Before teachers can respond to student writing, students need to have excellent writing opportunities. Teachers need to be flexible in prompts and give students freedom in choosing what to write. Responding to student writing can also be very time consuming. However, there are some strategies for streamlining the process in meaningful ways.
Responding to Student Writing
Whether the student writing product is in a writer’s notebook, journal, published copy, or blog, teachers have an obligation to tell the truth. The student has written, and the teacher has a unique opportunity to guide the student to better writing. This can only be done by telling the truth and not dodging any bullets. To make this constructive and safe for the student, teachers need to be specific and remember where the student is in the writing process.
To be specific, a teacher should read the draft carefully and give it full attention. It is better to write fewer, albeit well chosen comments than to scribble profusely all over the draft. Students cannot improve on every writing skill at once. It takes a skillful teacher to identify a student’s strengths and a student’s immediate needs in instruction. Those next needs should be where the teacher focuses the comments.
It’s also a good idea to use minimal markings in the margins. Instead, a teacher can use an abbreviated structure to edit a paper. It may be edit marks or putting X’s at each line that contains an error. Teachers should not get caught up in error hunts, though. It is better to focus on the message and the delivery of the writing. Grammar and conventions are important and definitely should be addressed in the writing process, but teachers also need to keep a balance and remember what is important. Using well-established rubrics makes this part of the writing process much easier for the teacher and the student.
Critiquing Writers Strengths and Areas for Improvements
Saying the right thing at the right time to a budding writer is a delicate idea. Using a 2 + 2 rule can keep a teacher from spending too much time on one paper and keep students from feeling overwhelmed or squelched. 2 + 2 means two strengths and two improvements. These can be communicated through marginal comments that are specific and to the point. For other areas of strengths or needs, use unambiguous icons: a smiley face for an area that is well done; an X for an area that needs to be cut. Whatever is chosen, a teacher should be consistent and the students should be aware of the meaning. Teachers can also highlight everything that is good and sum up with one sentence.
Assessing Student Writing
Keep comprehensive assessments for benchmarking periods, perhaps two or three times per year. Teachers should also encourage students to request a comprehensive assessment of a piece. Whenever a student wants this kind of review, she should be entitled to it.
Teaching and assessing writing can be complex and overwhelming, but by focusing on specific areas of strengths and needs, teachers can manage the instruction of students at all levels.
