LESSON SIX: Writing Process--Revision and editing
Students revise and edit their previously written persuasive letter to the editor of their local newspaper.
GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
W1A Follow the writing process to create a persuasive letter.
R3C Identify, analyze, and evaluate logic, reasonableness and audience appeal of arguments in texts; faulty reasoning and unfounded inferences; accuracy and adequacy of evidence; and author’s use of information and logic to express his ideas.
LESSON MATERIALS
§ Sources of Literature
o None
§ Supplies
o Chalkboard, overhead projector, or Smart Board
o Persuasive letter to editor with errors in structure, content and grammar to use in modeling activity
o Persuasive letter to editor/editorial needed for guided practice activity practice activity
o Student writing products from lesson five
o Scoring guide to formative assessment
§ Handouts provided
§ Words to know
o persuasive writing
Students revise and edit their previously written persuasive letter to the editor of their local newspaper from lesson five. Scoring guide provided.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Ask students, “How have you used the writing process in the past?” Facilitate a class discussion, guiding students to review the steps in the writing process.
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Questions for Students |
What are the steps in the writing process? How does a student use each step? How is the process circular? |
2. Place persuasive paragraph with errors in grammar, structure, and content on chalkboard, overhead projector or Smart Board. In a think aloud process with student input, model use of the revision and editing steps of the writing process by making corrections to the persuasive paragraph.
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Questions for Students |
What changes should be made to improve the effectiveness of this paragraph? How does the prewriting show evidence of evaluation and organization? How does the rough draft show evidence of development of controlling idea that governs beginning, middle, and end? Why must students do more than run a spell check during the editing step of the writing process? What evidence of editing, revision, transitional devices, development of supporting details, and revision of voice, mood, tone and text elements are in the revised draft? Why is the organizational pattern of paragraph important? Can any of the author’s word choices be improved? What important details are missing from the argument? |
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Suggestion |
Model the writing process using a paragraph of your own creation or by using supplemental materials from a text or other prepared instructional materials such as Successlink, MarcoPolo, ERIC, etc. |
3. Given a persuasive letter such as a letter to the editor from a local newspaper, pairs of students edit and revise the letter to improve its effectiveness. Effectiveness includes grammatical, structural and content elements. Pairs will then participate in Kagan’s Think, Pair, Share cooperative learning strategy to share the results of their efforts.
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Questions for Students |
Which of your changes made the biggest improvement? Why/how? Where is there evidence of audience appeal and use of logic and reasonableness in the final draft? Where has the detail selection strengthened the author’s argument? What elements of the author’s style can be improved? How? |
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Suggestion |
Think, Pair, Share is a cooperative learning strategy designed by Spencer Kagan. Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative learning. San Clemente, CA: Resources for Teachers, Inc Local newspaper editorials work well because evaluation, knowledge and awareness of the issue create relevance. |