Many teachers and parents hit a wall editing student work—it can seem so subjective! The last thing any of us want is to discourage our budding writers. But editing doesn’t have to loom large like a specter of educational despair. YOU are equipped for this task, and we are here to help with some quick online resources.
Earlier this week, we took a look at the Blackbird & Company Writer’s Checklists, which detail what to highlight in a 5-minute editing conference. But today we’re going one step further.
Drum roll please….
Introducing our new Editing Tutorials!
These videos look at real samples of student work and model how we would edit them with the Writer’s Checklists. Check out our first batch of tutorials centered around Level 1 edits on all our social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest). Our first five videos explore how to edit:
- Hook and Indent
- Mechanics
- Supporting Ideas and Adjectives, Example 1
- Supporting Ideas and Adjectives, Example 2
- Twist
With examples of dos and don’ts for each checklist bullet, we’ll give you practical tips on how to edit student work. And stay tuned for our Level 2 and 3 tutorials—they’ll be following shortly.
Every teacher edits differently. No matter your editing style, however, the most important part of a red-pen edit is (1) to help our students’ ideas shine, and (2) to empower them to keep writing. We don’t edit to crush their spirits or to force them to conform to an outline. No! We edit because our students’ ideas deserve to gleam and shimmer in the sun like a cracked geode. We edit because we believe that our students are capable of so much more than they know.
Browse these editing tutorials for a little inspiration and direction. YOU are more than ready to pick up that red pen!
~ Claire S.