The Secret to Powerful Teaching:

Tips and Strategies that Will Make a

 Difference in Your Writing Conferring

Presented by Shana Frazin@sfrazintcrwp

shana@readingandwritingproject.com

Welcome! Let’s begin by chatting with someone who is

sitting near to you: Book, Movie, TV series, Game or App

recommendation

Topic you are currently in studying

Potty or sleep training?

Language?

Skill: cooking or carpentry?

Small moment story from your morning

Tip #1: You gotta get in the pool if you

want to swim In other words, in order to teach writing, you

need to do some writing.

Quick Write: Opinion, Narrative or Information based on your neighborly conversation

Tip #2: A conference is a dialogue, not a monologue

During a writing conference, writers say some things about…

WHAT HOW

Topic My piece is about…

Writing Process

I am… (collecting or developing or choosing or…)

Next Steps

Next, I am planning to…

Trouble I need some help with…

Tip #2.5: Teach Other Ways Writers Talk About Writing

Quantity

Quality

Identity (with evidence!)

Tip #3: There’s more than one way to get in the pool

In other words, Research, Decide, Teach is not the one and only structure for a writing conference Assessment conference

Compliment-only conference

Partner conference

Follow-up conference

Coming Soon… conference

Tip #4: Create examples with explanations

“Writers reach not for the ornate or the impressive word, but for the true word, the precise word.” ~Lucy Calkins

In my own writing:

1st try: I watched my mom as she combed her hair.

More precise try: I studied my mom as she lifted the blue plastic pick to her curls. Phft, phft, phft.

Abraham’s writing

1st try: I was so excited. I jumped up and down.

More precise try: Inside me was a tingle. I started to feel a little taller. Like a big brother.  I made a fist, stretched my arm and tugged to my chest and said, “yea!!”

Tip #5: Talking about Writing is Writing

Work Some people say, “If you can’t speak it, you

can’t write it.”

Other people say, “Practice makes… permanent.”

I say, “Oral rehearsal is a powerful tool for creating community and for improving the quality of writing.”

Tip #6: Recruit Co-Teachers

(Including Your Very Own Students) There is a clear and powerful link between reading and writing that eludes some students. Capitalize on this link by showing kids how you and many other writers walk in the footsteps of the masters.

From Crow Call:

It’s morning, early, barely light, cold for November. At home, in the bed next to mine, Jessica, my older sister still sleeps. But my bed is empty.

My writing:

It’s evening, late, no sounds, save the whir of the AC unit. At home, in the room next to hers, Tami’s mom sleeps like a baby. But Tami is too angry for sleep.

Tip #7: Twitter! Just a few ah.mazing authors who are

available on twitter: Melissa Stewart

Seymour Simon

Jane Yolen

Lester Laminack

Cynthia Lord

Roy Peter Clark

And, many of your favorite TCRWP SDers!

Tip #8: Track Your Teaching

“Take only memories. Leave only footprints.” is good advice while hiking and conferring.

Give and take artifacts— TurboScan

Evernote

Old School: Post-Its

Tip #9: Fall in Love with… Revision

Revision is a disposition to be nurtured

Our first thought is rarely our best thought

Shout it out from the rooftops

Make “before and after” writing visible

Tip #10: Get happy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM

How can we make our classroom feel like a room without a roof?