Writer to Writer: How to Conference Young Authors

by Tommy Thomason

Written for the busy teacher, this book examines classroom writing conferences, one of the most talked about and least practiced strategies in the writing process classroom. Each brief chapter introduces a different facet of the writing conference or the philosophy and classroom practice that undergird it, and each chapter ends with a "something to think about" section to help readers implement the ideas presented. Chapters in the book (1) Talking Writing in Writing Workshop; (2) Coach or What's Your Approach To Teaching Writing?; (3) Writing Conferences as Conversations between Writers; (4) Learning To Talk Writing; (5) What Happens When We Conference?; (6) Learning from the Therapists; (7) Creating Confident The Effective Use of Praise; (8) How To Question without Using Questions To Focus on Writing Issues; (9) Students Helping Teaching Young Writers To Conference Each Other; (10) Building Editing Skills in Conference; (11) Conferencing To Encourage Revision; (12) Teaching Young Writers To Conference Themselves; (13) Finding Time To Conference; and (14) No Palm Trees in Establishing an Environment for Teaching Writing. An appendix, by Lois Davila, shares ideas on maintaining running records to keep conferencing running smoothly. (RS)

76 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998