allowed me to see everything from a broader perspective. I love the idea of  using writing notebooks to get ideas of places where students can use the new techniques and strategies we taught them. My students often times have a difficult time keeping track of things but by allowing them to have one notebook completely dedicated to their writing would be helpful rather than trying to combine their writing samples with their science and math notes. 

I also have to admit that I have been known to pass over those students who I know already have a concrete understanding of some material and move on to those students who I know are struggling. The idea of making sure we still take the time to confer with those students who do already have an understanding of what is being taught in the mini-lesson and who are already doing the work is just as important as taking the time to confer with those who don't. 

  

I also really appreciate the idea of really making sure you are having conferences with the students in a space that allows them to feel comfortable and making sure that we as teachers are speaking with the students rather than speaking at them. One thing that I realize I need to improve on is keeping the information and records about our writing conferences readily available so I can make sure I am remembering all of our key points of discussion and meeting my student where he or she really needs to be met. I have tried a variety of different ways of doing this but what I realize is that I really need to create one that makes sense to me and that works for me. I also like the idea of bringing around resources with you. Anderson states “these investigations can give students new images of what’s possible in their writing.” Pg. 164.

I love the idea of making the students feel famous about their writing. It creates a time for them to shine and to show and share their accomplishments with the entire class which I think is really powerful to all of the students in the room. The idea of having a share session at the end of each writing period is something I have tried to do but definitely need to focus more on. It is a great way to highlight all of the hard work my students have put forth. 

I also took away the idea of really making sure you are conferencing with the students while they are writing rather than going back and attempting to edit their paper through a conference after they have established that they are done with their writing. Have conferences with them while they are writing not just after they have already edited and revised their writing. If I take the initiative to start a conference with a student during their writing in a comfortable area for the student, I am setting both of us up for success during our conference rather than trying to break down walls or back pedal what has already been done.  

I think what really stood out to me more than anything was the idea that students have to be invested in their writing and have the ability to work independently in order for these writing conferences to work. A huge concern and problem of mine has been making sure behavior problems and off task habits are not occurring during this time. As Anderson states “during my first two years of workshop teaching, there were days where I found it nearly impossible to confer with students. A minute or two after I began a conference, the noise level in the room would become so loud that I couldn't hear the student I was conferring with. A quick glance around the room would reveal that most of my students were doing a great deal of talking but little writing.” Pg 171. I have felt like this on more than one occasion for sure. Overall I think that reading this book not only helped me to see the bigger picture and where all of our writing conferences should ultimately be headed but it also allowed me to realize that I am on the right track and although not everyday or every time is going to be perfect, it is a learning curve that all teachers much go through and that is ok. 

How to confer and how to guide students into thinking as writers by Laura Arce

Even though there are lots of extremely important points in this reading, I decided to focus in the one I need immediate improvement, and this is conferring, helping students understand what a conference is, what are our roles in a conference are, and how to think as a writer, and to explicitly talk about their writing process instead of their content.  

I completely agree with Anderson when he mentions that it is very important for us to still confer with the students, even if it is the first day of a Writer’s Workshop and even if they are not ready. He mentions how we start talking to humans even when they are inside the womb, and how children don’t start talking until after a couple of years. It would be ridiculous if we start talking to babies.. “By starting to confer the day we launch or worshops, we let our students know that they are in a different kind of classroom, one in which they will be required to talk with us about their writing.”

He also mentions how important is for us as teachers to go talk to our students, and for us to move around the classroom to reach them, instead of the conventional classroom, in which students usually need to come up to their teacher. This not also helps the students you are conferring with, but it helps those that are around it to get more familiar and comfortable with the conferring process. I catch myself sometimes asking students to come to my chair, but I will make an effort to reach my students instead of telling them to come over. 

When students listen to others' conferences, Anderson suggests to let the eavesdropping happen, what they learn through listening to others’ conferences is worth the time lost in writing.  It is good to encourage kids sitting around to pay attention to the conference, they might need to  learn something similar to what I am discussing. You can do this especially when you are about to start conferring, and most of your students are unsure about what conferences look like. He also suggests that sometimes, it is adequate to start the whole class and ask them to pay attention to that first conference, so that you can talk about it with everyone after that.

This way you can be sure that the students know what to expect when you are conferring with them, instead of feeling judged or critiqued. They will know that first you are asking them what are they doing, and then you will also teach them something so that they can become better writers. - (this pretty much sums up what conferring is all about)

Students pick up the new words that we use in conference because they are completely necessary for the new communication that will be happening in the classroom. “the average child already knows  ten thousand words at age four. By the time she finished school, her vocabulary grows to at least fifty thousand words, just by hearing words used naturally and in context, and from reading them”

It is good that we highlight every time our students are talking like writers, either by just saying it or by putting examples on a bulletin board of how students are beginning to act like writers.  It is extremely important to show students how we value their use of writing discourse, and this will make it more likely they will use this discourse when we confer with them.

