A' E' Housman

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A. E. Housman The laws of God, the laws of
man, He may keep that will and can Not I let
God and man decree Laws for themselves and not
for me And if my ways are not as theirs Let them
mind their own affairs.
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Their deeds I judge and much condemn, Yet when
did I make laws for them? Please yourselves, say
I, and they Need only look the other way. But no,
they will not they must still Wrest their
neighbour to their will,
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And make me dance as they desire With jail and
gallows and hell-fire, And how I am to face the
odds Of mans bedevilment and Gods? I, a
stranger and afraid In a world I never made. They
will be master, right or wrong
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Though both are foolish, both are strong. And
since, my soul, we cannot flee To Saturn nor to
Mercury, Keep we must, if keep we can, These
foreign laws of God and man.
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Drink a pint of ale and walk about the city or
the countryside. Think about the things that you
see about you, the change of seasons, things that
matter to you. Ideas and even a line or two of
verse will spring into your head--and maybe a
vague notion of the poem or story you want to
tell. ---Pretty easy stuff...
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Then you have to make it make sense. I have spent
a year writing a single poem. I have completely
rewritten the same poem more than twenty times. I
have thought and worked, chiseled and scraped
until it made sense to me. I never finished, I
just tired out. I wanted my poem or story to mean
something to me first--and then maybe to someone
else--whatever they thought it meant to them.
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When you listen to your students, you will find
out they all can construct meaning and use the
strategies that result in comprehending--whether
reading or writing. If they can do it, then what
are we trying to teach?
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1. ..so they will feel confident about their
ideas. 2. to bring thinking to an awareness
level as they accept the varying ideas of others.
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3. ..to bring thinking to a higher level by
discussing how they make meaning. 4. to refine
ideas and presentations for publication.
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Why conferences? (Student perspective) 1.
Self-confidence in ones own ideas 2. Ability to
talk about ideas 3. Understanding that there are
multiple- meanings 4. Sharing without worry
about grades 5. Gaining new ideas 6. Someone
cares about my ideas
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Why conferences? (Teacher perspective) 1.
Learning about a students ideas 2. Discovering
how meaning is constructed (processes) 3.
Understanding that there are multiple-
meanings 4. Opportunity to coach 5. Learning
amount of reading and writing 6. Sharing with a
human being
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Lots of types of conferences 1. Impromptu
talks 2. Authoring circles 3. Planning
sessions 4. PORTFOLIO CONFERENCES
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Portfolio conferences are 1. Scheduled 2.
Planned 3. Focused
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Conferences should be scheduled on a regular
basis 1. Schedule them at least four times a year
(more if possible). 2. Talk about them so
students think about them. 3. Students should
know that this is the time to talk about the
stuff they are reading and writing about.
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Conferences should be scheduled on a regular
basis 4. Treat them as the most important
diagnostic opportunity you will have. 5. Treat
them as times you will become more of a real
person to your students. 6. Treat them as your
most important teaching time.
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How do you plan for conferences 1. Students need
to prepare 2. Set up a procedure that will work
for you 3. Decide what areas you want to emphasize
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How do you plan for conferences 4. Show students
how its going to work 5. Be sure students know
why they are conferencing. (To share ideas that
we are reading and writing--and how we can make
new stories.)
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What do you focus on (performance assessment) 1.
How did you go about the process (pre-writing,
revision, etc.)? 2. Pick out a part to tell me
about? 3. Let me show you mine?
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What do you focus on (portfolio assessment) 4.
How does the student think about his/her own
reading and writing? 5. How much reading and
writing is being done? 6. How does the student
construct meaning (processes)?
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It wont work unless...
1. Students prepare ahead of time 2. It is viewed
as an important activity 3. Students and teachers
take notes 4. It is the students
responsibility 5. It is systematic and
developmental
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Doing the conference--making it work!
1. Get your things organized so we can share our
reading and writing ideas. 2. I want to show you
my new story. Get one ready that you want to tell
me about. 3. Lets talk about how we put a story
together. I will tell you about one of my
favorite authors and his/her writing.
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Doing the conference--making it work!
4. Take a look at the notes we made last time and
lets talk about what we have been doing since
then. 5. Next week we get together to talk about
our reading and writing stuff. 6. Lets talk this
time about our favorite authors and how we write
like them.
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Doing the conference--making it work!
7. Take this time to write about your portfolio.
(Why you saved some things? What you like best?
The things you want to do next?) Keep your notes
in your portfolio so we can use it when we
meet. 8. Write down some questions you want to
ask me about my portfolio.
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Doing the conference--making it work!
9. What have you been doing since the last time
we looked talked about your portfolio things? 10.
Have you seen any changes in your reading and
writing?
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Conferencing is fine---but what do I talk about?
Let the heads be your guide...
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What did you want to find out?

