Below is a draft of a sample chapter from a book I'm writing on Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing.
Part 2 - A Strong Foundation
Common Core Standards Addressed in this Chapter:
W.6-8.4 and W.6-8.5 The Writing Process
W.6-8.10 Writing Folders and Portfolios
W.6-8.4 and W.6-8.5 The Writing Process
W.6-8.10 Writing Folders and Portfolios
The Writing Process
Nothing constructive can happen until your students are fully immersed in the writing process. This includes one in-class prewriting, an in-class rough draft, an in-class peer edit, an at home working draft, an in-class one-on-one teacher conference, and an at home final draft. Each step needs to be taught the first time it is assigned, so the first major writing piece should take about a month to finish. Subsequent assignments take less time, but only after students master this process.
In order to move forward, you need to know how I teach each step in this process. A critical thing to remember is the paper trail of accountability. Everything is kept as the newest addition is added to the top of the document stack.
Nothing constructive can happen until your students are fully immersed in the writing process. This includes one in-class prewriting, an in-class rough draft, an in-class peer edit, an at home working draft, an in-class one-on-one teacher conference, and an at home final draft. Each step needs to be taught the first time it is assigned, so the first major writing piece should take about a month to finish. Subsequent assignments take less time, but only after students master this process.
In order to move forward, you need to know how I teach each step in this process. A critical thing to remember is the paper trail of accountability. Everything is kept as the newest addition is added to the top of the document stack.
Prewriting
Prewriting is personal. No two people think exactly the same way. There are, however, certain styles of prewriting that appeal to different thinkers. Over the years, I developed a system of labeling students' various prewriting styles.
Ordered prewriting is the process of categorizing and sorting. Two examples of this style are questioning and outlining. Through questioning, students organize their thoughts by writing answers to Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions regarding the topic. An outline is a formal list with headings and subheadings and can serve as the frame for a much longer piece of writing. The table of contents in most book is an example of an outline.
Graphic prewriting is a system of drawing the ideas behind the topic. There are countless examples, but each one visually represents the concept in some way. When students use a web, or mind-map as it is sometimes called, they write the topic in the center of a sheet of paper and draw a line linking related ideas to it. They continue linking ideas until the web is complete. T-Charts and Venn Diagrams are also examples of graphic prewriting techniques since both separate and contrast ideas through spacial reasoning.
Liberated prewriting allows thoughts to flow naturally as they occur. Through free writing, writer writes every thought that comes to mind relevant to the topic. When students choose to list, they will write words or short phrases in quick succession as thoughts occur. This “stream of consciousness” allows for the uninterrupted flow of creative ideas, but can get messy and confusing if the ideas are not later reviewed for continuity of thought.
The goal is to teach each style of prewriting with trial prompts so that students have a chance to test which prewriting technique is most comfortable for them.
The Rough Draft
Once students have a sense of what they want to write and how they want to write it, it is time to draft. Drafting is the essential writing that has to happen for a piece to be completed and this first draft is critical. Often, many teachers discard the first draft as a throw away and miss the many teachable opportunities it brings to writers.
Chief among these opportunities is the importance of time and stress management. Working in line with my core value of keeping instruction authentic, it is my belief that all first drafts should be timed, in-class assignments. This is more than a method for preparing my students for the state standardized test. A large portion of a student's career from middle school through graduate school relies on a series of timed assessments that ask for an in-class rough draft. A student who is better prepared to prewrite and draft under timed conditions will have an easier time in higher education.
The second opportunity is for students to review their thought process. After the rough draft is completed, students will have two documents (the draft and the prewrite) to review what they truly know about the topic. Students engage in a process of self-discovery about their mastery of content and organization. If a student finds that they know far more about the subject than what is written, then they'll have the chance to self-assess and amend their writing. If a student's draft is highly disorganized, they can review their evidence of thought in the prewriting stage. The teachable opportunity is for a student to recognize the value of self-correction.
When finished, the rough draft document is added on top of the prewriting.
Peer Editing
The process of peer editing taps into the often unused resource in every classroom. Students have a range of abilities and should be encouraged to use their prior knowledge to benefit the group. Some are more knowledgeable about a range of topics. Others are organized. Still more are great with grammar and usage. Not every student is at the same level, but every student has something to offer.
Early in the year, I begin training students how to peer edit and conference. It begins by reviewing short writing samples as a class. These samples are written below the class's grade level and highlight specific grammar errors that I want to teach that day. Together, we discover problems and recognize what the writer did well. This builds confidence and reinforces technique.
When it comes time to construct a response to the author, students are taught a three-step process: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. Written compliments and suggestions should be between two to three sentences each and need to be sincere. The compliment is critical, so as not to drown the author in criticism. Suggestions should take the form of broader comments regarding content or organization. The corrections are done on the writer's draft and use traditional marks for editing a piece of writing such as circling misspelled words and adding punctuation.
