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07 Writing and Revising

Page
051
from
Writers Express

Writing and Revising

Start-Up Activity

Ask your students if they've ever thought of the perfect come-back—five minutes too late to use it. Wouldn't it be great to go back in time and say the perfectly right thing at the perfectly right moment?

That's what revising is. Revising lets writers take their best thinking from an hour or more and condense it into something that readers can experience in five minutes. Help your students see that revising makes their writing as effective as it can be.

Think About It

“I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”

—Vladimir Nabokov

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.A

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.A

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.B

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.C

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.D

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.E

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.B

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.C

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.D

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.E

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.C

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.A

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.C

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.C

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.A

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.C

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

LAFS.4.W.1.2

LAFS.4.W.2.5

LAFS.5.W.1.2

LAFS.5.W.2.5

LAFS.4.W.1.1

LAFS.4.W.1.3

LAFS.5.W.1.1

LAFS.5.W.1.3

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

110.6.b.11.B.i

110.6.b.12.B

110.6.b.11.A

110.6.b.11.C

110.6.b.11.D

110.7.b.11.A

110.7.b.12.B

110.7.b.11.B.i

110.7.b.11.C

110.7.b.11.D

110.6.b.11.B.ii

110.6.b.3

110.7.b.11.B.ii

110.7.b.3

110.6.b.12.C

110.6.b.11.B

110.6.b.12.A

110.7.b.11.B

110.7.b.12.C

110.7.b.11

110.7.b.12.A

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 052 from Writers Express

Writing a First Draft

Help your students understand that when they write their first drafts, they should work rapidly, letting ideas flow. If they have done enough prewriting, they will have plenty of ideas to work with. Remind your students that they will be revising after they write their first drafts, so everything doesn’t have to be perfect the first time through. The key is to get ideas on paper (or in the computer) so that they can work with them.

This page and the next focus on the three parts of a paragraph or an essay—beginning, middle, and ending. Each part has an important role to play.

Related Minilesson:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.2
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.B.i, 110.6.b.12.B
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1.d, LA 4.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 053 from Writers Express

Writing the First Draft (Continued)

Use this page to show students how to support a focus statement (from the beginning paragraph) with details in the middle paragraphs. Note how the specific facts and examples in the essay explain the focus. Then also show how the ending revisits the focus, but doesn't restate it word for word.

In this way, the three-part structure of an essay or a paragraph follows this pattern: "Tell the reader what you are about to say" (beginning), "say what you want to say" (middle), and "tell the reader what you just said" (ending).

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.2
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.B.ii, 110.6.b.12.B
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1.b, LA 4.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 054 from Writers Express

Revising the Writing

Help your students understand that revising is the process of making big improvements to writing. Students need to focus on the "big picture"—the ideas and structure of their writing. They make the following types of changes when they revise:

  • adding
  • reordering
  • deleting
  • rewriting
  • illustrating
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.1
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.12.C, 110.6.b.11.B
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.2, LA 4.2.2.a, LA 4.2.2.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessRevisingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 055 from Writers Express

Revising Checklist

Download the revising checklist and present it to your students digitally or on paper. This checklist includes questions that can help your students focus on the "big picture" changes that would make their writing stronger. On the five pages that follow in Writers Express, you'll get more in-depth help with revising.

Downloads:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.1
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.12.C, 110.6.b.11.B
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.2, LA 4.2.2.a, LA 4.2.2.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessRevisingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 056 from Writers Express

Making Your Writing Stronger

Your students may be unsure why they need to revise, and they may not know how to go about doing it. Use this page and the next four to show students specific issues they should look for in their first drafts.

On this page, you'll find two key features of strong writing:

  1. It shows rather than tells the reader about the topic.
  2. It uses transitions and keywords to connect ideas.
Downloads:
Related Minilesson:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.1
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.B.i, 110.6.b.12.C
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.2, LA 4.2.1.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessRevisingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 057 from Writers Express

Making Your Writing Stronger (Continued)

Use this page to help your students fine-tune the three parts of their writing: beginning, middle, and ending. Tell students, "Think of your reader as a guest you've invited to a party at your home (which is your essay)."

  • Welcome your reader through your front door and help him or her feel comfortable. (In an essay, the beginning introduces the reader to the ideas and gives a preview of what is about to come.)
  • Lead the reader around your home, showing everything and engaging him or her in your planned activities. (The middle provides the details that the reader needs in order to understand your main idea.)
  • Thank your reader for visiting you. (The ending wraps up the reader's experience.)

When students add a snappy title, they are basically sending an invitation to the reader: Hey, come over and hang out at my house!
 

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.1.2
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.B.i, 110.6.b.12.B
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1.d, LA 4.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 058 from Writers Express

Revising with Partners

The word revise literally means "look at again"—or see with fresh eyes. Many students struggle to see their first drafts with fresh eyes. They are just too close to the ideas. By having a classmate read the writing, the writer can get this fresh perspective. What may seem perfectly clear to the writer may be anything but clear to a typical reader.

Use this page and the next to help your students understand the roles of the writer and the peer partner in sharing and discussing writing.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.A, 110.6.b.11.C, 110.6.b.11.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1, LA 4.2.1.a, LA 4.2.1.e, LA 4.2.1.f, LA 4.2.1.g, LA 4.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 059 from Writers Express

How to Share Your Writing

Help your students understand their roles as writers and peer responders. Also, use the peer response sheet on the following page to help structure students' review sessions.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.A, 110.6.b.11.C, 110.6.b.11.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1, LA 4.2.1.a, LA 4.2.1.e, LA 4.2.1.f, LA 4.2.1.g, LA 4.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure

Page 060 from Writers Express

Sample Response Sheet

Have partners use this simple response sheet to structure their feedback. The sheet begins with positive things that the reader notices. Mentioning what is working helps the partner and writer establish trust. At the end of the sheet, the partner needs to name at least two ways that the writing might be improved. Help writers understand that first drafts can almost always be improved, and that the partner is only trying to help.

Model for partners the difference between constructive criticism—"Your beginning is really strong. Try to make your ending just as strong"—as opposed to destructive criticism—"You sure can't write a decent ending." Partners should focus on the writing, not the writer, and on solutions, not on problems.

Downloads:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.4.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.6.b.11.A, 110.6.b.11.C, 110.6.b.11.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 4.2.1, LA 4.2.1.a, LA 4.2.1.e, LA 4.2.1.f, LA 4.2.1.g, LA 4.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 4Grade 5
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingQualities of WritingIdeasStructure