ABSTRACT
This chapter makes the case for providing regular, specific and rich verbal feedback to young writers. Conferences are conversations between writer and writer which can challenge, set targets and help achieve writing goals. For conferences to be effective, children need to see their teachers as a trusted fellow writer who is there to give careful direct instruction which helps them to develop their pieces but does not judge or correct them. The chapter helps teachers to draw on their own experiences as a writer-teacher when giving advice and discusses the powerful impact this can have on developing young writers’ progress and academic achievements. Through real-life examples, the chapter gives clear advice on how you can encourage children in profitable dialogic talk and help them to see writing as a social process. Finally, the chapter explains how a good conference has a definite and specific structure which promotes children’s self-regulation and leaves them with something practical to apply in moving their writing forward. It also discusses classroom organisation, common issues, behavioural expectations, classroom practicalities and the potential for peer conferencing.
