Developing basic editing and revising skills

Lesson 4: Polishing Our Words: Editing and Revising

Learning Objectives:

• Students will understand the difference between editing and revising.
• Students will identify and correct common errors in their own and others’ writing, such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
• Students will practice simple revisions to improve sentence clarity and structure.
• Students will gain confidence in their ability to improve their writing.

Materials:

• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Markers or pens
• Sample sentences with errors (see examples below)
• Student writing samples from previous lessons
• Editing checklist (see example below)
• Colored pencils or highlighters (optional)

Procedure:

Part 1: Introduction (5 minutes)

• Greeting and Review: Greet students and briefly review a previous writing assignment.
• Introducing Editing and Revising: Explain that good writers always review and improve their work. Introduce the terms “editing” (fixing errors) and “revising” (making changes to improve clarity or meaning).

Part 2: Modeling (10 minutes)

• Sample Sentences: Write a few sample sentences on the board with deliberate errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and word choice.
• Think Aloud: Demonstrate how to identify and correct each error, explaining the reason for the correction.
  • Example:
    • “the dog run in the park.”
    • Corrections: “The dog runs in the park.” (capitalization, verb tense)
• Revision Examples: Show how the same sentence can be improved by changing word choice or adding details.
  • Example:
    • “The happy dog runs quickly in the park.”

Part 3: Guided Practice (15 minutes)

• Editing Checklist: Introduce a simple editing checklist (see below) to help students identify common errors.
• Peer Editing: Have students exchange their writing from a previous lesson with a partner.
• Guided Review: Guide students through the editing checklist with their partner’s work, encouraging them to find and correct errors together.

Example Editing Checklist:

• Did I start each sentence with a capital letter?
• Did I use periods, question marks, or exclamation points at the end of each sentence?
• Did I spell all the words correctly? (Encourage the use of dictionaries if available)
• Do my sentences make sense?

Part 4: Independent Practice (15 minutes)

• Revising Own Work: Have students review their own writing from a previous lesson using the editing checklist.
• Self-Correction: Encourage students to make corrections on their own and rewrite their sentences if necessary.
• Sharing: Allow students to share their revised sentences with a partner for additional feedback.

Part 5: Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Review and Reflection: Discuss the importance of editing and revising. Ask students how it felt to improve their own writing or help a classmate.
• Highlight Progress: Celebrate the corrections made and encourage students to always check their work for errors and try to improve it.

Differentiation:

• Support: Provide more specific feedback and guidance to students who are struggling. Pair them with stronger peers for additional support.
• Challenge: Encourage students to try more advanced revisions, such as combining sentences or using more descriptive language.

Outro:

Editing and revising are important steps in the writing process. By learning how to find and fix mistakes, you can make your writing clearer, more accurate, and more interesting. Remember, even the best writers make mistakes, so don’t be afraid to revise your work!

Note: You can gradually introduce more advanced editing and revising concepts as students progress, such as sentence variety, word choice, and overall organization.