Three, 75-minute webinar sessions from 5:30pm–6:45pm Eastern Standard Time.

• Tuesday, October 13, 2020
• Tuesday, October 20, 2020
• Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Please note that these webinars are recorded and made available to all participants within two business days of each live session.

Overview:

In Individualize Writing Instruction by Conferring with Students…Whatever the Setting!, Carl Anderson describes the how-to’s of having effective writing conferences with students in grades K-8. The book is ideal for use with writing workshop, units of study, or any other approach to teaching writing that is based on giving students time to write in school.

In this webinar series, participants will learn about the reasons why conferring with students is the most effective teaching we can do with students in the writing classroom. Carl will then discuss conferring principles, the three parts of a writing conference, strategies for navigating each of the three parts, as well as how to confer with students effectively on online platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. During each 75-minute session, Carl will supplement this material by showing video examples, and leading lively discussions with participants.

The following is a description of the learning objectives to be met within each session of this series:

SESSION 1:

• Reasons why conferring is a powerful teaching method
• Scheduling conferences—in the classroom and online
• Conferring principles
• Overview of the three parts of a writing conference

SESSION 2:

• Strategies for navigating the first part of a writing conference, “Discover what the child is doing as a writer”
• Strategies for navigating the second part of a writing conference, “Assess what the child is doing as a writer, and decide what to teach”
• Navigating the first and second parts of writing conferences with students online

SESSION 3:

• Strategies for navigating the third part of a writing conference, “Teach the student”
• Navigating the third part of a writing conference with students online
• Conference goal-setting and record-keeping

Who should participate?

Classroom teachers of grades K-8, literacy coaches, language arts specialists, curriculum coordinators, and administrators.