Students pair off and trade rough drafts. They go through the editing process and conference with one another. In the Resources section, there is a sample peer editing document.
When finished, the author keeps the editor's written comments and attaches them on top of their rough draft.
The Working Draft
This stage of the writing process is often the most familiar. Students take their assignments home and prepare a draft for submission to the teacher at a later date. The difference is that, since the student has gone through several steps of analysis on their writing, the piece that the teacher receives is going to be superior in several ways.
The two main differences are brought about through the process. Since the working draft is attached on top of the editor's comments, the rough draft, and the prewriting, there no doubt that the student's work is their own writing. Not only that, but the development of thought should be evident in the work that the teacher reads. Even after the working draft is graded, a teacher may review the journey that the writer took to get to where they are in the most recent draft.
This paper is given a traditional grade and is set aside until the next step can be done.
Teacher Conference
The one-on-one teacher/student conference serves as the model for professional interaction. While the class is working independently or in a quiet group, the teacher schedules time to meet with each student regarding their working draft. This is where the the teacher models the most effective methods for conferencing, including the steps taught to students earlier.
The teacher offers compliments and suggestions on the working draft and reviews the corrections made on the document. This is more than an explanation of the grade the paper earned. This is a 5-7 minute discussion of how this particular writing piece can be improved and which skills the student needs to review in order to perform a successful revision. The topics discussed get recorded on a chart that goes into the student's individual writing folder. (More on this below.) There is a copy of this chart in the Resources section of this book.
When the conference is finished, the student takes their writing back and prepares a final draft.
The Final Draft
Unless there is need for further revision, this is the end of the process. This publishable piece is the last word that the student has on the assignment. It is the teacher's judgment how harshly this draft should be graded. Typically, I use restraint and look for whether the student made constructive use of the suggestions and corrections I made on the working draft. I try not to mark this document up too much because I use it for later assignments, such as the student portfolio or Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing.
The final draft is attached on top of the working draft, editor's comments, rough draft, and prewriting and placed into the student's writing folder.
The Writing Folder and Student Portfolio (No, they are not the same thing.)
The writing folder is a formative collection of your students' best work at that moment in their learning. In line with my core value of writing as evidence of thought, consider your student writing folder as their long-term memory. In it, each writing piece, along with the various revisions and teacher commentary, waits to be recalled later.
The basic components of your student writing folder should have: essay draft collections (as described above), the teacher/student conference chart (see Resources), and any relevant rubrics. The writing folder is not a receptacle for homework sheets, anticipatory set activities, or any other nonsense. There should be no clutter.
The student portfolio is a summative activity that happens at the end of a school year. Although it can take many forms, within the portfolio, students review and revise pieces found in their writing folder. Students are tasked with performing an involved self-assessment, which includes a cover letter, a written commentary on each selected piece, and a spotlighted piece for revision. By the end of a school year, each student should be able to articulate how far they have grown through the analysis of quality of their past writing. Directions for assigning a portfolio can be found in the Resources section of this book.
Any discussion of Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing can only happen through a thorough understanding of this process. In the next chapter, we'll explore the definition of Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing as well as overview the planning stages of Teacher Team-Building and assessing Student Strengths.
Prewriting is personal. No two people think exactly the same way. There are, however, certain styles of prewriting that appeal to different thinkers. Over the years, I developed a system of labeling students' various prewriting styles.
Ordered prewriting is the process of categorizing and sorting. Two examples of this style are questioning and outlining. Through questioning, students organize their thoughts by writing answers to Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions regarding the topic. An outline is a formal list with headings and subheadings and can serve as the frame for a much longer piece of writing. The table of contents in most book is an example of an outline.
Graphic prewriting is a system of drawing the ideas behind the topic. There are countless examples, but each one visually represents the concept in some way. When students use a web, or mind-map as it is sometimes called, they write the topic in the center of a sheet of paper and draw a line linking related ideas to it. They continue linking ideas until the web is complete. T-Charts and Venn Diagrams are also examples of graphic prewriting techniques since both separate and contrast ideas through spacial reasoning.
Liberated prewriting allows thoughts to flow naturally as they occur. Through free writing, writer writes every thought that comes to mind relevant to the topic. When students choose to list, they will write words or short phrases in quick succession as thoughts occur. This “stream of consciousness” allows for the uninterrupted flow of creative ideas, but can get messy and confusing if the ideas are not later reviewed for continuity of thought.
The goal is to teach each style of prewriting with trial prompts so that students have a chance to test which prewriting technique is most comfortable for them.
The Rough Draft
Once students have a sense of what they want to write and how they want to write it, it is time to draft. Drafting is the essential writing that has to happen for a piece to be completed and this first draft is critical. Often, many teachers discard the first draft as a throw away and miss the many teachable opportunities it brings to writers.