A mini lesson that will help students understand their conference role would be the best way to go to help us make that big shift from talking what the stories were about to what they were doing as writers. 

“our conferences are time for me to come around and help you individually. We may be working on stuff as a class, but each of us is different and has different needs as writers, so our conference time is time for us to work together to give you more tools as a writer” Simply beautifully said. I need to keep this in mind so that I can explain to my students what the real purpose of a conference is. 

Another ways of teaching about conferences: 

Fishbowl- You confer with a child while the rest of the class observes and takes notes about what they notice the teacher and students are doing in the conference.

It is important that we don’t diverge into content, but stay focus on writing work.  The most helpful question to always get back on track is: “Can you tell me what you are doing as a writer today?” It will be normal for my students to answer this question by once again talking about what they are going to write about, but they need to have been exposed to different examples of how to express about their writing. This Is why is so important to confer in front of other children, so that they get a better idea of how to think and talk as writers. 

It is important to stop the conference when necessary, but equally as important to re-start the conference to give a chance to the students to revise their responses. This is really important for me to keep in mind, since I have caught myself sending students back to work on their writing when I see something is not correct, instead of questioning them, so that they can think about what they are doing, and give them another opportunity to verbally express their thoughts.

My only lingering question is if it is more important to give the students the vocabulary to talk during conferences and to talk as writers, or to help them develop better pieces of writing with better content. Or does becoming aware of how to revise your work as a writer leads you to writer better pieces that have good content? 

- I had this on a word document, and had completely forgotten about posting on the blog. shame on me :(

Okay I know how's it going....now what? by Tenagne Turner

These couple chapters really shed light to so many of the questions I've had since reading the last couple chapters and our experiences in writing workshop in my classroom. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only teacher struggling with students who gave very empty responses to the question "How's it Going?" It was crucial for me to understand that students need to be consistently coached through writing conversations and that it is not going to just happen overnight. Prior to reading these chapters, I was getting frustrated with the conversations because I felt like they were getting off track and students were more focused on the content of their writing rather than their process as a writer.

Students have to be taught about their role in conferences. I really enjoyed reading about the modeled conference a teacher had with one student. The purpose was for the students, as viewers, to notice the conversation between the teacher and student. Students are able to get a better sense of the expectation of what goes on during writing conferences. This just goes back to the whole idea of the modeling expectations and how important it is for students to see what they are supposed to be doing. 

I usually reserve the beginning of writing workshop for mini lessons that reflect a strategy that students should focus on during their independent writing. Using the mini-lessons as an opportunity for students to understand their role in conferences is a great idea and a great start to making sure that writing conferences are set up properly. 

I took so much from these chapters but one thing that really stood out and is something I am going to make a copy of to keep in my writing workshop binder is the chart that describes the conversational strategies for helping students talk about their writing work. To be honest, sometimes I just don't know what to say and so these prompts are going to be really helpful in guiding the writing conversations in ways that are beneficial to the writer. 

Moving forward, I think now it is important to take time to write goals for each of my students. In this way, I know their most pressing needs before we're engaged in a conference. This is another way to become more efficient with my time in a conference. It has been on my mind a lot to bring back the writing conference record forms and I know it will help to look back at previous teaching points and see if students are continuing to do those things as writers.

November Conferencing-- How It's Going :) by Allaisia

These chapters were so full of good information and so on time, it's scary! I was able to pull several things that I think will really assist me with my writing conferences in some bug ways.

I could definitely relate to the frustration if those initial conferences where students don't quite know what to say or how to respond to being asked about their writing. I chalked this up as my students just needing time to get used to talking about their writing. I have to admit, though, that although they are more conversational than when we began, I still have several students who seem very passive about conferencing. It's so helpful to realize that mini-lessons that explicitly show kids how to take a more active role in conferencing are not only helpful, but necessary. It helps to know that the fact that we struggle with this is "normal."

I also really benefited from reading about writer's talk, and how it's important to praise kids for using it. I think just naming it will be so helpful for my students. They need to know that there is a certain way that writer's converse about their writing and that, while it's flexible, writer's talk does consist of some structure.

I have been ignoring my students' tendency to eavesdrop on writing conferences with other students. It kind of bugged me because I viewed writing conferences as personal and I wondered if having other kids listening made the student I was actually conferencing with nervous and contributed to the awkward silences. Before reading these chapters I had not considered using eavesdropping as teachable moments and I had definitely not considered inviting other students to listen in on the conversations! This was revelatory for me and I can't wait to start implementing this in my classroom.

I also really benefitted from reading about finding and using mentor texts. I have used mentor texts I. My classroom pretty consistently but I have often been unsure of how effective these texts have been for kids. I wonder how I should use them to guide students and I spend a lot of time wondering where to find them. I really appreciated the suggestions about widening our scope of resources. I hadn't thought to use magazine  and newspaper clippings! When I think of mentor texts I think of books. And I hadn't realized how much I was limiting myself.

