Writing Conference Organization

Writers workshop is one of my favorite parts of our day in my classroom (my students' too). My workshop is structured using Lucy Calkins units of study and I am amazed every year at just how much growth my students show! A brief overview of our workshop structure is as follows:

I DO - I give a teaching point and model the teaching point.

WE DO - We practice the teaching point together through shared writing. This active engagement piece is crucial!

YOU DO - I send students off to practice the teaching point independently while I walk around and have writing conferences with my students.

The last portion is the area I struggle with! I love having writing conferences with students but I find that afterward, students don't always remember what I wanted them to focus on! I wanted to create a resource that would help me take anecdotal notes and would also help my students have a focus for their writing even when I am not working directly with them.

I wanted something tangible that students can look at each day as they get started with their independent writing, but I also wanted it to be something quick and easy for myself. I am having my students keep one of these in their writing folder and at the end of each conference, I give them a label with a focus point until our next conference.

When students master the skill, they can color in the label. This page and 15 different pages of labels are included my writing conference setup resource. **These labels were intended to be printed on Avery Labels 8860 but when I saved the templates as PDFs, the printing got slightly off the template. The PDFs are in the file in case you want to print on regular paper and cut them out, otherwise I recommend using the word templates I included and changing the font to your liking!**

Click on the photo above to see this product. This resource includes:

"Writing Conference Binder" cover (pictured above)

Emergent writer checklist and observation sheet

Fluent writer checklist and observation sheet

Writing conference note taking sheet

"I am working on..." sheet for student's writing folder

15 different pages of labels with focus points for students (both PDF and .doc format)

There are also setup ideas included in this resource but you can click any of the images below to get them as a freebie!

What tips and tricks do you have? I would love to hear them!