Editing, as I like to tell my students, is a little bit like cleaning their rooms. It may not be the most enjoyable thing to do, but once it’s done, everything looks and feels so much better. And with the right attitude, it might even be more fun than they’d think!
Of course, when it comes to their bedrooms, chances are they’ll have to do all of that cleaning themselves. But when it comes to editing your work, it’s actually better to have a little help! Teaching peer review to elementary students is all about working together to become better writers and better communicators. These tips will help you and your students get the most out of your peer review lesson plans this year.
#1: Practice Editing Together
The best way to introduce new or inexperienced young editors to the art of peer review is to start by modeling how it’s done. Choose sample text from a textbook or website to edit—or create your own by choosing a paragraph from a work of your choice and altering it slightly to include simple spelling and grammatical errors. Project it or write it on a board at the front of the classroom for all to see, and read it aloud. Then, ask for volunteers to offer feedback, and write their responses (as long as they’re constructive!) and corrections in the margins.
Be sure to discuss the three basic elements of peer review, as outlined by Marie Claire Amorella in her editing presentation: compliments, suggestions and corrections. Discuss the differences between each, and the importance of including all three rather than just focusing on finding and highlighting errors.
#2: Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
One of the most important, and sometimes most challenging, parts of teaching peer review to elementary students is clarifying the concept of constructive criticism. Most students will grasp the idea of finding and correcting errors easily enough, but sometimes a little extra practice is needed before they begin to truly master the ability to offer positive, productive feedback. In the past, I’ve found it helpful to tell my students to “focus on finding solutions, not just problems.” In other words, it’s not simply enough to point out each other’s mistakes—the real purpose of peer editing is to help one another figure out how to do better with the next draft.
Again, modeling a few examples together as a class can go a long way towards driving this point home. Offer some sample criticisms and discuss together how to turn each negative comment into something more constructive (and less judgmental). For instance, instead of writing, “This sentence isn’t written well,” a better comment might read something like, “This sentence would be less confusing if…” or “This sentence would be more interesting if…”
#3: Use a Standard Rubric
I’m a big fan of worksheets and rubrics for teaching elementary students about peer review strategies. Not only do they keep younger students focused and on-task, they also help keep their feedback organized and fair. A simple editing worksheet always comes in handy, especially if you want your students to focus on a particular element such as punctuation or using more colorful adjectives. Or, for a more general review, you may simply provide them with something like the following three-step checklist:
- Circle all grammar or spelling errors.
- Offer at least one compliment. What was something the author did well?
- Offer at least one suggestion. What was something the author could have done better, and how can they improve on it?
#4: Explore the “Why”
The key to effectively teaching your students about peer editing—and just about anything else, for that matter—is to make sure they understand why they’re learning it. Be sure to discuss the value of the editing process with your students. Talk with them about how they will also be improving their own writing skills by helping their peers, not to mention building important communication skills.
Better yet, show them how important it is. Illustrate the importance of peer review in the context of the full writing process by making it one step in a larger publishing project. Publishing a classbook together will help motivate your students by demonstrating how important editing is—and how rewarding the peer review process can actually be!
The Value of Teaching Peer Review
In the end, the secret to teaching your elementary students about peer review is keeping in mind that it’s not just about editing. It’s about connecting with your students as you practice peer review together. It’s about helping them understand the rules and showing them how to work together to find solutions to all sorts of creative conundrums. Most of all, it’s about inspiring them to reach their full potential by helping others be the best that they can be. Publishing their work in a classbook reinforces every one of those lessons, plus one more: it teaches them that you believe in them, and that they should believe in themselves, too.
For more teaching tips and project ideas, check out our online teacher’s lounge, and don’t forget to sign up for your free classbook publishing kit!
Image sources: Lead image via Shutterstock; Images 1, 2, 3, 4 via OpenClipart.org