View Content #28127

by Johanna Lyon, CASLS Graduate Employee

In this activity, a typical feedback process for grammatical correction in a writing sample is altered to be learner oriented. This activity can be done in any language and is appropriate for all levels, but especially for advanced-mid to intermediate-high learners. It is ideally positioned during the course while students are in the middle of draft revision for a larger written assignment.

Learning Outcomes:

Learners will be able to:

• Identify grammatical errors in their own writing

• Propose corrections for common grammatical errors in a peer-assessment format

• Reflect upon common mistakes they make when writing

Mode(s): Presentational

Materials: Previously submitted writing sample draft (1 per student)

Procedure

1. After your students have completed a draft of a writing sample, provide them with grammatical feedback by only underlining incorrect sentences for one component (e.g. introductory paragraph) of the writing sample.

2. Students will work together in groups of four to correct any grammar mistakes that were indicated by the underlined components. Make sure the groups contain students of varied strengths so they can support one another during the activity. They are encouraged to collaborate and ask questions to their group members if there are sentences they are unsure about. You should, at this time, provide minimal feedback. Only confirm or deny if students have done a correction correctly.

3. Once students have worked through their samples, they should collect any sentences that they could not fix in their groups and write these on the whiteboard at the front of the room.

4. At this time, open the error correction discussion up to the class. No sentence should be left uncorrected. Even if students are not confident in their corrections, they should at least try something based off of the rules they know. Again, only confirm or deny the accuracy of the corrections.

5. Facilitate evaluation of each correction made on the board. Ask the student who corrected each sample to explain their correction and why they made it. Correct the work only if necessary. After each sentence, allow the class to ask clarifying questions and leave room for extended explanation if necessary.

6. After the group corrections, provide time for students to reflect upon the errors they most frequently make when writing. They should come up with at least two common errors they experience.

7. For homework, students are charged with finding and correcting any errors in the remaining portion of their writing sample.