The Writer's Workshop
Student-Teacher Conferences
When?
During independent writing sessions
Encourage peer conferencing
How?
Identify strengths
Suggest mentor texts
Provide
suggestions
Focus on the message
of the piece rather than
any errors
Use prompts to
encourage students to
talk about their work
Why?
To identify areas
that need more
explicit instruction
To promote
self-reflection
Workshop Structure
Sharing Session
Prompts
Who is
experiencing
a block and
would like
some help?
Who revised
something that
wasn't working?
Who tried
something new?
10-15 mins
Independent Writing Time
Clear expectations!
Explicitly establish
routines
Anchor charts
Model behavioural
expectations
either writing short
responses to prompts
or working on gradual
projects over time
res
30-40 minutes
Mini-Lesson
Teacher Read-alouds
Good writers are
also good readers!
Develop reading
comprehension
Introduce mentor
texts and authors
Developing a
specific set of skills
20-30 minutes
Benefits
Ability to hone
in on specific
skills
Gaining confidence in writing
Gaining a feel
for writing for
an audience
for
Finding power and
purpose
within writing
Practice,
practice,
practice!
