Differentiation in Writing Workshop – Tip #9 – Student Conferencing

Conferencing with students is one of my favorite parts of Writing Workshop. It allows you a chance to meet with students one-on-one and really look at their writing and hear from them the writer.  Today’s tip is how I use this as a chance to differentiate… Conferencing is one of the easier times to differentiate Writing Workshop. I have a schedule I use (see below) and call students back on their particular day. They bring the piece they are working on or one we looked at the last time we met and we look over it together.  This is a great chance to talk about student specific goals, see what goal the child wants to have, and talk about the positives you see in them as a writer.  These opportunities also show me areas where they can grow as writer, which often leads to us creating new goals. Do you conference with students during writing?  If so, share your thoughts on it down in the comments.   Check back tomorrow for the final installment where I share about students creating their own goals to help differentiate Writing Workshop.   If you missed my past tips from the Differentiation in Writing Workshop series, click below…

• Introduction
• Writing Pre-Test/Sample 
• Mini-Lessons
• Paper & Topic Choice
• Mid-Workshop Interruption
• Word Walls
• Editing Checklists
• Anchor Charts
• Strategy Cards

FREE Writing Checklists

To make your life easier I have a FREE set of writing checklists for your students to use! These are geared towards the primary grades and include 8 different checklists – so you’ll be able to differentiate based on what you’re teaching and your students’ needs. Grab your writing checklists HERE.