When my first grade students wanted nothing to do with editing their writing, it became clear to me that they a) simply did not see the point of it, and b) were not interested! A wise colleague asked me if I showed them how hard it was to read their writing without spaces and punctuation.
It was so simple, yet I had them reading their writing to me one by one, because, of course, I couldn't read half of it myself, AND the early-finishers were into everything. My methods resulted in mayhem. I had been trying too hard.
I wrote the equivalent of what they were handing in on the board that very day. My highest readers could not figure out what the string of letters in a row said, until I separated them with spaces and periods. And then, the little light bulbs popped on, one by one.
I left strings of letters as morning messages for weeks, and we corrected them together. They GOT the spacing and punctuation issue. And when I made them a picture-based editing checklist, they were thrilled.
An added bonus? The early finishers had something to color! Phew! Visit my store and get the 5 Point Editing Checklist free!
What has been a light bulb moment in your teaching?
The freebie, and a related product!
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Best wishes everyone!
