At the last session of the PLN we reviewed several different strategies for incorporating more writing into the curriculum. This is something that I've always struggled with quite simply because I do not have the time to read 120+ essay or even paragraphs for that matter and have them returned in a timely fashion.
Nevertheless I did see something there that caught my attention and was something I thought I could surely utilize in my class; the method of peer reviewing.
This involves two students reading each others work but at different times and out loud. A student will give their written assignment to a partner whom they will be seated next to. That partner will then read aloud the other persons essay so as to review it for any errors.
I liked this method. I knew that reading aloud always help (me especially), but having a partner do it seemed like another fail safe. I knew that I would try it on my next written assignment.
About a week and a half later my students were finishing their founding father research paper. I had the students complete the review activity the day before their assignment was due and they all seemed to think that it was a worthwhile activity. There were many laughs about what they had caught in each others papers and lots of "oh my God!" going on in the class. Overall it made for a better product and the students assured me that they would be using this methods in other classes. Bottom line, it was easy to do, it worked, and produced a better product. Case closed!!!
I agree that the pair/share can be a very effective tool for getting kids engage.
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