I'm so excited about the direction that my writing block is going in and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the book!

Gotta work on my matchmaking (Kelsey Ferguson)

My students are continuing to love writing!  They are continually eager to write and work on their pieces. Often during writing block, I think back to the struggle that I constantly had with students last year as I tried to persuade them to complete writing prompt after writing prompt- often expressing to them that they needed to be ready for a test. What a mess that was! Having said that, while my students are loving writing, I still have a long way to go as a writing teacher.  I often do not know how to teach the specific techniques that help my students to become better writers such as tone and writer's voice.  I constantly feel stuck in guiding them to better their concrete strategies rather than helping them revise their writing.  There are two things in these particular chapters that helped me think more deeply about my writing instruction and the parts that I need to and want to improve for my students - conversational strategies and mentor texts.

The chart outlining conversational strategies on page 97 provided a deeper view of what TYPES of conversations help with what STRATEGIES.  I often struggle with writing conferences when they get stuck and I am often not sure how to guide the conversations from there.  Different students are able to express on different levels and with different articulation.  Having a pocket full of strategies to use in our conversations helps me to better understand what they need for me to say in order to have the most productive type of conversation.

I have noticed that most of my students want our conversations to be guided by what they are writing and not HOW they are writing.  This is an important distinction that I do not always notice because I get as entranced in what they are writing as they do.  Redirection allows me to validate their thoughts while still encouraging them to move away from content topics and into process.  Taking a tour of their writing gives me time to peruse what they have been working on in class and use more pointed questions to help the conversations about their writing flow.  I do use the "taking a tour" strategy often but the discussion of it helped me to understand its uses more fully.  Finally, the conversational strategy of amplification will be extremely useful with my students in helping them understand how to use academic language.  Being able to name what they are doing is extremely powerful for them.  When my students are able to talk about figurative language and why its uses help our writing to become more effective or methods of structuring their writing, they are able to set themselves up for success as writers as they move out of my classroom and into middle school.

The chapter "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" really struck me.  I have come to a much better understanding of mentor texts and the importance of students having them over the last year but this brought it into a whole new light for me.  The idea of my students having text sets that outline different authors and a mentor texts on the strategy that they are working on at all times actually blew my mind a little bit.  It changes the way that I think about mini-lessons and the way that I choose mentor texts.  As the book discussed, we should have a set of about 25 culturally relevant texts that cross an array of writing strategies to support our students' writing process.  This chapter made me want to get more familiar with more literature that could be useful for my students.  It also pushed  me to come to better understanding of what it means to help a child develop a writer's voice and tone and strategies for compelling their readers to continue.  For me, so much of that is intangible and therefore, more difficult to teach and more difficult for me to wrap my brain around.

Since these things are so intangible, the importance of having mentor texts becomes increasingly important.  Here, students are able to SEE the strategy in use and make it their own to use in their writing.  Just like teachers do not need to recreate the wheel, neither do my students as writers.  They can take what is already there and formulate it to fit their style, their topic, and their writing while simultaneously working to enhance their pieces.  I want to focus more on the use of mentor texts in my writing block moving forward.  Their use for my students is invaluable in improving the more intangible skills of writing.

November writing! Margaret

These chapters provided a lot of needed information for me. I really enjoyed reflecting on the use of mentor texts and my mini lessons. I have already found that creating a common language in a classroom is pivotal in helping create a space for the right conversations to happen. I need to make sure I am modeling and explicitly talking about a writer's language! By doing this, my students and I will be able to have more fruitful conferences. I also think that by having this common language and my other students observing each other's conferences will help each writer grow. I have found that students often take a lot of their tips from other students while I am complementing their choices as a writer. 

I really enjoyed reflecting on the use of mentor texts and my mini lessons.I also have found that mini lessons on mentor texts can happen all the time! Sometimes some of my kids most interesting questions during a read aloud can serve as a mentor text. For example, if a student asks why pictures in a book are in black and white, I can use that as a time to talk about a choice the author made. Anderson made a lot of points about mentor texts that cemented them in my mind as a great tool to use for especially our earliest writers. 

Additionally, am I putting my students first during conferences? I usually have them come to my table but that isn't putting them first and is also putting all the power in my teaching station! Dr. Fisher taught us a lot about positiionality in a classroom and I am choosing what is easiest for me over what's best to make a comfortable writing space.  I feel like after reading these chapters I am especially ready to have my kids writing anywhere they want in the room. I can move around and meet them to conference. I am excited to put these points into action right before our break!

After reading the two chapters I found that most of the information were strategies that pointed me in directions that I can use in my classroom.. One is how to have relaxed conversations with students during conferencing. One quote that really stuck out to me was "If we identify the conditions that enables them to learn how to participate in various conversations, we can then make sure those conditions exist in our classrooms" (p.82). If I focus on having relaxed conversations with students instead of trying to tackle their writing so quickly I believe my writing conferences will be a lot better and students will share more. I also thought going out to the classroom to confer was really great idea. I always visioned conferencing at a quiet table in the back of the room away from everyone else and sitting down and talking to one child for a good 5 mins or so. However, I believe for my students going around the classroom and doing quick check- ins with students will work best. My students are really busy and they are not overly excited about writing. Therefore, I think conferencing with them a little quicker and stopping by their desks will be a great way for us to connect and I can get a good sense of how they are feeling about their writing.

