Conventions are best introduced as an area of focus after drafting and peer-review have taken place. Differentiating peer-editing processes enables teachers to ensure all writers that they are valued for what they CAN do, and writers of all ability levels CAN act as effective editors.
Identifying what kids can do and placing them in heterogenous editing [...]
I spent yesterday with the high school English Department at Depew Union Free School District. These folks invited me in to help them approach formative assessment as a process that leads to instructional improvement rather than a product that leads to grades. They’ve begun exploring the 6+1 Traits of Writing, considering what their middle school [...]
Allowing assessment to become an informative piece of the instructional process can start with very small steps, and in my experience, starting small prevents overwhelm and allows the true meaning of the formative assessment process to be preserved a bit better over time. Many of the teachers that I work with rely upon the 6+1 [...]