Conferring, "That Was Sooo, Helpful!"

After an exciting publishing party, the teacher and I were sharing how awesome the unit and the publishing party had gone.  "Beaming!" was the word for everyone involved, students, parents, and teachers!  Excitement was in the air and everyone couldn't have been more proud! 

In reflecting to just two weeks ago, when the teacher and I began co-teaching the unit, there was no conferring system in place.  This I could not understand, since over the past two years, I had presented various sessions on the importance of having daily writing conferences with students and having a conferring system in place.  I had done model lessons, like most coaches do.  Another teacher and I even made a couple of conferring folders that teachers could try, but two weeks ago, when we started this All About unit, it had been untouched.  It was absolutely blank! 

I personally, can't teach writing effectively without having a system in place, where I can jot down notes of how the student is doing with his or her writing.  In my conferring notes, I write down what the student has accomplished so far, what I taught the student in our (less than five minute writing conference), what the writing goal is, and what I will follow up the next time I see that student.  Without being able to do this, there is no vehicle by which I can quickly scaffold or move students along in their writing.  Without a conferring system, the teacher works blindly getting to some students more than others (maybe all the squeaky wheels), at times overlooking those that really need help, or that need to accelerate in their writing.  Besides, if I don't have a notation, conferring system in place, I end up wasting time having to re-read student work over and over again AND NEVER getting to all of my students.  Writing workshop, and teaching writing in general, without a conferring system in place, is frustrating for the students and for the teacher! 

With my conferring notes, it takes me three to five minutes to see each child, because when I look at my notes from his or her previous conference, I know exactly where to pick up!  I don't have to re-read his or her work all over again.  I don't have to ask all the same questions. I can see what was the writing goal the student was suppose to work on, so my conversation goes something like this:  "Susie, I am so happy to see you working so hard.  Tell me what you are working on?"  With training from the beginning of the school year, the child will be able to say, "I am working on writing my conclusion, or I am writing the body of my persuasive piece, or I am editing my work, etc."  For real!  Even little first graders will be able to do this. It is part of building that independence through consistency, TLC (tender, loving, care), and training at home or in the writing workshop (yes, I said at home too). 

Then I can say, "The last time we met, your goal was to add more details to your writing.  How did that go?  Can you show me where you added details?"  I  compliment the student on what he or she has accomplished.  Then, the conference can continue with something else I want to teach the child, and the setting of a new goal, which I will follow up next time. In this manner, I can confer with my students everyday or at minimum every other day.

Imagine this system with each child, everyday, like a well oiled machine!  What awesome writing we can accomplish!  It is no wonder, that today as the teacher and I (together with parents and guests) celebrated the hard work of the students, we also celebrated the hard work of our co-teaching.  The conferring folder is no longer empty.  Why not?  For two years I had delivered training on the same topic to teachers, because I knew writing conferences were not happening on a regular basis.  What made the difference this time?  "Me!"  Me being in the classroom, co-teaching and modeling what conferring is all about, not for one ISOLATED MODEL LESSON, but for two weeks straight, for one hour EVERYDAY, with the teacher's own students, and with real situations that came up each day.  "Not telling, but showing" - isn't that how we say it in writing workshop? "Show, Don't Tell!"

The conference folder is now full of notes completed by teacher and coach, as a record of the learning, scaffolding, and progress of each child and his or her writing, as a record of a skill acquired by that teacher to reach many little writers for a life time.  No wonder, she said to me today, with her eyes beaming, wide, "Conferring, That was SOOO, Helpful!"

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