Some of the conversational strategies that Anderson mentions have squared my thinking and I currently use with my students. For example, redirection and show and describe are some that utilize regularly with their writing. However, I like some other strategies that are mentioned that I believe I will try with my students. For example, providing suggestive options for students who sometimes struggle with discussing their work. I also like amplification strategy of pointing out what students are doing well with in their work. I believe this will give them confidence in their writing and encourage them to try different techniques.

I realize that I also need to expose my students to more mentor text. I've never thought about allowing my students to have writing mentors. I really love the strategies on pages 130-131 to start building a collection of mentor texts. Strategies that I believe can work well in my room are: involving kids in finding great texts (this will help involve student interest) and asking the media specialist for support. Luckily we have a wonderful media specialist  who is always willing to help and I think she will be a great resource.

This book has been really helpful in that I learned how to help my students become better writers. Some of them are still struggling with enjoying writing but I know it's a process that with time they will progress and learn to enjoy it more if I continue to support them and provide them with the resources they need.

Next Steps - Kelsey Mitman

These chapters were really helpful and made me think about my writer's conferences in a very different light. Since I do not teach writing it is not expected of me to necessarily conference with my students and therefore it is not something I have necessarily done a lot of in the past. My team teacher who does teach reading and writing is awesome about taking the time to actually have meaningful conferences and conversations with my students about their writing and how it is coming along. When I read How's It Going I came across a quote on page 82 that said "first we need to immerse them in conference conversation at every opportunity." I never thought about this until I read this quote and realized that I can conference with them about their math or science writing simply by saying hey how's it going and hearing what they have to say. We do writing in math and science all the time and we talk about different ways to become better mathematicians and scientists and how our writing can express this - this is what writing conferences are all about. Our students are only going to live up to the expectations that we set for them. If we don't expect them to be master writers who are aiming to be published then they will never writer like master writers who deserve to be published. It is our job to help them realize their potential at all times in all subject areas through writing. 

I realized that I ask the question "How's it going" a lot with my students and I think that with just a little more focus and direction that phrase can really do a lot of great things for my students in terms of their writing. I also think that when students are able to hear the feedback being given to other students (eavesdropping) that a lot of good can actually come from that. Think-pair-shares are great for if not other reason than it gives students a starting point and a place to begin thinking about things without the individual pressure - eavesdropping on conferences and hearing advice being given to other students in my opinion is the same thing. 

I want to really focus on celebrating those students when I see the writing of scientists or mathematicians and really use that wording to help others who are struggling with it. I also realized that I need to do more referring back to previous things, especially previous connections and writing that have been done. This is their own work and we should really celebrate and build from what they have already done rather than thinking we have to start from scratch each time. I also realized that this is a great way to look at my morning work time. Instead of giving them a different prompt each day, I can give them a prompt or paper for the week and use that as a way for them to edit and revise and conference throughout the week. 

The last thing that I really took away was the idea of writing mentors and having students use partners to really help their writing. I remember doing this in school when I was younger but have definitely not given my students the opportunity to really do it in my classroom this year. We talk all the time about CGI and math and how important it is for students to confer after they have solved a problem so it only makes sense that it would be just as important for their writing aspect as well. I am excited to really focus more on what I am doing and how I can take that and apply it in an even more focused manner

Making Connections

By Joy Harrison

Because of schedule changes (testing, International Week, etc.) I haven't been conferring much with my writers, so my writing conferences honestly haven't been on the forefront of my mind lately. Therefore, when I read Chapters 3-4, I was really glad that I had the opportunity to think and learn more about conducting successful writing conferences. My conferences have become so irregular and I have not been able to confer with enough writers in one day or week. The inconsistency in our schedule will not help my writers grow and therefore I have unfortunately seen a lack of steady growth in many of my writers. Reading these chapters helped me refocus and think about how I am going to do things differently so that writing conferences are always a part of our day, no matter the irregularities.

In Chapter 3, I was really grateful for the practical tips that Anderson gave through his snapshot of the logistics around conducting a writing conference. I felt particularly convicted about his discussion of the teacher's positionality (Dr. Fisher word!) when conferring with students. To be honest, I have immensely enjoyed sitting down at my teacher's table and having some private time with my writers, but I know that it's not the best idea if I'm thinking about the power dynamics. I am also not as able to have as many writing conferences when I'm calling students over to my table. So when I start conferring again (next week!), I will make sure to move around the room, confer with writers in a shorter amount of time, and give other students the opportunity to "eavesdrop" on other people's conferences (p. 85). I also thought it was a great idea to have fishbowl conferences, just like I have done with my book clubs. My fishbowl book clubs have been very successful and I think that students learning from other students is super powerful.

