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Definition- "Discovery/Planning" In this stage students choose a topic/explore a variety of topics and genres as they explore, write down, gather, and organize their ideas and thoughts. During this time students should think about the purpose and audience of their writing. These areas (topic, purpose, audience, genre etc.) may change as the writer moves through the process and that is okay, but this should be completed in order to move into the drafting sage.

Example of Personal Experience- Bubble graph or chart to organize ideas when younger and then the outline format as I got older. Formulate thesis perfectly.

Observation of Child in this stage- Brainstorming based on topic instead of brainstorming leading to the topic

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Bubble Diagram: A Pre-Writing Strategy for Stories

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Modeling how to plan a story using a bubble diagram and the "5 W's" and "How" provides students with a strategy to help them organize and plan their writing. For more information go to full lesson plan at http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/balancedliteracydiet/Recipe/00098/.

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Definition- Ideas and plan from prewriting get transferred to paper. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other errors are not to be worried about in this stage. Content and ideas being transferred to paper is the main focus of the drafting stage.

Example of Personal Experience- Turning my outline into a 5 paragraph essay that flows. It has a introduction, conclusion, and at least three content paragraphs. I understood drafting as being a one time thing that was easier if I excelled in the prewriting stage. For receiving a draft back the less red marks the better, because revision was not the goal.

Observation of Child in this stage- Copying sentences into their designated places in their workbooks in Wake County. I have also seen students do the drafting together.

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Definition- "Seeing Again" In the revising stage the writer rereads the rough draft and shares it with others and makes changes to the draft based on feedback and their own personal feedback. Changes that are made usually involve adding,  deleting, rearranging, and/or substituting ideas and words. Revision is not an individual task, because the feedback of others is crucial for writers to tune their work for the reader.

Example of Personal Experience- Receiving feedback from my teacher's and classmates on my writing and reading other classmates writing and giving constructive criticism. Usually had a rubric or checklist to follow along as we read. Basically, realized if you had to put more work in or not and how much work would be required for a satisfactory grade.

Observation of Child in this stage- Children using checklist for their own written piece and other peer's writing. Sometimes in a group or with a partner.

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It's an important part of the writing process.

Revising gives students an opportunity to reflect on what they've written.

Revising is a way to learn about the craft of writing.

Revision is closely tied to critical reading; in order to revise a piece conceptually, students must be able to reflect on whether their message matches their writing goal.

How to teach revising

Research on revision and the quality of writing shows that strategy instruction is very powerful. When using strategy instruction, teachers should do the following:

1. Explain the revising process explicitly: provide specific, meaningful goals for the revision and/or clearly identify the audience.

One way to make the criteria very specific is to focus on genre. For example, when teaching narratives, develop a simple checklist that aligns with good narrative writing. For example, ask students "Are all the story elements included? Are the characters clearly described? Does your story show how characters feel?"

Another approach focuses not on genre, but rather overall qualities such as clarity and detail. For example, "Is there anything that is difficult to understand?" "What vocabulary words could you add to make the story more interesting?"

2. Model the strategy with think-alouds. This can be achieved by displaying one writing sample on a chart or ELMO, and using that sample to model and discuss how to revise the paper in a way that would improve it.

3. Provide guided practice with feedback. This can be done through peer editing and through meaningful teacher-student dialogue. These collaborative efforts reinforce the understanding that writing is a social process in which a message is created for an audience.

4. Gradually work toward independent mastery by students.

Peer editing is a very successful way to help students develop revision skills. This is particularly true when the peer groups have explicit goals for the revision. For example, find one place in the writing where the message is unclear, or one place where a different vocabulary word could be used.

Many teachers use checklists and mnemonic devices to help students revise their writing. Here are a few examples:

It's important to help students focus on more than sentence-level revisions. The 6 + 1 Trait writing program encourages a bigger-picture revision process through attention to ideas, organization, voice, word choice, and more. Their revision checklist includes items such as:

Although it's rarely considered this way, revisions include any changes a writer makes to a draft, including decisions made both before the writing begins and as drafting is taking place. Strategies that engage students before writing begins - for example RAFT and the story sequence strategy - can help students develop a strong first draft.

These steps for revision can be used across content areas. The types of writing that could take place include writing the steps to a word problem (math), reporting results from an experiment (science), and summarizing an important historical event or figure (social studies).

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It's an important part of the writing process. Revising gives students an opportunity to reflect on what they've written. Revising is a way to learn about the craft of writing. Revision is closely tied to critical reading; in order to revise a piece conceptually, students must be able to reflect on whether their message matches their writing goal.

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Definition- Editing focuses on the writing's mechanics like punctuation, spelling, grammar etc. To effectively edit it is helpful to set aside the work for a couple days before returning to edit. The distance allows them to notice errors because they are less familiar with the texts after several days. In addition others should also edit your paper in order to provide fresh eyes. Checklists are helpful to guide the editing process and maintain focus.

Example of Personal Experience- For me personally revision and editing has always been a joint stage that I did not separate or know the difference from. I also rarely stepped away from my writing so that after I could look at it with a fresh perspective.

Observation of Child in this stage- I do not think I have observed a child in the editing stage because I feel like revision and editing usually end up being combined instead of as separate processes with different goals.

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The concept of editing can be a tricky one to teach to elementary students who are just beginning to stretch their wings as writers. But as I like to remind my students whenever they make that face (you know the one), the editing process isn't about pointing out what's wrong with their writing. It's about making their wonderful writing even better.

These are a few of my favorite classic strategies for teaching elementary students about editing and revising, along with some ideas on how to make them as fresh and engaging as possible. These work best when paired with effective writing strategies and can be used separately or in tandem-whatever works best for you and your students!

