When it comes to increasing student motivation and success in writing, classroom talk is a powerful tool. More than simply providing assessment data for predetermined standards, talking with our students builds relationships and acommunitywhere students rely on one another-;not just their teacher-;for advice, affirmation, and support. Let's Talk: Managing One-on-One, Peer, and Small Group Conferences author Mark Overmeyer providesreal classroom examples and stories to help educators make conferences more manageable and meaningful.Organized by types of conferences, Let's Talk distinguishes between teacher-student talk-;which covers one-on-one, small-group, and whole-class conferences-;and student-student talk-;which includes one-on-one and group peer conferences. In addition to addressing the challenges and needsof teachers, coaches, principals, and staff developers in the elementary and middle level grades, Overmeyer also focuses onhow to work with English language learners.Throughout the book, Overmeyer describes how classroom talk benefits students in a variety of ways, from discovering their interests and backgrounds as writers to helping them develop the language to reflect on their writing progress.

Disregarding the false notion that writing instruction in the primary grades needs to be mostly teacher directed, Jennifer Jacobson shows teachers how to develop a primary writer' s workshop that helps nurture independent, engaged writers. No More I' m Done! demonstrates how to create a more productive, engaging, and rewarding writer' s workshop. Jennifer guides teachers from creating a supportive classroom environment through establishing effective routines; shows teachers how to set up a writer' s workshop; and provides an entire year of developmentally appropriate mini-lessons that build confidence and, ultimately, independence.