Author: Keri Franklin
Summary: In this article, Keri Franklin provides ideas and methods to prepare student authors for meaningful peer conferences which promote social talk in students’ responses to peers’ writings. Students benefit from peer conferences by receiving ideas from an audience of peers and more feedback than one teacher can provide. This article is ideal for a teacher study group examining effective techniques for writing groups or peer revision/conferencing, as well as for a professional reading prior to writing-group time in a summer institute.
Original Date of Publication: October 22, 2010
Excerpt
I ask students anytime they share to respond only with “thank you.”…”Thank you” became a turning point in developing students’ confidence to share their writing in a peer conference. “Thank you” stalled students who were excited to correct other writers’ work, created a cushion for students who lacked confidence in their writing, and developed listeners. A simple “thank you” allowed students to listen and respect the thoughts of their peers without worrying about how to respond.
Related Resources
- Elbow Room: Tweaking Response in the Secondary Classroom
- Revision and Writing Groups in the First Grade: Finding the Black Ninja Fish
- Writing Spaces: Expanding the One-Story House
Copyright © 2010 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Posted with permission.
Franklin, Keri. 2010, May. “Thank You for Sharing: Developing Students’ Social Skills to Improve Peer Writing Conferences.” English Journal 99 (5): 79–84.
Original Source: National Writing Project, http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3315