There were a few other salient topics in Chapter 3 that particularly stood out to me. Anderson discussed the importance of "writers' talk" because that will help students in conferences when they have to share what they are doing as a writer. On page 86, Anderson explains the importance of modeling in our mini-lessons how we expect our students to talk in their conferences. This seems like a fairly obvious point to make, but I realized that I have not intentionally thought about this and therefore I don't think that I have been explicitly modeling the language that I expect to hear from them. This is something that I do a lot more naturally in my read alouds -- it has become something that is almost ingrained in me that I am modeling how I want them to talk to each other in book clubs. So in theory, it shouldn't be too hard to start doing this in my writing instruction -- I just have to start doing it!

When I read Chapter 4, I was forced to reflect upon how much of a novice I am when it comes to mentor texts. I did not truly start using mentor texts until the end of last year, and even then, I never felt completely successful at integrating them into my lessons. Even this year as I have tried to incorporate more mentor texts into my writing mini-lessons, I feel as though there is a disconnect between the mentor text and my writers. As teachers I don't think that we do a good job at teaching students to read as a writer, and I have personally experienced how tough it is to train students to read something with a writer's eye. Anderson talks a little bit about the inexperience of some students who have never used mentor texts to guide them in their writing: "A student may not realize that there is, in fact, a text the class has already looked at that might give her ideas for how she might craft her writing. A student may feel the texts the class has read and studied don't address the craft issues she's grappling with, and maybe unsure of where to find another text that does. Or the student may not realize the benefits of having a writing mentor" (122). To my knowledge, there is only one girl in my class who has ever talked about a mentor text when discussing her writing. I think that the majority of my students have never thought about how the books they read are written by authors. They don't naturally think about the process that goes behind the story -- instead they just focus on the end product, the story. Also, one of the reasons that my kids don't connect well with authors is because they seem out of reach -- to my students, the authors aren't writers who are going through the same process as them (prewrite, draft, revise, edit, publish). My students don't realize that what they're doing every day in Writer's Workshop is what real authors do on a regular basis. I think my job is to help them make that connection so that the process of becoming a good writer is demystified.

Conferences as Conversations

I felt like my writing instruction last year was very cyclical. I would have a period of a few weeks when we were solid writers; I felt like my writing instruction was planned and focused. Then I would have a few weeks where it wasn't focused- we would kind of just be writing. I think that a lot of this has to do with the fact that my conferences weren't strong. "How's It Going?" shares that conferences really drive the writing instruction. Last year, I really found that I was doing what Anderson references on pg. 8- I was getting mesmerized by what students were writing about. I found that I always had endless questions about their story and they loved talking about them. But more often than not, I just didn't have conferences. I felt like I didn't know what to do so honestly avoided it all together. I would have informal ones but wouldn't have an agenda set like I should.

I think one point of chapter one that is helpful for me is that both the teacher and the student need to have identified roles and we should each know what they are. Having conversations with my kids about what writing conferences are and what I expect from them and what they should expect from me will not only help the structure of the workshop but also help keep me accountable for meeting with them.

This year so far, my writing conferences haven't moved past rehearsal conferences. I do have kids that are ready for drafting, revision and editing conferences, however. I honestly just never thought that first graders were writing to publish. EEK! I know. That's awful. I thought they always just would sit down to write a new piece each day or add on to another one. I feel like having a new end goal of always publishing will be incredible to help my kids get excited about writing and sharing their work.

I think that these chapters more so helped me rethink my mindset about my workshop. I never thought about my end goal for writing therefore my kids never really had in mind what we were working towards. I always have kept author's share as a special point in every day of my workshop but left it as that. I am excited to share these new goals with my students!

Loving the Book so Far! (Ashley)

Although we have talked much about writer's workshop, I've approached this book = with a different experience now that I'm teaching third grade. From its opening, I could really relate to the author as he told about his lack of conversations that he had with students during his first year of teaching (which was similar to my first year and the beginning of my second). However, as I move throughout the school year, I'm developing these conversations and growing closer to my kids.

As it relates to writer's workshop, I really learned a lot from reading the first two chapters of the book. I realize that students should take the lead of the conference first as oppose to the teacher jumping right into the conversation. "The conference begins with students in the lead role, setting the agenda for the conversation..." (p.20). This gives us as teachers an insight as to what the student is already thinking of, excited about, frustrated over, etc...about their writing. I like the idea of the student taking the lead because it gives us "a way in" to their thinking without us as = jumping to conclusions on what we think they are thinking or what they should be doing with their writing.

It was also very insightful to read that our primary goal should not be to control students' writing but we are teaching them skills to become better writers. "If we take control over a student's writing and make sure that the draft has our perfect lead or our brilliant dialogue, all we've done is given a demonstration of our expertise as writers" (p.9).

