Peer Editing, Poem Publishing, and a 100 Word Challenge

I hope each of you enjoyed your Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and took at least a moment yesterday to reflect on Dr. King's message of non-violence, peace, and social justice. May his dream live on through the actions of each of us. 

Peer Editing and Revision  Writing is a process that includes many stages, which includes brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and ultimately publishing. Most of us are currently in the middle of that process now with regards to our  "I Am From" Poem. As we seek to improve our writing and make each piece as good as it possible be, it's important to remember how important editing is as part of the writing process. No published author writes a perfect piece of writing the first time through; they are constantly revising and editing until they get it just right. 

Today you will have an opportunity to share you current piece of writing (in whatever state it's in) with one of your peers in class. Your task when reviewing a partner's writing is to both help with basic editing and to provide constructive feedback that is helpful to the writer. 

After you know who you will be sharing your writing with, click on "Share at the top of your document. Next, enter their full name and click "Done." The document should now be available in the "Shared with Me" or "Incoming" section of your Google Drive.

 

What things should you be looking for as your read your classmate's work? If something is unclear to you, ask about it. If you can think of a more descriptive or precise word to use, suggest it. If your partner made a basic mistake with capitalization, spelling, or punctuation, point it out. 

When commenting on another's writing remember some of these basic guidelines: 

There are a couple of ways to make suggestions and comments. You can use the "Suggesting" function within Google Docs, where you can make suggested edits that the writer can then later accept or reject. 

Secondly, you could also simply highlight text and make comments and suggestions that way. 

Finally, your peer editing should include a balance of corrections, suggestions, and compliments. Positive feedback is important too! 

 

"I Am From" Poem: Finishing Touches and Publishing  Now it's time to make sure your "I Am From" Poem is ready to be published. Please read your poem aloud to yourself. How does it sound? Did you carefully select descriptive words that connect with your reader and allow them to visualize your world? Does it flow? Before publishing, make sure you remove the suggestions in parenthesis from the original scaffold. Also, make sure to add your byline at the beginning or end of your poem (e.g., By Matt). 

Next, let's publish your poem! Copy the text of your poem from the Google Doc and then head over to Kidblog. Make a new post and title it "I Am From" Poem. Paste the text of your poem. Make sure that it looks they you want it to. Finally, click "Publish". Congratulations! You have published another piece of writing! My hope is to have you read your poems aloud to the class by the end of this week, so you may want to begin practicing.

A New 100 Word Challenge:  Red   Hard   Mountain   Floated   Umbrella  This week's challenge is another unique one. It doesn't involve a picture or a designated phrase, but it's rather made up of a random assortment of five words. Read more about the challenge below. 

You can find the assignment 100 Word Challenge: Five Words in your Language Arts folders. How will you strategically weave this 5 words throughout your story, while still constructing a logical narrative? What will these specially chosen words add to your story? Remember the words can be used in whatever order you see fit. Also, remember as you write to continue developing your imagery by using precise words, sensory details, and literary devices such as similes. We publish on Friday. Have fun!   

Homework  (1.) Read your A.R. book at home for at least 30 minutes and, if you choose, make a reading log entry using the Digital Reading Log. (Remember you must have made at least one entry by the end of the day Friday.)  (2.) Continue working on your 100 Word Challenge: Five Words story, which we will publish on Friday, January 22.