2. What is a Peer Conference?
A peer conference is commonly used
in writing. Students listen to one
another and give helpful, positive
comments about their writing.
Give useful
comments to the
writer
Focus on the
writing, not the
writer
Pay attention and
discuss specifics
Focus discussion on
what writers are doing
afterschool
Use non-specific
comments
like, “Good job.”
Be rude to or
ignore your partner
Click on the check marks to see
the “do‟s” for a conference, and
the X‟s to see the “do not‟s” with
a peer conference.
3. You now know some general
characteristics of peer conferencing.
It’s as “Easy as PIE”.
P – Praise the paper
I – Interesting questions
E – Encouraging Advice
4. This is an example of an effective peer conference.
Liz – You really painted a picture in my mind when you
used the simile, “He stood there like a frightened
child at the end of a diving board.” (Praise the paper.)
Jack – Really? Thanks.
Liz – What do you think is the strongest part of your
story? (Interesting questions.)
Jack – I‟m not sure. Maybe the beginning where I
started right in the action.
Liz – Could you add more details of how he fixed the
misunderstanding with his dad? (Encouraging advice.)
Jack – Oh yeah. I forgot I was going to go back and
add some internal dialogue at that part. Thanks for
the reminder.
As you can see, Liz made her peer conference as “Easy
as PIE”. She was specific, positive, and helpful.
5. P – Praise the paper
The first step is the P of PIE.
Below are three examples of what students could
say in a peer conference. Click on the text you think
is a good example of P – Praise the paper.
“I like the part when Bob
slipped on the stairs.”
“I like the color of your shirt. It
matches your socks.”
“You used some great words. I liked
gigantic rather than big.”
Yes! This is specific and
focused on the writing.
No. This is a comment that
is focused on the writer, not
the writing.
Excellent! The praise is
specific about the words
used in the writing.
6. I – Interesting questions
Below are three examples of what students could
say in a peer conference. Click on the text you think
is a good example of I – Interesting questions.
“Why did you do your hair
like that?”
“How did you get your
picture?”
“What transition words did
you use to signal sequence
of events?”
No! This does not focus on
the topic. It can also hurt
feelings.
Nope. This is about a part of the
writing, but does not really help
the writer improve his or her
writing.
Yes! This is specific and
focused on the writing. It
will help the writing make
more sense.
The second step is the I of PIE.
7. The third step is the E of PIE.
E – Encouraging Advice
Below are three examples of what students could
say in a peer conference. Click on the text you think
is a good example of E – Encouraging advice.
“Could you use a different
word than „then‟? It occurs
a lot in your story.
No. This is neither encouraging
or specific. Keep it positive.
“Could you explain in more
detail what Fred said to his
mom?”
“Your closing is really bad.
You should fix it.”
You got it! This offers
encouraging advice that is
specific to the writing.
Great! This comment is positive
would help make the story
better.
8. Putting all the PIE together.
Pick the effective peer conference below.
Greg - Did you see what
happened with Mr. Dillon
today?
Mike – Yeah, I know. He got
pretty mad.
Greg – Man, I‟m starving.
What‟s for lunch?
Mike – I don‟t know, but here
comes Mr. Tate.
Greg – So, um, I like your story.
It was pretty awesome.
Mike – Thanks.
Greg – Your font is ridiculous.
Mike – Ha ha. I meant to do
that.
Nate – Your writing made me
feel nervous, especially when
they were going into the cave.
David – Wow. I really scared
you?
Nate – Yep. I was confused with
your conclusion. How did it go
with the rest of the text?
David – I guess you‟re right. I
need to revise that.
Nate – Could you add more
transition words? It seems to
jump from scene to scene.
David – Oh, okay. Thanks for
the tip.
Uh oh. Greg and Mike did not
have an effective peer
conference because they were
not focused on the task. The
input Greg did give to Mike was
not specific or positive. There
was Praise, it was not specific.
Greg also did not use any
interesting questions or give
encouraging advice. Mike‟s
paper is probably not going to
get any better after this
conference.
Well done! Nate and David had
an effective peer conference.
Nate was focused on the task
and followed PIE. He praised
the paper, asked an interesting
question, and had encouraging
advice. Nate was
positive, specific, and helpful.
David‟s paper will most likely
be better after conferencing
with Nate.
9. Putting all the PIE together.
Pick the effective peer conference below.
Mary – I like the part where the ogre smashes the door down.
Jane – Yep. Me too.
Mary – Are there some boring words that can be changed? You
used „ran‟ a lot.
Jane – I guess I could change a few of them.
Mary – You should change the font. It looks ugly.
Jane – Whatever.
Susan – I like the way you described the forest. I could really
visualize it.
Tammy – Thanks. I had fun picking the words.
Susan – Does the organization make sense.
Tammy – Hmm. No. I think it would be better if I moved this
paragraph.
Susan – Do you need a lead that hooks?
Jane – I guess I could ask a question to start, rather than
stating my thesis right away.
Not quite. Although Mary did pretty well with the Praise and
Interesting question, she failed to give Encouraging advice.
Her comments were mostly helpful and specific, but they
need to be positive too.
Correct! Susan did a nice job helping Tammy. Susan followed
PIE by offering Praise, an Interesting question, and
Encouraging advice. Her feedback was positive, specific, and
helpful. Tammy should be able to make some nice revisions
after conferencing with Susan.
10. Kellie – What do you think is the weakest
part of the writing?
Amy – Probably my dialogue. I used „said‟
a lot.
Kellie – Could you explain in more detail
how your character felt when his dog ran
away?
Amy – Sure. I didn‟t think to add any
internal dialogue there.
Kellie – Your writing reminded me of an
experience I had working with my friends
to solve a problem. You did a great job.
Jed – So what did you think about my writing?
Wendy – You did a nice job. I liked your details.
Jed – Okay. What else?
Wendy – Well, do you have any more facts?
Jed – I‟ll have to look through my notes.
Wendy – Maybe you could bold your headings.
Jed – Sounds good. Thanks Vicky.
Wendy – No problem.
Putting all the
PIE together.
Pick the
effective peer
conference.
Nice work. Kellie may have started with the I in
PIE, but she still covered all of the parts. She was
helpful, positive, and specific. Amy simply needs
to revise and her paper should be better because
of her conference with Kellie.
Almost. Wendy did all the pieces of
PIE, but she was not very specific. Her
comments to Jed were general and
probably will not help improve his paper.
Wendy needs to share ideas that Jed can
apply, not just go through PIE to complete
the conference.
11. Reminder:
After doing an effective peer
conference, students are expected to
revise.
Click the pie pictures below to see how to
take the input from a peer conference and
revise with PIE.
Students should keep doing what was Praised.
Interesting questions should be answered or fixed.
Details or changes should be made to
match the Encouraging advice.
12. Resources:
Murphy, D. (2012). Practical strategies for meeting the rigorous common core state
standards for writing (Grades 3-5). Medina, WA: Institute for Educational Development.
On your next peer
conference, make
it as “Easy as PIE”