Another helpful section was the suggested research questions listed in chapter two. Two main research questions that stuck out for me were Questions About Students' Writing Strategies and Questions About a Student's Decisions. These topic research questions were helpful to read because they are questions that I need to be more mindful of when conferencing with my students and making sure I ask more of these types of questions during our conferencing.

One thing I'm still thinking about is the list of conference types on page 27. How often should we conference with students to make time for all four conferences? Are we constantly revisiting all four conference types or can we start to incorporate some peer to peer conferencing for some of these? (I believe there was a section on this and I will go back and check).

Overall, I'm really pumped about this book! It has really been a helpful refresher for me to continue the discussions about writer's workshop. Last year, I felt that I was exposed to a lot of strategic thinking about writing, but I could only apply very little in my pre-k classroom (even though my young writers told their stories through pictures :). As I begin to restructure my writing block for homeroom, I'm going to use this book to guide my writer's block and conferencing structure with my students. I'm eager to see how it will all play out in my classroom and to see what great writing my students' produce!

Reflective writing

By Joy Harrison

Like everyone else has said thus far, I really enjoyed reading from these first few chapters because it reminded me of the things that I already know and also pointed me in new directions. Although I have not read this book before, I have read other things by Carl Anderson so I am familiar with the "conference as a conversation" framework. This year is the first time that I'm conferring with my writers (yeah, don't ask me what I was doing last year...) and I have loved it so far. I have been struggling with figuring out how to find the time to meet with each one of my students at least once a week, but I have enjoyed the conferring process. There have times when it has been awkward, frustrating, and overwhelming, but I have already seen a lot of my writers gain confidence because of the attention that I am giving them during our conferences.

"Another way we help students become better writers is by teaching them to be reflective about their writing" (9). I think that this is one of the hardest skills to develop -- to be able to reread your writing, reflect on what you did well and how you need to improve, and then identify the strategies that you must employ to reach your goals. This is something that our kids are not accustomed to, because they are used to being told by the teacher what they need to work on. As teachers we are natural reflectors (after all, we are always reflecting on our practice) but what happens is that we do the reflecting for our students and we don't know how to empower them to become more self-aware and independent in their academic goal-setting and progress. Before reading these chapters, I hadn't considered that asking a child "How's it going?" or "What work are you doing as a writer today?" are questions that require reflection. What I have experienced is that it is pretty awkward at first with some students because they just say "good" or "I'm just writing." But I hope that over time, like Anderson mentioned, students will become accustomed to the structure and the process of writing conferences.

I didn't realize before reading these chapters that the students were supposed to set the agenda -- whoops! Of course being the control-freak that I am, I have been the one who has been setting the agenda for the conference. I can tell that some students already have experience with setting a goal and working together with the teacher to reach that goal, but other students have never been asked to set goals for their writing. It's been hard to figure out how to empower my students to set a schedule and set their goals, especially when some of my students have no confidence in their writing or can't write much at all. I know that over time their confidence will build (I always remind myself to compliment them first!) and it will become easier.

Another part of the chapters that pointed me in a new direction was the section on the types of questions that we might ask our children (pgs. 41-45). I have never thought about the categories of questions and how it's important to push our conferences by asking different types of questions. I will definitely be reading this over a few times and maybe even taking some notes for myself so I don't forget in my conferences to ask research questions or questions that are connected to my mini-lesson.

Como te va?

By Laura Arce

Wow! this was a very eye-opening reading for me. I remember hearing Dr. Fisher talk about writing, and how it gave me a whole new perspective as a teacher, and push to see myself as a writer and to see my students as writers. She def. gave me the best introduction somebody could get  to a writer's world, especially for a person that teaches writers and writing. But reading just the first two chapters of this book has given me a broader understanding of my role as a Writer teaching writing. 

To be completely honest, even though Anderson started his book talking about simple conversations, it wasn't until the middle of the first chapter, that I stopped feeling completely lost, and things started to make more sense. Before, I had no idea what a conference was, I did not understand the purpose of a conference, or how to have a conference. Anderson has a whole chapter in which he focuses on how easy and natural conferences should come to us, simply because conferences are conversations, and according to him, we have been practicing conversations that matter with people that matter, for our entire lives. (and he is right).

"It's intimate, personal, shared. This is the kind of feeling I want to create as I talk with students about their writing" pg 7. This quote really struck me, because when I think back of "the conversations" or "conferences" that I have previously had with my students, they definitely do not look and feel like the way he describes. There is a lot of refocusing that needs to happen in my classroom, especially when it comes to approaching my students' writing. 

"Conferences...are the working talk of fellow writers sharing their experience with the writing process." pg 7 Anderson mentions that one of our roles as teachers, and especially as we are conferring with students, is the fact that we need to help our students become personal reflectors. This is a challenge. Especially when we are talking about writing. Simply because I don't even know how to reflect upon my own writing, but I think this book is really going to help me to think through the necessary questions so that I can strengthen my writing, and I can help my students strengthen their own writing. I need to constantly be asking myself questions such as: How is it going? What am I trying to do here? What do I need to make this work?.  As I write and as I confer. When I am working with students I should ask: How is it going? What work are you doing as a writer today? What can I help you with today?. By constantly asking these questions we are scaffolding their growth into reflection writers, and so are we.

