As you teach each unit, plan to hold a formal writing conference at least once with each student. In longer units, plan to formally confer at least twice. The “Do Ahead” section in the Week Overview will alert you as to when conferring should begin. Veteran teachers of Being a Writer have found that, in addition to these formal conferences, they can usually confer with several students every day for quick “check-in” conferences. This means they can confer informally with every student at least once a week.