• From listening to your story I found out
  _________ .
• When I wrote my story I began to think about
  ___________ .

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What do you already know?

• You must know a lot about ___________
• I got mixed up because I dont know anything
  about ______________ .
• I like writing about __________ because I know a
  lot about ___________ .

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Do you guess what this is going to be about?

• I wanted to write a mystery but I didnt really
  know how to get started.
• Judy Blume always has the same kind of stories.

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Do you think about what is going to happen next
when you read and write?

• I thought ___________ was going to happen next
  in your story.
• I write this story so people would guess the
  ending.
• Heres how I thought that story was going to end.

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Do you think about what it looks like when you
read and write?

• This is what I thought the monster looked like.
• I didnt like the pictures in that story because
  I thought the people would look different.

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Do you know when it doesnt make sense?

• I didnt understand what a ________ was.
• I didnt think my story could end that way.
• I had never been to a ________ so I got mixed up.

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Do you make changes when it doesnt make sense?

• I had to get back to the beginning to reread
  because I forgot ___________ .
• I changed my story because one part was stupid.

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Do you know where to get help when you need it?

• I asked my friend what a ___________ was.
• I looked at the map to help me understand which
  way they went.
• I think I need to look up some more information
  about ____________ .

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Teacher notes What I can get for this student to
read and write about? Two things that will make
this students writing more interesting? What I
liked best about this students writing?
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Teacher notes What does this student think about
when he or she reads and writes? What does this
student need to do to get his or her writing
ready for publication?
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Student notes What I want to read about or write
about next? How I can make my stories more like
my favorite author? What parts of my stories are
the best?
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Student notes What I want to find out more
about? The kinds of things I like to read
best? Why did I think that story was a good
story? What I need to do to publish my stories?
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Rogers 10 best tips for portfolio
conferences 1. Keep the stuff in the students
hands. 2. Talk less than the students (Tape
record and check the time.) 3. Talk about your
stuff. 4. Start with notes from the previous
conference.
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Rogers 10 best tips for portfolio
conferences 5. Make sure students know the
purpose for the conference. 6. Dont use
conferences for grades. 7. Have students get
ready for conferencing.
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Rogers 10 best tips for portfolio
conferences 8. Focus on a few areas (heads) for
each conference. (0nly three questions!) 9.
Include out of school stuff. 10. Recognize
multiple ways of making meaning.
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Ideas for developing conferencing skills
Conference with ten students at least twice and
keep a journal about which conferences went well
and which did not and try to explain why.
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Ideas for improving conferencing skills
Develop a set of guidelines for teachers to use
in common across the grades about conferencing.
Include in the guidelines ideas for finding time,
organizing conferences, better note-taking,
increasing emphasis, conversation starters, etc.
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Ideas for course assignments (and your own
classrooms/schools)
Tape record six conferences (with student
permission) and analyze what you learned about
the students abilities to use the 8 strategies.
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Ideas for course assignments (and your own
classrooms/schools)
Develop a newsletter for parents about portfolios
and their importance in helping students gain
confidence in their own reading and writing
ideas. Include suggestions for getting students
involved in the process.
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Ideas for course assignments (and your own
classrooms/schools)
Hold a student-parent portfolio breakfast in
which you have the parents conference with their
own students.
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Ideas for course assignments (and your own
classrooms/schools)
Develop guidelines for parents to conference with
their students when they come to the portfolio
breakfast. Include the What did you learn? sheet
for parents to complete afterward.
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Enjoy and they will learn!