 I really loved that Anderson pointed out the characteristics of a conference. He was very clear on the focus and the foundation of conferences, and the importance of us as teachers, being clear about the focus of each conference we have with every child.

He also reminds us to stay focus, simply because it is so easy to start a sidebar conversation about what is happening in the story, or where those ideas may be coming from, and we might even convert our writing sessions into venting sessions, or healing sessions. But we must remember that that is not the point, we are simple writing teachers, helping our students become better writers, and targeting their writing needs. The purpose of a conference is to help students become better writers. The focus must maintain unchanged, and if the children you are serving present deeper emotional needs, your job as a teacher is to refer them to the right person for this, aka, counselor, psychologist, etc…Even though we must stay focus on the purpose of conferring, we  must know that this conferences allow us to build strong relationships with our students. Through these conferences we show them we are genuinely interested in them as writers, we give support and encouragement, and we nurture the genuine connections between us and our students, and those connections have so much to do with the success of our conferences.

Understanding the academic and social importance of the conferences, will definitely lead to more success in our students’ writing. 

Tell me more!

by Tenagne Turner

Writing workshop is a very special time for my students and I. It is something we take very seriously and pride ourselves on. We know that staying on task and staying committed to our writing during this time will help us become better writers. And so I asked myself, what am I doing now to help my students become better writers now that the foundation and the structure of writing workshop has been laid?

Reading the first couple chapters in How's it Going really gave me some important things to think about and reflect on as I continue to build and strengthen the young writers in my class. One of the most important things I have chosen to reflect on is how conversations with a writer helps to build confidence. It is an opportunity to show that we care about the creativity and ideas that thrive in young minds. Too often do I catch myself focusing my writing conferences on the product instead of the writer.

I want to begin to refer and conceptualize these conferences as conversations. I want to set goals for these conversations so that they can flow naturally and that both the student and myself can feel responsible for our role in the conversation. I think that these conversations can highlight what the writer is thinking as the plan their writing and can also focus on how to become a better writer. It is just as important to record these conferences for future planning and reminders of what students are working on. I am going to be more diligent about utilizing a writing conference record sheet.

My goal for these conversations will be how focused on helping students become better writers. I used to view the conversations as opportunities to allow the student to talk in circles about what he or she was writing about today. These kinds of conversations are important as they allow the child to express herself and makes her feel important, but at the end of the day, it did not help the child become a better writer.

I have been really trying to step back and examine my role as one who facilitates and guides learning in the classroom. Specifically, during writing workshop, I often expect my kids to independently use strategies that I've modeled without giving them space and opportunity to practice using those strategies while I am guiding them. My first step this next couple weeks is to make I sure I check in with every writer and just ask them the initial question of "hows it going?"

Conferences Are Conversations

By Allaisia Cotton

I have been attempting writing conferenced with my students since last year, and it seems like I can never get it just right.  If my conferences feel really productive, then they were too long.  If I'm able to get to 6 students in one writing block, I feel like my conferences were rushed, or that I neglected my students in some way.  When I follow a conference protocol closely, conferences can feel stale and impersonal.  When I don't follow a protocol closely, my conferences can feel unfocused and less productive.  To say the least, I have felt discouraged about writing conferences!

One of the best things I pulled from "How's It Going" is that writing conferences should feel like conversations and that they should be based on what kids tell you about their writing first.  I like the idea of the student setting the agenda for the writing conference by describing their work.  Too often, I have started right in on what I think that student should be doing better based on notes I have taken on them or on some strategy I think the class should be focusing on.  This reading made me realize that more often than I originally thought, opportunities will still arise for me to address things I've noticed when I let students set the agenda. And I realize that if those opportunities don't present themselves sometime, it's okay.

Another really overwhelming part of trying to conduct writing conferences is the number of things I notice the student needing help with.  Just by reviewing one writing piece, I might notice some huge deficits in spelling, grammar, developing ideas, flow--and sometimes there are so many important aspects of writing that the student needs guidance with that it feels as though I could never address them all!  This anxiety of feeling like I could never do enough ironically makes me try to do more.  So many times, I have jam-packed conferences with pointers for the kids. Even though I know how overwhelming it is for me when I receive too much feedback at one time, I forget how overwhelming this must be for my students.  I love the way Anderson encourages the use of a line of thinking in conferences-- ONE thing that comes directly from what the student has expressed, to focus on and help the student with.  Just as Rome wasn't built in one day, it takes time to help students develop their writing.

