Conferencing, Share Time and Assessment

These chapters interested me the most because I have seen conferencing and share time in my classroom to some extent. One of the very first days of being in my second grade classroom I was conferencing with students and have continued almost every day I have gone. The type of conferencing I do is a little different than Ray's model. I don't really talk a lot to students about their writing, but sometimes I do. A couple of boys have written about computer games or video games that I have never heard of so we have talked about that. Also some girls have written "how to" papers on baking and I make connections with them because I enjoy baking. I was shocked by one girl's paper that was so detailed it was like she copied from a recipe book. I really liked Ray's idea to make a chart to keep a record of each conference. It can get confusing to know who you have and have not conferenced with. The teacher going around to each student and being in close proximity to the class helps students stay focused.
I liked the four different types of share time that Ray discusses. The type of share time I have seen was when a student read her finished piece aloud and students made comments about what was good and where she could improve. Ray mentions this is not the best way to do it and I would agree. If you want students to read finished work that is fine, but don't critique in front of the whole class. Perhaps critique in small groups.
My favorite point that Ray made about assessments was that most of us don't waste time asking questions we already know the answers to. This is REALLY enlighening idea to me because if you really think about that as a teacher it changes how and why you ask questions. The questions of history, action, and process are all good ideas for ways to help students improve as writers. It is good to remember why and what you are assessing students for and what this teaches them.