Conferring and Share Meeting Idea of the Day

Hi Ladies,
I hope observing was helpful today. Were there any surprises about how the ww looked? I'm curious to know.

Here are my thoughts for the day:
1. If we observe a student not writing (and not apparently thinking about writing), we might want to pull them into a conference we're doing...if we can't confer with them right at that moment. I had to confer with P. and noticed S. not doing anything. I asked him to join the conference, but didn't really talk to him while I conferred with P. After I finished working with P and walked away, I noticed that S. began writing/illustrating. I like it when kids listen in on conferences. It can't hurt. Often, we're saying things that apply to everyone, especially if we end the conference with a big idea...ALL WRITERS do such and such...not just focusing on a specific task for one piece.
2. I tried to take on too much for the mini lesson today. I tend to bird walk and bring in too much information...i.e. too much talking! Focus. Focus. That's why I often like sticking with Lucy's mini lessons b/c they are really focused.
3. For tomorrow, I think I'm going to revisit using pictures and words like famous authors. I'm going to show examples of ways students are doing that by using their writing. When I find pieces, I am going to look at kids who haven't been highlighted in share meetings yet...unless I see a piece that just must be shared due to its teaching possibilities. Make copies of student work for next year.
4. I like how we did the share meeting today. Kids turned to their talking partners, took out a piece, and shared one smart thing they did during ww today. Instead of calling on students to share, I said, "I heard lots of smart comments like..." That got things finished quickly.
5. When we get to the end of this unit of study, what do you guys want to do with the pieces in their folders? Keep them in another folder in the room? Send them home? Usually, the units end with picking one piece, publishing and sharing it during a ceremony called "reading into the circle."

Cheers, Lorrie