The third most important thing I took from the reader was the importance of listening during conferences.  Even when I begin my conferences by asking kids how things are going, I find that I am often too busy thinking about which strategies I should work on with them, or reviewing notes on where we left off to actually listen to what they are saying.  And as I ask probing questions, I am usually ignoring their responses as I read through their work to determine what they need my help with on my own.  It's so important that I start showing my students that I care about their writing, by listening intently.  When I show how much I care, it motivates them to work even harder and makes them feel as though their writing is important--and it is.

What is a writer's conference?

By Kelsey Mitman

As I sat down to read this book I realized that writer's conferences are not something I officially do with my students. They partake in morning journalism and informational writing about math or science but I never actually sit and really conference with them as part of the writing process. While reading these few chapters I realized that conferencing with my students is really something I need to do even though I do not technically teach writing.

I really took to the part about conferences merely being conversations between you and your student. Each person plays a lead role, first the STUDENT THEN THE TEACHER. The two partake in a discourse and simply converse about what the student has created through his or her writing. The book talks about the different types of conversations you have had and where the most meaningful conversations have taken place. Meaningful conversations are comfortable, they have a point to them , and they matter to both parties. This is the type of conversation I want to create for my students at all times in my classroom, but specifically for writing conferences.

I know that when I have conversations with my students about work that I see or that they turn in, I am quick to correct it for them rather than ask them what they were thinking or why they did it the way they did. Anderson says “I finally realized that my role in conference is to find out from students what work they are doing as writers and then teach them how to do that work better.” Pg 25 Writing conferences are not a time to pull out the red pen and make corrections all of the student's work. They are a time set aside to have a conversation with your student, to set an agenda and begin to understand your student as a whole and as a writer.

I think a difficult thing about writer's conferences, or looking at student's work in general, is to remember that you are here to help the student and do what is best for the student. You are NOT here to do what is easiest for you as the teacher. Beginning a conference by hearing what the student has accomplished and nudging them to grow from there is success. The goal is that a child uses what we taught them or discussed in their conference not only in their current work but again in the future. This shows real growth as a writer. I am eager to begin conversing with my students on a more personal level regarding the writing they do in my classroom.

Deciding WHAT to Teach without Nitpicking

By: Kelsey Ferguson

After reading Ralph Fletcher’s The Writing Workshop, I began to see writing time in my classroom in a whole new light.  Instead of writing being a silent working time, I began to teach my students to confer with one another on their writing, use their experiences as ideas, share their stories with the class and conference with me about their writing.  The result has been much higher engagement in writing block.  My students are enjoying what they are writing much more when they have the choice to write about any topic of their choice and guide themselves through the writing process.  I was excited to further the progression of my students’ writing and the success of writing block by reading How’s It Going? by Carl Anderson.  I feel like this book hits the high points of what I struggle with as a teacher in writing time.  Conferences are by far the most difficult part for me as I struggle with the line between pushing my students to become better writers and fighting the urge to correct their writing.  Three things in particular in these chapters informed my practice as a writing instructor – the idea that conferences are based in conversation, questioning processes, and deciding what to teach.

Often times, my conferences turn into me talking to my students about their writing rather than my students talking to me about their writing.  According to chapter one of How’s It Going?, conferences are to be used to give students the opportunity to talk to you about what they are doing and their thought processes in their writing.  Teachers listen carefully, ask clarifying questions, and then pursue the line of thinking that the student is already on.  The guidance comes from a place of student guidance.  I am going to work this week on stepping back more in my writing conferences so that my students are the main proponents and are responsible for the brain work going into what’s happening.

Secondly, I was pointed by the questioning guidance on page 42-43 of How’s It Going?.   Questioning comes from a place of understanding where the student is and working with what they have given you already. The questions focus on strategies of a writer and how they view themselves and their work as writers.  They are not pointed at grammatical skills or generic writing “rules” or structures.  Instead, they are concerned with guiding a thought process and broader ranging skills.  The skills span from different pieces to work as well. For instance, asking a child “Have you done some of the revision work that you tried on your last piece?” connects the student with work that they have already done while furthering their work, practice and understanding on a new piece of writing.

I also struggle with deciding WHAT to comment on with my students’ writing.  What skill do they need most at this time to help them become a better writer?  How would this piece of writing benefit most?  Anderson points out sources of knowledge to guide these decisions – what we know about good writing, what we know about the writing process, what we know about how children grow and develop as writers, and what we’ve learned about the student as a writer thus far.  I definitely need more development in these categories.  It requires a lot of understanding of where students need to be in order to be on grade level but also how children develop as writers.  I am coming to more understanding of where my students are as writers as the year progresses.  I am coming to more understanding of what they need to be successful as writers. 

Now the struggle is to fight the urge to nitpick writing conventions but work with my students to develop into lifelong writers.  I like this jumping board to change how my writing conferences are going with my students.  I want to work more with and think more about exactly what skills I want to help my students develop over the course of this year so I can have more of a plan going into the conversations – not as a way to guide the conversation myself but to fuse them with what my students are saying and working on in their own pieces.