Strategy #1: Check That List!

Editing checklists are standard when it comes to teaching elementary students about revising their work-and for good reason. They're as simple to create as they are to use, and they help keep the whole process organized and focused. To use an editing checklist strategy effectively, it's best to wait at least a week or so between the initial writing assignment and the revising session, so that your students can look over their work with a fresh perspective. Asking them to review their own work this way is an especially effective way of showing them how first drafts are often not the best drafts and why editing is such an important part of the writing process.

Of course, just handing out a list of writing elements to check off one by one can be a little, well, boring. To spice things up a bit and keep your students' attention from wandering, try:

Listing in the first person. Simply listing elements like "clear conclusion" to check off one by one can make the editing exercise feel tedious. Instead, try using more personal phrasing, such as, "My conclusion is clear." The difference is subtle, but it's there.

Adding a visual element. Illustrations, as you know, are your friends. You can match illustrations to individual assignments, such as black cats for Halloween or a snowflake for winter, or simply go for a multi-use writing theme, such as quills, ink bottles and books.

Turning it into a game. Instead of calling it a checklist, make it sound like a scavenger hunt. They're reading through their own writing searching for each item on the list. If they can't check an item off, they can rewrite until they're able to check off the whole list!

Highlighting an end goal. Editing for the sake of it might feel a bit discouraging to your students. Giving them a reason to want to improve their writing-whether it's to impress their parents during a class reading session or to polish it up before it's published in a book-will help make revising seem less like a chore and more like an opportunity.

Strategy #2: Playful Peer Editing

Peer editing is a wonderful method for teaching editing strategies to elementary students. Not only are they learning about writing and revising, they're also learning important people skills, including how to both give and receive constructive criticism with grace. Plus, they get to read something new and interesting, instead of just rereading their own work!

Of course, it can be difficult, especially for younger students, to grasp the real value of learning to edit well and how it benefits both the classmate they are editing for and their own writing. Some great ways to make peer editing more engaging include:

Adding a playful touch. Combine peer editing with the "scavenger hunt" checklist idea and turn it into a competition. Ask your students to divide into groups and first revise their own work using a checklist. Then, have each group deliver their assignments to another group and edit each other's work. At the end of the editing session, return papers to their owners and have each group add up how many errors were found in all of their assignments combined. The group with the lowest number of errors wins!

Making it official. Help your students make believe they're professional editors helping a soon-to-be-famous author polish up their work before it goes to print. Get some fancy-looking pens from a dollar store and hand them out only during editing sessions. Ask them to place their writing assignments in envelopes and pretend they are mailing them to their editors for review. And, to really make it official, be sure to publish your students' final work in a professionally bound classbook!

Strategy #3: Learning by Literary Examples

If your students ever doubt the value of editing, remind them that all of their favorite authors-not to mention the writers behind every single movie or TV show they've ever watched-do it too. Teaching elementary students editing through literary examples is the perfect way to build up critical reading writing skills at the same time. It's also a fantastic reminder that while nobody is perfect, with a little elbow grease and some polish, you can always improve.

But don't stop at just comparing and analyzing the works of the masters. To get the most out of teaching by literary example, try:

Getting inspirational. Find kid-friendly quotes from the greats about revising and editing and use them whenever you can-reference them in assignments, hang them on the walls, even ask your students to look some up on their own and choose a favorite!

Finding real examples. Maybe your students just can't imagine Dr. Seuss or J.K. Rowling ever having to revise their work. So find some proof! Show them real scans of manuscripts filled with notes, words crossed out and words to add, like the pages shared on children's book author Mary Amato's website that are intended specifically for use in the classroom.

Editing as someone else. To add a narrative element to revising, ask your students to pick an author they are familiar with. Have them imagine that are that author, and then edit and comment on their own work as they imagine that author would. Complete the game by making their imaginary status of published author official and publish their work in an anthology-style classbook.

Editing as a Stepping Stone to Publication

The most important part of teaching your elementary students about editing is context. Giving them reason to revise beyond the obvious-that it's a school assignment and that therefore they must do it-is key to motivating them to do their best work. While doing your best should be its own reward, when teaching young students such abstract concepts, sometimes something a little more concrete is needed to help illustrate the point.

Perhaps the best way to accomplish this is by teaching editing strategies as part of a larger lesson plan about the publication process. By guiding your students from first draft through revisions to actual publication in a real book, you'll help them better understand the value of hard work and the necessity of revising. Plus, becoming published authors will boost their confidence, both in themselves and in their own writing, while at the same time showing them how being open to constructive criticism can help them do their best-in writing and in life!
For more free resources to help your students become better writers (and editors!), be sure to check out our online teacher's lounge, and sign up today for your free publishing kit!

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3 Effective and Engaging Editing Strategies for Elementary Students

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The concept of editing can be a tricky one to teach to elementary students who are just beginning to stretch their wings as writers. But as I like to remind my students whenever they make that face (you know the one), the editing process isn't about pointing out what's wrong with their writing.

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Definition - Writing is shared in its final form to an appropriate audience in an appropriate form.

Example of Personal Experience- In the fourth or fifth grade I had a poem published in our newspaper after it got a local award. The poem was about walking on the beach with my grandmother, a tradition I had with her

Observation of Child in this stage- Writing the final draft with an emphasis on neat handwriting and sometimes the inclusion or artwork or illustration.

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A Collection of Online Publishing Opportunities for Student Writing - National Writing Project

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A key part of the writing process for Writing Project teachers has always been publishing-the exciting moment when writing finds an audience beyond the classroom. In fact, the mere possibility of publishing a piece can strengthen a student's sense of purpose and spark a heretofore hidden passion.