Why Revising and Editing Feel So Hard for Third Graders

Sometimes it takes so long for students to finish writing their essay that they believe the finish line is the last word in their conclusion. Some of them write “the end” just to make it feel finished. So when we announce that they have now only finished one part of the writing process, they tend to get frustrated … and can you blame them?

Revising is one of the most important steps of the writing process. Revising is where the meat is – and where your students should focus the most energy. When we revise, we focus on word choice, adding details, and making the reader better understand our intent and purpose.

For our state testing here in Washington state, “Ideas” are worth twice as many points as “Conventions” in writing. A student can have amazingly detailed ideas and descriptions and still pass state testing with less-than-stellar conventions skills.

Editing is the part that we (parents, teachers, and adults in general) notice first – it makes our writing understandable. There are rules to the English language, and editing our writing helps us to adhere to those rules.

Often, not feeling confident as a speller or not understanding sentence structure can hold a student back and create a fear of writing. Getting past this fear of being “wrong” takes a lot of effort and alternative ways to deal with “how do I spell …?” questions every 5 minutes.

We leave editing to the very end, so we can put all of those questions aside and deal first with what matters most – writing ideas.

I have struggled for so long trying to support students through the revising and editing part of the writing process. None of the rubrics or checklists I found supported my students in every area – aligned to the standards, in kid-friendly language that students can use independently or with a peer. If I found a checklist I liked, I couldn’t find a rubric that matched.

I think the power of the writing process is understanding the many parts and being able to reflect on your own writing, and then improve and grow. So I created a checklist that aligns with the Common Core State Standards for Writing, and also aligns with my standards-based rubrics (which I finally broke down and created, so they would be matchy-matchy for my students).

Now my students can go through the complete process of revising and editing with a quick checklist – allowing for individual, peer, or teacher conferring during the writing process.

One of my least favorite parts of the writing process was always peer revising and editing. Without structure, students would just listen to their partner read their writing and turn into an instant caveman at the end with “It’s good.” The lesson time for peer editing always felt wasted, and students did not know how best to support each other.

In a classroom with students on IEPs for writing and communication, English Language Learners, Newcomers, and students significantly impacted by dyslexia, ADHD, and poor attendance, there was a huge need for more intensive supports to have in hand, so all students could access the peer editing part of the process for reflective feedback. This is where the checklist comes in.

After modeling it with my students on my own mentor writing, they then take this tool and use it to look over their own writing. This is important – they may still be struggling to be reflective, because they don’t think their writing needs to be improved. It’s done. But when they meet with a partner and get feedback, they begin to correlate that feedback with the need to make changes to their writing. It takes the pressure off the individual student and makes it a team effort.

My favorite part of this is when I ask another student to peer revise and edit my own mentor writing with the checklist. I tend to make mistakes on purpose, and often get too distracted supporting students to finish my ending completely. And boy, do they feel confident giving me honest feedback when it is a class expectation! To be honest, I get some of my best plot twist ideas when working with one of my students – they have the best imaginations without the burden of being the one who has to write it down.

During our last writing unit, I had students finishing at all different times. I decided to try something I’ve never really had the space to do before – I used the checklist to guide writing conferences. And can I just say – wow. The level of detailed thinking and evidence shared was incredible! Here is a quick video showing the teacher conference in action.

Remember when I said I made rubrics aligned to the standards to go with these checklists? Yep. I did. If students follow each part of the checklist and truly have all of the parts they checked in their writing, they will earn a level 3 or 4 on the writing rubrics. This is especially helpful if you teach in a district or school that uses Standards-Based Grading, so you can have multiple grading points to add to your gradebook based on the rubric alone.

If you teach narrative writing, you know that sometimes the hardest part for students is not the revising and editing process at all. It is getting started in the first place. A blank page can be paralyzing for a 3rd grader, and “just write a story” is not exactly the spark they need.

That is where my Roll-a-Story prompts come in. Students roll to build their story elements before they ever write a single word, which means by the time they sit down to draft, they already have something to say. Once that draft is done, this checklist is ready and waiting to help them take it to the next level. The two resources are designed to work together, and honestly, they are a pretty great team.

If you have made it this far, I am guessing you are ready for a writing tool that actually does what it promises. These checklists are simple enough for students to use independently, structured enough to make peer editing feel purposeful, and aligned to the CCSS, so you can feel confident in what you are asking your students to do.

Grab the checklists here 👉 Narrative Writing Prompts, and if you want the rubrics that go with them, those are here too 👉 3rd Grade Rubrics

And keep an eye out, because a bundle with both is coming soon. 🙌

Happy Teaching!

💜 Beth