Category / Techniques

by rigorouslit

The value of in-class editing

Here’s my favorite report card comment:  Devote more time to editing; learn to be a brutal editor!  

I’ve learned, though, that that comment is not enough; I must actively teach students how to edit.  For students “editing” can be an amorphous word (Am I proofreading? Am I checking my commas?) and they often don’t know what to do.

When students edit in class, I can both teach specific techniques and answer any questions that arise. Students often can hear the sentences that don’t work, but they don’t yet know how to fix them.  

I’ve had success with all of these strategies:

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by rigorouslit

All students speak: Two-minute rotating partner shareout

English is a discussion-based class.  I want students to interact with what we read and, ultimately, to craft their own interpretations.   The class of my dreams involves discussion, debate, questioning, the great back-and-forth that leaves everyone leaning forward in their seat, their eyes completely alive.

But in almost every class, some students learn to lean back, allowing someone else to grapple with a particular concept or tricky passage.  It’s easier, safer to listen.  Truth be told, I’m like this too.

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