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We can all be a little more like my daughter's swim teacher, Coach Annie, and a little less like the camp counselors of my childhood. Here's how.

We teachers keep all kinds of records and notes- attendance records, records of the books our students read, records about math concepts mastered, and spelling words missed. Yet, many of us struggle to… Continue reading →

A wise person once told me, conferring is the heart of the writing workshop. And much has been written about how to go about conferring effectively. Guides and professional books abound, videos, websites… Continue reading →

Read on for a snippet of a writing conference using Google Translate with an upper elementary student who is learning English.

With very good intentions, we teach kids to do their best to really finish a story before they move on to the next one. However, a little bit of flexibility will go a long way in increasing engagement, volume, and independence in young writers.

What teacher of writers superpower would you like to develop this year?

Six educators make the case for conferring with students regularly.

Take a peek at our presentation from Saturday at #theedcollabgathering.

Four of us will present at The Educator Collaborative Spring Gathering tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.

Keep this conferring tip in your back pocket.

Screen Shot 2015-11-12 at 8.46.06 PMwalked around the room redirecting the writers back to writing. I shushed writers who were talking even after my redirection. I reminded the class I was helping them to find more writing time through quieter writing time. But still, our writing time didn't feel right, and I didn't like the teacher I was becoming. I wasn't conferring, I wasn't getting to know the writers, I was missing valuable teaching time, and it was still loud! I had to do something because writing time was quickly becoming something I dreaded. (There I said it!) I shudder to think I felt this way; writing has always been my favorite part of the day! It's a time when we get to know each other as a classmate, student, and friend. Panic set in. Was I going to fail these students?

Many years ago, one of my first jobs was as a ski instructor at a local ski resort. During our instructor training, we were taught a technique called "strength identification and enhancement."

s a literacy coach, part of my role is to support teachers with how to work together with all the professionals who will come in and out of their reading and writing workshop. Lately, I've been brainstorming with some super smart teachers to figure out how we can get all the grown-ups in a classroom to be more consistent with one another.

Teachers aren't the only ones who can learn to get better at conferring. So can students!

Are you new to writing workshop? Are you trying to get better at conferring? Are you having a tough time making conferring work for you? I've got seven tips to help you become a stronger conferrer.

I pause to listen to these stories (as best as I can in classroom of 27 six-year-olds, each with a story to share). After they’ve shared their story I comment, “I can’t wait to read that story!” or “Wow, you already have an idea for writing workshop!” Some walk away shaking their heads, eager to write their story, others look at me puzzled as if they aren’t sure why I would say this when they just told me the story. (I often wonder if they’re thinking, “Weren’t you listening?”).

Someday, perhaps I will finally make the break from old-fashioned binder to new fangled conferring app. But, for now, I have two just assembled conferring binders with which to begin a year of exciting work...

Knowing what to teach is just as important as knowing how to teach. Here are five resources that will help with the what. Bonus: some are free!

I attended Kathleen Tolan’s “Once You Have Taught Workshops for Years, How Do You Go from Good to Great? Tap the Power of Peer Conferring and Supporting Student Independence and Goal-Setting.” Workshop at… Continue reading →

Find out what sprinkled cupcakes and figurative language instruction have to do each other!

how do you become the kind of teacher who leaves plenty of think time? How do you go from rapid-fire, to more thoughtful questioning?

In case you missed it! Check out our posts on conferring toolkits.

Two elements form the very heart of every conference: the student, and the mentor text I can use to nudge her writing piece forward. ...

Handwritten vs. Digital? How do you keep records of your conferences?

Add some cheat sheets to your Conferring Toolkits