Conferences are a good way to assess the students' writing development and progress; however, sometimes it is tricky trying to find time during the school day in order to have those conferences. Now, if you have a teacher assistant or a parent volunteer, then yeah, of course you will be able to do independent conferences with each student. But, sometimes, you have to adapt and deal with the situation at hand - hence, why group conferences are an effective compromise.
Now, as the teacher, it's better to start with praising the student for what they did well in their writing. Let's say for instance that the student utilized one of the crafts we've been studying in their paper. We could praise the student for having a strong voice or descriptive, specific examples to support their story. Once you have told the student what is good about the writing, then you can address what they need to work on. By providing constructive criticism, the teacher is guiding the student during the entire writing process. After the initial draft, the student focuses on specific craft techniques to include or improve in their writing. It is important for the teacher to approach the revision as something that CAN be accomplished. The student should never feel like the teacher is criticizing their writing with no room to improve. There is always room for improvement and as the teacher, we need to pave the way.
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