Teaching writing workshop in middle school is no easy task. Sure, teaching the lesson is easy. The challenge comes when students start writing. Or not writing. Keeping your middle schoolers on target during the independent writing portion is critical. Conferencing in a writing workshop can help you do that. Read here for tips on simple and effective conferences.
What is Conferencing When Teaching Writing Workshop?
Conferencing during a writing workshop in a middle school setting is a time to briefly meet with your students to check in, see what progress they are making, see if they are reaching the goals that you set for them in a unit, and to engage in conversation with them about their writing. If it sounds complicated, it can be if you make it that way. But with a few simple tips and a bit of planning, conferencing will go smoothly and feel effortless.
Why Conferencing in a Writing Workshop at a Middle School Level?
When you think of conferencing in the elementary setting, what you are doing is so much more tangible. You are helping kids do things like sound out words and going over very basic skills, such as punctuation, spelling, and including dialogue.
At the middle school level, it is so different. Kids will often be writing complex essays and narratives. Kids will be asked to give text evidence and link it back to a thesis. If they are writing original stories, they will be asked to develop themes and include complex components such as mood, internal monologue, and characterization. It’s honestly hard enough for a willing adult to do this. Couple that with a student who is just beginning to hone these skills and perhaps has very little confidence, and it feels completely overwhelming. Conferencing is how you work through all of this.
Conferencing often is done to check in on skills. Let’s say you are teaching a unit on a personal narrative. You may want your student to include a symbol in their writing. So when you conference, you will specifically check in to see if they have included a symbol. And if they did not, you will re-direct them.
For me, one of the most important parts of the conference is showing my kids my enthusiasm for the writing process. I get genuinely excited to see their work, and they know it. They are usually, therefore, more eager to show it to me and to ask questions to get it to a higher level.
When to Conference When Teaching Writing Workshop
A good plan for your writing workshop is to start with an anticipatory set, move into a mini-lesson that lasts no more than 10-15 minutes, and then get kids writing. Kids can’t learn to write by listening to long lessons; they need time to actually write. As I always say, you can’t be a great baseball player if the coach spends the entire time talking. It is the same with writing. For more on mini-lessons, click here.
Therefore, the conferencing portion takes place during independent writing time. You will quietly move around the room, checking in with students. How many students you meet with will depend on what you have planned. You might want to plan to cycle through your students throughout the week if it is more involved, or cycle through half the class each day if it is something quicker. Because independent writing time should be front and center, you can get quite a bit of conferencing completed.
What to do when Conferencing
There are many ways to conference. You might be checking in a specific skill, such as including dialogue. If that is the case, you will want to have a checklist available and keep track if students are meeting this goal. Another way is to meet with groups of kids. You might want to group kids who need more help with a specific skill. There can also be a very casual, conversational check-in. Saying to a student, “How’s it going?” can often lead to a great conversation and getting to the heart of what needs work.
If you are new to writing workshop teaching, this can feel a bit daunting. I have a free resource to help. Click here to receive your free writing workshop conference notes.
Keep it Simple
I have seen teachers use all kinds of complicated charts and plans. They become consumed with keeping up with their notes and check-ins, and then the conversation becomes secondary. Rather than having a complicated plan, just plan to meet with a few students at a time to start. Jot a very brief note after you check in with a student. The point of this is not to have an in-depth system; the point is to meet with kids and have authentic conversations that lead to improved writing. You will want to come away with a VERY brief note so that you can keep track.
If you are unsure of how to begin, just remember that “less is more”. Don’t try to meet with every student in every session. Don’t have a long list of skills to assess. My best conferences are sometimes just saying “What’s happening in your story/essay?” and letting it branch off from there. You will be surprised how natural it feels, and how much you will glean from the conversation.
Best of luck to you with your writing conferences! And don’t forget to get your free conference forms… they will save you a ton of time.
Any questions, please comment below.
Wishing you and your students all the best!
-Linda A. “All in One Middle School“
Helpful Links
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Teaching Writing Workshop Course
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