In this clip, I have a quick conference with a student that I had just met with the day before. I notice in passing that he is having a difficult time getting started, and I try to help him. I find out through questioning that he is unsure about the mini-lesson assignment.
This short conference gives me a quick clue that my mini-lesson assignment was not as clear as I had hoped. Eric had chosen a topic the day before, and he was ready to start drafting. I confused him by asking him to try a new writing strategy from a mentor text. This situation made me reflect on the effectiveness of certain lessons when many of my students are at different stages in the writing process. I will change the timing of this lesson next time so that it falls either closer to the planning stage or later in the revision stage.
This quick feedback at conference time is an aspect of the writing workshop model that I really appreciate. I can get a good idea of how my mini-lesson went by my one-on-one conferences with students right afterwards. Then I can make notes about how to improve my teaching.
| TEACHER: | Okay, so yesterday when we talked about it, [inaudible]. We talked about you trying to write your story about Mexico, right? And so did you decide that this is going to be your topic? |
| TEACHER: | So you have to decide today what you're going to do next. You can start your rough draft or maybe you can think about one of these strategies or one of these techniques, that one of these writers could use to either make beautiful language or to get their message across. Then I want you to try to do that. So you can start your rough draft but just try to pull in some kind of strategy. |