Crafting Writers Ch 7-9 & appendix F

This portion of Crafting Writers discusses ways to help students develop writings and then how to use effective conferencing strategies to critique the student's work. In order to help students develop their craft and skills in writing, the book suggests mini-lessons that work toward the success of an idea in writing.

I think that this is best when learning any new subject matter. Instead of bombarding the students with too much information, mini lessons make the material more manageable. Mini lesson also offer a variety of explanations to the idea. Some students may not be able to comprehend the material hearing it one way, but may understand it better practicing it in a different mini-lesson. There are many different writing strategies and 'try-its' mentioned that teachers can use in their classrooms.

Once the writing is complete the teacher should hold a conference with their student and talk to them about their progress. This is NOT a time to point out every single flaw the child has made. When working with young child and your first mini-lesson is putting periods at the end of sentences, you shouldn't worry about a few spelling errors. I thought of the lesson we learned in class where we discussed not over-critiquing a child's work. The goal should be to praise and encourage, not repremand and discourage them.

Conferences should be a time to show students what they've done in the past, what they currently completed, and what they could work on for next time. The goal should be to reflect your belief in the child and to get them to believe in themselves too. By having conferences with each student about their current progress in writing, a teacher can get a better understand about what each individual student struggles with, and modify lessons as needed. This should be a learning experience for the student and the teacher.