The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA
Education:How To
I'll never forget the "C" I got on my first English paper in college. I was walking across the quad in the warm eucalyptus-scented California air when I confidently pulled my paper from my bag to look at the comments. The day suddenly slid into grayscale as I saw my grade.
After a lifetime of "A" and "Great job" written at the bottom of every paper, fresh from winning the English award at my high school awards night, I was totally unprepared for the many, many scrawled notes about the problems in my paper.
I walked into class the next day in a daze, and listened to my professor as he went into a terrifying but effective rant. Apparently I wasn't the only freshmen to confidently turn in a paper that wasn't nearly complex enough.
His speech has stuck with me.
"Your rough draft," he said at one point. "Is a chair."
He scrawled an incredibly messy chair on the whiteboard for emphasis.
"And you have to take that chair," he sputtered. "And build a boat!"
We students glanced at each other, a little overwhelmed.
A boat?
Today I want to talk about the chair and the boat, and some of the process that happens in between. Because let's face it, most kids (high school me included) really struggle to understand the work that happens between ROUGH drafts and final drafts. And it's perhaps the most crucial part of the writing process.
The strategy we're going to dive into now, self-editing stations, can really help scaffold editing for your students, saving them from falling into the usual traps, allowing you to intervene on behalf of key writing improvements you're trying to help them make BEFORE they turn in their work, and ultimately, saving your commenting time for only the most important personalized suggestions.
Go Further:
Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.
Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook.
Come hang out on Instagram.
Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!
130: Build Connection with your Classroom Design
129: Try Hexagonal One-Pagers
128: Take your Hexagonal Thinking Activities Deeper
127: How to Create a Hexagonal Thinking Deck
126: 5 Ways to Use your Writing Makerspace
125: How to Start a Writing Makerspace
124: 6 Free Canva Tools for Teachers
123: Creative Blended Learning (Now and in the Future), with Dr. Catlin Tucker
122: The Ultimate Guide to Genius Hour In ELA
121: When Lit Circles WORK, with Krista Barbour
120: Collegiate High School's Digital Literary Food Truck Festival
119: 5 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes in ELA
118: Big Ideas for Better Writing Instruction, with EB Academics
117: 10 Ways to Encourage a Reading Culture in your (Online) Classroom
116: Connect with your Students as a New Year Begins
115: 5 Creative Digital Poetry Activities
114: Easily Reduce your Digital Paper Pile
113: Breakout Rooms, Community Building, and Grading Policies for Online Teaching
112: An ELA Teacher's Gift Guide
111: Creative Uses for Jamboard, with Matt Miller
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
LifeBlood
Science of Reading: The Podcast
The Minimal Mom
Financial Coaching for Women: How To Budget, Manage Money, Pay Off Debt, Save Money, Paycheck Plans