Confidence Builds from Beginning to End

 

         Confidence is the single most essential ingredient an author

 

needs to succeed, since good writing is never quick or easy (Rinzler,

 

2005).  Ashley, Brianna and Cameron have built confidence through

 

our conferences together.  They started out not wanting to share with

 

other students.  They didn’t want to teach lessons they had learned,

 

read their stories to the class or share with other classes within our

 

building. 

 

Cameron

 

         Cameron began the year not wanting to write.  He has just

 

completed his third book; quite a change for Cameron.  He gained

 

confidence by being able to share with his classmates during our

 

reflection circle. 

 

          During one conference, I showed Cameron how to add

 

quotation marks to a dialogue he was writing.  Since I was able to sit

 

with him and show him explicitly using his writing, he was very

 

focused and engaged. Conferences are the essential act, most critical

 

event, and valuable element of Writer’s Workshop in the classroom

 

(Meyers, 2002; Nickel, 2001; Sperling, 1992). Cameron mirrored my

 

conferences.  He became the one initiating conferences.  For

 

example, I observed him sharing with a classmate about what he

 

learned about dialogue.  He said, “Hey, can I help you with your

 

sentence there, (pointing to a place in Lilly’s story where she was

 

using dialogue, but had no quotation marks or commas).  You need

 

to put quotes around what the dog said and a comma after the word

 

bark.”  Lilly sat and listened to what Cameron had to say.  She even

 

asked him to check her work after she had revised it. 

 

          Cameron became a leader in our class during Writer’s

 

Workshop.  He was confident enough to share his work and teach

 

what he learned.  Video 1 shows Cameron sharing his story with the

 

class.  This was one of the first times he had shared a piece of writing

 

outside of a conference with me.  During a conference, I encouraged

 

him to share.  I said, “Cameron, this is such a great story.  Why not

 

share during our next reflection circle.” 

 

           Cameron:  I don’t know.

 

           Me:  I really think you should.  The rest of the class would love

 

to hear this.

 

           Cameron:  Okay.  Maybe.

 

           And he did.  I observed this transformation from reluctant

 

writer to self-assured writer.  Photo 1 shows how Cameron went from

 

not writing to writing several books during our four week narrative

 

unit.  Writing is one of the best ways to help students develop their

 

self-esteem, as it encourages reflection, offers confidence, provides

 

stability, and promotes creativity (Linken-Garmer, 2012).  I certainly

 

saw these attributes grow in Cameron.  

 

Brianna

 

           Brianna had always enjoyed writing and liked to share, but

 

didn’t feel comfortable teaching others. She is outgoing. However,

 

she had little confidence in herself as a writer and no confidence in

 

sharing her pieces with the class.

 

           During one of our conferences I taught her the different types

 

of leads.  We talked about starting our stories so we hook the reader. 

 

We looked at books that started with questions, dialogue or

 

emotions and Brianna realized one started with the title of the book.

 

Conferences can become one of the most productive aspects of a

 

writing workshop.  It is a time for me to encourage students to take

 

risks in their writing (Myers & Pough, 2002). 

 

           Me:  Brianna would you like to share this with the class?

 

           Brianna: I’d rather not. 

 

           Me:  You have done such a great job on this piece and I know

 

others could learn so much from you.  I will be there to help you if

 

you get stuck.  Would you think about sharing it with the class?

 

           Brianna:  Yes, I guess.

 

           Me:  How about you practice sharing with a friend at recess and

 

then you’ll be prepared to share it with the whole class.  What do you

 

think about that?

 

           Brianna:  Can I choose who to share it with?

 

           Me:  Of course.

 

           I knew she could do it, but her confidence was low.  During the

 

conferences we spent together talking and reflecting on her

 

narrative, I saw a girl go from not wanting to share to a girl who

 

would share anything I asked of her.  She has not only blossomed as

 

a writer, but as a person as well. 

 

     Video 2 shows her teaching the class about leads.  This was the

 

first time she had taught the class a lesson.  She had been resistant,

 

but showed during this video that she had made progress from our

 

conferences and was becoming courageous.

 

           In addition to being confident with her peers, she was also

 

sharing with others outside our class.  We visited our kindergarten

 

buddies one day and they shared a book they had made with their

 

3rd grade friend.  I overheard Brianna tell her buddy she would like to

 

share with her three things she had done well.  “I like that you have a

 

road going from one page to the other….do you know what that is

 

called?”  She preceded to give it a name of "across the page" and

 

asked her buddy if she thought she could teach that to her teacher.  I

 

got a kick out of her using the words I had used in our conferences. 

 

She also shined in front of our class, as she read her book.  Research

 

suggests that having an audience or an occasion in mind moves a

 

writer forward because of the anticipation of having that one reader

 

for whom your writing will make all the difference (Ray, 1999).  Ashley,

 

too, has experienced more confidence since our conferences.

 

Ashley

 

           Ashley is my quiet and shy student.  I asked her to share with

 

the class something she had learned about the word "said".  During

 

conferences we had discussed other words she might be able to

 

use. Conferences should have a predictable structure; focus on a few

 

points; demonstrate solutions to students’ problems; permit role

 

reversals; encourage use of a vocabulary appropriate for writing; and

 

stimulate pleasure in writing (Graves, 1982).

 

          Me:  Ashley what is another way we could say the word said.

 

You wrote I told Myra all about it and then Myra said, “Someone had

 

to have stolen them.” “But who?” I said.  You sound really upset. 

 

Instead of said, what else could you say to show your feelings.

 

          Ashley:  I could say cry.

 

          Me:  Yes, but instead of I cry, you would say?

 

          Ashley:  I cried?

 

          Me:  Yes, love it.

 

           Ashley was so excited about what she had learned she asked if

 

she could take her writing out to recess to finish it.  As soon as we got

 

in from recess she said with confidence in her voice, “Mrs. Seubert,

 

I’m ready to teach my friends about the word said”.  She couldn’t wait

 

to teach them and her mom said she even came home and shared it

 

with them.  She not only changed that one said, but continued in her

 

books with words like explained, sadly, asked, and yelled.  In video

 

3 you will hear her teaching the class what she has learned.  She

 

continues to be one of my students that takes what I teach in

 

conferences and runs with it and is always ready to teach others.

 

Video 3  shows Ashley teaching the class about using other words

 

besides the word "said".  She was poised and eager to share. 

 

           Confidence is not something that can be learned like a set of

 

rules; confidence is a state of mind.  Positive thinking, practice,

 

training, knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to

 

help improve or boost your confidence.  Confidence comes from

 

feelings of well-being, and belief in your own ability, skills and

 

experience (Shipman, 2014). Through our conferences I saw three of

 

my students go from little to say about writing to teaching the class.