Writing Practice: Revision Gameboard

We all know writing in the classroom is essential to building communication skills in students. But teaching students to revise their work is critical to that development and effectively understanding content.

We may be strong at teaching the thesis, or the introductory paragraph, or how to use and explain evidence in the body of an essay. Where most of us need work is with helping our students revise their work in an effort to make it (almost) perfect. The problem with revision and revising tactics (aside from the time it takes) is that students need guidance and structure in order to effectively address the issues within their essay. You can't tell a developing student to merely "look it over and make some edits."

Lisa Guardino, EdTech TOSA in El Dorado County created the below file to make it easier for students to cover the vast ground of effectively revising an essay.

We are revising arguments gameboard style! https://t.co/gk2TxLdXBh pic.twitter.com/GbBHmyzjth

— Lisa Guardino (@LisaGuardino) April 20, 2017

She's created a Google Doc "gameboard" in which students one by one complete "squares" on their board as they complete the tasks embedded within. Each square focuses on a different aspect (grammar, strong thesis statement, focusing on the audience, etc.) suggesting various tools for students to use in revising their work. You can alter the tools they use as you see fit. As each student completes the various tasks they fill the cell of the table in with a color. If done correctly, the student has fully revised their paper in a meaningful way focusing on different aspects of the writing and editing process. The more we can embed these skills in our students' practice, the stronger writers they will become.

Guardino's work is embedded below for you to view, and I've provided a link to your own copy. With your own copy you can make as many alterations as you see fit! When ready to roll these out to your students, have them make a copy of the document themselves so it becomes theirs.

With this tool, the revising part of the writing process will seem less daunting, the students get to visually identify areas of their essay they need to revise, and they can work at their own pace and pick areas to revise before others. In short, they will be given a path to success and be responsible for how effectively they use their voice.

Link to the file below

Reading Comprehension Task: Black Out Text

Going through Twitter # searches for EdTech ideas is a daunting but exciting task. Exciting because there are countless innovative and inspiring teachers in the world harnessing and leveraging technology to help students become better humans. Daunting because there is so much content out there that sometimes I go numb just looking at it. I have however found a number of educators and organizations that I lean on to get some amazing ideas and resources.

A view of my Tweetdeck - feel like a day trader sometimes watching this thing

Eric Curts, of Control Alt Achieve is one of my favourite go-to resources for new trends, tips, and resources. A while ago he posted on his blog a reading comprehension technique geared towards the use of Google Docs and a 1:1 environment. It was a techno-twist on an existing strategy called "Text Reduction Strategy" where students would identify the main ideas and points of articles or a given text and "black out" the irrelevant information using the highlighting or paint rolling format tools in Google Docs. Students use their critical thinking skills individually or collaboratively to identify what is essential versus non-essential information. Instead of having to summarize the text, they have virtually created one with the text's own words. The full detailed blog post is here but I will give you a snapshot of how it works.

Black Out Text Reading Comprehension Activity:
Step 1: Locate and copy text you would like your students to use on the Internet or other web resources
Step 2: Paste the text in a Google Document and set up the activity with directions at the top
Step 3: Push the assignment out to students via Schoology, your website, or other means
Step 4: Model the process for them - show them how they can access the highlighter or paint rolling tools in Google Docs and demonstrate how they are used.
Step 5: Allow time for students to complete the activity
Step 6: Analysis and Debrief - depending on your style, you can hold a discussion, a competition, have them create a visual or auditory product, run a Kahoot, Quizizz, or Quizlet Live activity

This method can be employed in any class that asks students to make sense of complex text sets. I like the idea of allowing students to collaborate as well - whether they are working on the same document simultaneously or they are comparing and contrasting and building consensus at the end.

If you give this strategy a shot in your classroom, let me know how it works out for you and your students. If you need some assistance with implementing this strategy or any others related to EdTech, hit me up and I'll help you out!