Chief among these opportunities is the importance of time and stress management. Working in line with my core value of keeping instruction authentic, it is my belief that all first drafts should be timed, in-class assignments. This is more than a method for preparing my students for the state standardized test. A large portion of a student's career from middle school through graduate school relies on a series of timed assessments that ask for an in-class rough draft. A student who is better prepared to prewrite and draft under timed conditions will have an easier time in higher education.
The second opportunity is for students to review their thought process. After the rough draft is completed, students will have two documents (the draft and the prewrite) to review what they truly know about the topic. Students engage in a process of self-discovery about their mastery of content and organization. If a student finds that they know far more about the subject than what is written, then they'll have the chance to self-assess and amend their writing. If a student's draft is highly disorganized, they can review their evidence of thought in the prewriting stage. The teachable opportunity is for a student to recognize the value of self-correction.
When finished, the rough draft document is added on top of the prewriting.
Peer Editing
The process of peer editing taps into the often unused resource in every classroom. Students have a range of abilities and should be encouraged to use their prior knowledge to benefit the group. Some are more knowledgeable about a range of topics. Others are organized. Still more are great with grammar and usage. Not every student is at the same level, but every student has something to offer.
Early in the year, I begin training students how to peer edit and conference. It begins by reviewing short writing samples as a class. These samples are written below the class's grade level and highlight specific grammar errors that I want to teach that day. Together, we discover problems and recognize what the writer did well. This builds confidence and reinforces technique.
When it comes time to construct a response to the author, students are taught a three-step process: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. Written compliments and suggestions should be between two to three sentences each and need to be sincere. The compliment is critical, so as not to drown the author in criticism. Suggestions should take the form of broader comments regarding content or organization. The corrections are done on the writer's draft and use traditional marks for editing a piece of writing such as circling misspelled words and adding punctuation.
Students pair off and trade rough drafts. They go through the editing process and conference with one another. In the Resources section, there is a sample peer editing document.
When finished, the author keeps the editor's written comments and attaches them on top of their rough draft.
The Working Draft
This stage of the writing process is often the most familiar. Students take their assignments home and prepare a draft for submission to the teacher at a later date. The difference is that, since the student has gone through several steps of analysis on their writing, the piece that the teacher receives is going to be superior in several ways.
The two main differences are brought about through the process. Since the working draft is attached on top of the editor's comments, the rough draft, and the prewriting, there no doubt that the student's work is their own writing. Not only that, but the development of thought should be evident in the work that the teacher reads. Even after the working draft is graded, a teacher may review the journey that the writer took to get to where they are in the most recent draft.
This paper is given a traditional grade and is set aside until the next step can be done.
Teacher Conference
The one-on-one teacher/student conference serves as the model for professional interaction. While the class is working independently or in a quiet group, the teacher schedules time to meet with each student regarding their working draft. This is where the the teacher models the most effective methods for conferencing, including the steps taught to students earlier.
The teacher offers compliments and suggestions on the working draft and reviews the corrections made on the document. This is more than an explanation of the grade the paper earned. This is a 5-7 minute discussion of how this particular writing piece can be improved and which skills the student needs to review in order to perform a successful revision. The topics discussed get recorded on a chart that goes into the student's individual writing folder. (More on this below.) There is a copy of this chart in the Resources section of this book.
When the conference is finished, the student takes their writing back and prepares a final draft.
The Final Draft
Unless there is need for further revision, this is the end of the process. This publishable piece is the last word that the student has on the assignment. It is the teacher's judgment how harshly this draft should be graded. Typically, I use restraint and look for whether the student made constructive use of the suggestions and corrections I made on the working draft. I try not to mark this document up too much because I use it for later assignments, such as the student portfolio or Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing.
The final draft is attached on top of the working draft, editor's comments, rough draft, and prewriting and placed into the student's writing folder.
The Writing Folder and Student Portfolio (No, they are not the same thing.)
The writing folder is a formative collection of your students' best work at that moment in their learning. In line with my core value of writing as evidence of thought, consider your student writing folder as their long-term memory. In it, each writing piece, along with the various revisions and teacher commentary, waits to be recalled later.
The basic components of your student writing folder should have: essay draft collections (as described above), the teacher/student conference chart (see Resources), and any relevant rubrics. The writing folder is not a receptacle for homework sheets, anticipatory set activities, or any other nonsense. There should be no clutter.
The student portfolio is a summative activity that happens at the end of a school year. Although it can take many forms, within the portfolio, students review and revise pieces found in their writing folder. Students are tasked with performing an involved self-assessment, which includes a cover letter, a written commentary on each selected piece, and a spotlighted piece for revision. By the end of a school year, each student should be able to articulate how far they have grown through the analysis of quality of their past writing. Directions for assigning a portfolio can be found in the Resources section of this book.
Any discussion of Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing can only happen through a thorough understanding of this process. In the next chapter, we'll explore the definition of Vertical Peer Editing and Conferencing as well as overview the planning stages of Teacher Team-Building and assessing Student Strengths.
