In response to Chapters 10 of Crafting Writers, I found that once again, Hale has managed to give us the “whys” of using and teaching writing crafts in certain ways. There are many concrete, useful, hands on examples of how to use the various techniques described in this chapter. I especially appreciated the real life example she described about her first teaching observation and review with the principal. It tied in perfectly with the goals of teaching conferences. While I always knew it was important to give positive feedback to students before and after giving them areas to work on…the “sandwich” delivery if you will, I was surprised by what was referred to as “powerful conferring”. The idea that “we need to let go of what we want students to be and accept without subconscious resentment toward our students, that this is where they are” had to really sit with me for awhile to digest. I find myself always looking to where the student could be, or should be without really appreciating where they are and the process it takes to move forward. Letting all students know they are capable “right now” means noticing where their strengths are rather than the gaps between where they should be. After reading this chapter in particular, I plan to make a conscious effort to see where students are and to help them view themselves as strong writers at that point by teaching strengths. I believe strongly in the emotional aspect of teaching that was described throughout these readings. That is “the emotional aspect of teaching can impede learning or cause it to flourish. Reaching potential to learn depends a lot on the relationships between the people involved.” I remember having such relationships with teachers and how it affected my success. I have also felt these personal relationships with my preschool students and have seen first hand what a difference it can make in their growth.
Chapter 11, Group Conferring, explained nicely the benefits and “how to” of a group conference. What took me a bit to understand was the difference between grouping students by a need they have rather than writing ability. At first this seemed just a matter of semantics to me. Then I had an “aha!” moment when I read not to use the group conference as “a cool teaching opportunity”, but rather as a way to teach skills that would help with what was hampering their writing. This made a lot of sense to me when Hale stated that as children get older group conferring could be used more to teach craft. An important point made was to not let these small group conferences replace one on one conferences because we would lose the forum where we teach strengths. There were many good ideas to draw upon in the following sections about conferring. I especially liked the idea of practicing transitions and the ways given to help students access their own ideas for independent writing such as decorating notebooks, writing spots etc. These were great useful tips, and as always, I love that she gives us the why behind each suggestion.
Chapter 12, Assessment explains the value of using Rubrics. I agree that using rubrics as opposed to a letter grade really “helps teachers notice different aspects of writing, which then, ideally, impacts instruction”. I liked how the use of different rubrics was described so that it became evident that different rubrics are important in regards to authenticity in that assessments match instruction. This way of assessing students will help us as educators respond to the needs of children individually. I had never really considered using rubrics as a planning tool but after reading this chapter it makes perfect sense. What a terrific way to build students’ expectations of what they can do. This practice ties in nicely with the goal of having students view themselves as competent and capable!
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