[Primo714]

I hope someone can help me. I find that I am doing too much editing and revising. The students are dependent on me to edit and revise for them. Does anyone have a peer editing form or checklist that has worked for them?
I'd really apprecite it if someone would share was has been successful for them.

[Judy24]

I have a few that I've made at school, but since it's spring break I can't get to them. But some of the things I do could help you.

1. I tell the reviser/editor to circle all puncuation in red. When you get your paper back look at the red circles. If you have a lot very close to each other then we need to look at fragments, choppy sentences, etc. If you have long spaces inbetween the circles then we need to look at run on sentences. This has helped some with sentence structure.

2. Underline any word that you think is misspelled. Don't spell it correctly, just underline it and it's up to the writer to determine the correct spelling.

3. Circle all transition words. When you get your paper back count how many circles you have. We talk about how many are enough for each assignment.

4. The reviser/editor should look at the introduction. They should write on the line what this essay will be about from just reading the intro. They should also write don't if the intro makes them feel like reading more of the essay.

5. I make them answer questions like, is there a sentence that seems out of place, do you think the ideas are organized in a way that makes sense, are there parts of this essay or story that you don't feel need to be in it, what details do you think could help the essay, etc. I always make them explain why they say a certain thing. For example if they say they think a part should be deleted they have to explain why they think so.

6. Lastly, I ask them if they had to grade this paper on a 4 point scale what would they give it. I don't always ask this, but when I do I find that the kids are harder graders than I am some of the time. Again they have to explain why they thought the writer should get that grade.

If they have never edited each others papers or their own before you may want to start with one thing that really sticks out in their writing first. Sometimes by just making them aware of it helps tremendously. Good luck.

[Funnygirl]

I had always had my kids peer-edit. But I recently went to a workshop where the presenter said that research shows peer-editing to be a poor use of time. They suggested that teacher confs. are much more effective. Just thought I'd pass that along.

[iluv3rd]

I have not found it worthwhile to do peer editing with second and third graders. I have a couple of forms I've tried but I haven't seen much good come out of it.

I like the idea of a "writer of the day" (from BookMuncher?). I choose a child to write on chart paper with markers each workshop session. We use the writing to make compliments (two things the writer did well) and a suggestion (something to improve the writing). I steer comments away from editing (caps, punctuation and spelling) and focus on craft (voice, organization, details, use of interesting techniques like simile, etc.). Everyone participates in the revising process and I can "guide" the conversation. The kids love being writer of the day because they know the atmosphere of revision is friendly and supportive.

I attended a Ralph Fletcher 2-day workshop a couple of years ago and he gave "us" permission to revise for one thing with a student and fix everything else like an editor to prepare a piece for publishing. Otherwise, the student is overwhelmed by too much teaching too quickly. This speeds up our revision conferences as well.

[eagertolearn]

Thanks for the suggestion of writer of the day! I love the idea of working with the student in front of the class. I think guiding the discussion in such a safe environment would be productive! I'm excited to try this out!

[CageyBee]

I have sixth grade and also felt like I was doing more than I should have been doing for "corrections." I recently heard Rick Wormeli speak and he gave a suggestion that was wonderful. He said to simply put a dot next to the beginning of the line where the error occurs. Then the writer has a focus to find out where the error might be. The writer would then correct the error on his/her own or employ the help of a peer. After the corrections are attempted, a conference with the teacher follows.

I thought it seemed simplistic until I tried it. Man, was that easy to go through a pack of papers BUT challenging for the writer to think about and correct. Now the person who needs to learn from the corrections IS actually doing so. My class balked at first...were too dependent on quick fixes...but they are learning to spot errors, and in many cases, avoid the errors on their own.

I was observed by the administrator who accompanied our grade level team to the workshop, and was praised for implementing such an effective procedure/tool into our writier's workshop.