Chapter 9 discusses how to conference effectively with students and the various formats of doing so. One of the best ideas I got from this chapter was the idea of roving conferences. So often during writer’s workshop, I feel like I’m cornered at my desk helping students that come up to me with concerns in their writing. This greatly limits the number of students I am able to interact with during workshop time. I love the idea of roving conferences because this would allow me to interact with all 24 students during the writing time. I especially liked the anecdotal notes chart that was included in the text. This is a great resource to organize and determine which students are on what step, what they are needing more guidance with, and what their strengths are. I can use this information to form small group mini-lessons, individual mini-lessons, and even a whole group mini-lesson if needed. Roving conferences also allow me to take a peek at everyone’s writing and provide them with specific feedback.
I also liked the idea of at the end of a one-on-one conference getting input from the writer as to what their goals are for the piece and what they would like to see happen with it. So often, I feel like I’m on autopilot when I’m conferencing, since I am trying to get through so many in a timely fashion. I need to slow down and listen to the students and gain more input from them.
I have 27 students this year, so the roving conference would be very helpful. After seeing your post I looked up the anecdotal note chart you mentioned and can see why you liked it!
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