Conferencing

After I read Clearing the Way chapter 7- "The Crucial Role of Conferencing," I realized how much conferencing mattered in my own development as a reader. 

How to conference: sit down next to your student (not in front of, to avoid eyes on the student), talk about how their writing is going, read through it, do not correct the grammar or spelling, work on pointing out what is powerful and what they can focus on in a positive way, be available to talk to the students about their writing when they need it.

This LINK talks about the process of conferencing. At the end it also has sheets attached to use in order to keep track of the conferences you have with each student. (Great idea for younger kids.)
Romano works with one specific student on a poem she is trying to write throughout her entire process. Due to how he pointed out the strong points of her poem, good work choices, and gave feedback in a constructive way, she continued to come to him to seek advice for her writing until it was a finished piece. When you do conferencing this way, it encourages students and makes them feel good about what they are writing.

In my AP English class, I was first exposed to this conferencing. I had never met with any teacher to go over my writing; I just wrote, turned it in, and got a grade. When I was able to meet with my AP English teacher, I started to improve my writing skills. I learned how to pick out the strengths of my writing and how to bring them out. Conferencing definitely is something that I want to include in my teaching career.