Ear to Ear

Skill: peer editing

To help students identify changes that need to be made in their writing, try this partner activity. First, have student pairs place their chairs next to each other, but facing opposite directions. Next, have each student attach her rough draft to a clipboard before exchanging it with her partner. One student softly reads her partner's paper aloud, stopping when needed to clarify or ask questions before making suggestions for improving the paper. Then the other student repeats the process. Not only will this technique keep the noise level down, students will easily be able to hear how their own writing flows and how their stories progress. From Mailbox