Chapter 14, 15, 17 Thoughts...

I found all of the readings for this week to be informative and helpful when thinking and planning conferencing, sharing, and evaluating writing workshop. First, based on the readings and my opinions, I feel that conferencing is a crucial part of the writing process. Middle school was the first time that I experienced conferencing for writing. However, I feel that conferencing with students should start as early as Kindergarten. I believe students can learn about writing and themselves as a writer early in their elementary experience and be able to gain more confidence and experience with writing and conferencing as they progress in school. I found the four parts to a writing conference to be interesting and beneficial. I had never thought of having a mini teaching session within a conference. This allows the teacher to work one on one with each student and respond to their individual needs during the writing process.

The only concern I have while reading chapter fourteen this week is, should there be a time limit for a good conference? (p. 158) I do not necessarily believe there is a time limit for a good conference. Each conference will be different and each student will have different needs. As well, some students will talk and open up more than others; however, I believe that if the goal of the conference is reached, then is it a good conference.

I enjoyed reading about the possible opportunities for sharing. As a child, I was always a student who did not like sharing because I thought my “made-up” stories were dumb or not good enough. As a future teacher, I want to create an environment where students feel that they can share their writing and experience, no matter what. I was skeptical at first when I read that Ray required each student to share their writing, whether they wanted to or not; however, as I think about my past and future, as a teacher, if students were not required to share, then there would be a select few always sharing and even some children who never share. Students should have the experience of sharing their writing with peers as they do during conferences. I believe that sharing can also boost children’s confidence in themselves as writers and their work.

Lastly, I want to touch on evaluation of writing in writing workshop. I agree with Ray in that evaluating children’s work can be difficult. I almost feel bad judging student’s writing because sometimes I catch myself or have seen teachers compare student’s writing and grade based on the comparison. Every student writes differently and at different levels in their ability to write; therefore, I believe that there should be a rubric or evaluation form in which every child has the opportunity to succeed and be evaluated without comparison to other students. I am not quite sure how and what evaluations are available, but I am determined to find out! Overall, I believe it is great to have children evaluate themselves as a writer. I think it is fascinating to compare their evaluations against the teachers to see what students think about themselves and their writing.