Revising a Narrative Essay-
Students are finished with their rough drafts and what do they want to do? Immediately write a final copy. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I stress the importance of revising. Be excited about writing! Model some writing! They will want to imitate your enthusiasm! Mention a few of their favorite authors and explain how they NEVER I mean NEVER take a rough draft and try to publish it. They ALWAYS revise! Don't get confused with the steps related to mechanics like capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling. That will come later. This step is making the content of writing better! See the transformation of writing into an amazing piece of art!
Students are finished with their rough drafts and what do they want to do? Immediately write a final copy. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I stress the importance of revising. Be excited about writing! Model some writing! They will want to imitate your enthusiasm! Mention a few of their favorite authors and explain how they NEVER I mean NEVER take a rough draft and try to publish it. They ALWAYS revise! Don't get confused with the steps related to mechanics like capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling. That will come later. This step is making the content of writing better! See the transformation of writing into an amazing piece of art!
It is always good to share a mentor text for revising. A suggestion is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Jack Pretlutsky and Dr. Seuss. The appendix shows how famous authors find the need to revise! Remind them that even the best authors revise, edit, revise, edit, over and over before they even think about the publishing stage. Roald Dahl's website is an amazing resource to share with your students. There is an interview with him where he talks about the importance of revising. I am in awe over this humble man.
I call this step DARE to REVISE. I DARE YOU!!!!!!!
It helps to read the rough draft out loud! When students read their own papers out loud, they can HEAR where they are making errors. I love it when a student is reading a writing piece to me out loud and says, "I didn't mean to say that!" I reply, "This is exactly why we are revising!" "Think like an author!" It reinforces what I've been telling them all along! I like to give them options. They can read it to a peer or record it on a device where they can play it back to LISTEN for places to revise.
Whether you have your students create interactive notebooks or simply take notes in a notebook, have them add the following acronym:
D- Delete unnecessary information
A- Add more important detail and transition words.
R- Rearrange text to be logical and effective.
E- Exchange words for clearer and stronger ones.
As you can see, I tried changing it to READ to Revise. I have to say my kids liked DARE to revise much more! Sooooo I changed it back for this coming year. It has the same skills, just a more motivating way to get them to revise. I thought having READ would give them the idea to read it out loud, but I can honestly say, I can motivate them more when I DARE them! We all learn from our mistakes!
I hope this helps in your writing lessons! Next up: Writing Mini Lesson #24 is exploring the D- DELETE when revising in a Narrative Essay!
It helps to read the rough draft out loud! When students read their own papers out loud, they can HEAR where they are making errors. I love it when a student is reading a writing piece to me out loud and says, "I didn't mean to say that!" I reply, "This is exactly why we are revising!" "Think like an author!" It reinforces what I've been telling them all along! I like to give them options. They can read it to a peer or record it on a device where they can play it back to LISTEN for places to revise.
Students will need:
* A rough draft essay
* Colored pens or pencils
* Thesaurus
* Notebook
* Glue and scissors (if using interactive notebooks)
D- Delete unnecessary information
A- Add more important detail and transition words.
R- Rearrange text to be logical and effective.
E- Exchange words for clearer and stronger ones.
As you can see, I tried changing it to READ to Revise. I have to say my kids liked DARE to revise much more! Sooooo I changed it back for this coming year. It has the same skills, just a more motivating way to get them to revise. I thought having READ would give them the idea to read it out loud, but I can honestly say, I can motivate them more when I DARE them! We all learn from our mistakes!
Like always,
ROCK 'N' WRITE!!!!
If you would rather have all of the these mini lessons (over 400 pages) in one spot along with tracking forms, goal forms, prompts, practice sheets, etc, etc. Click on the pic below! Boost those test scores with a year-long writing program!
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