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Class Plan -- Unit One, Day 13

Goals

Assignment for Day 14
Revise Response essay for second workshop.

Related Handouts

Activities
Daily - Have you participated in peer review of your writing in the past? If so, in what setting (in a class, with friends, etc.)? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of having a peer comment on your paper? What are three rules you would suggest for making peer review effective?

Discussion of Peer Review - Discuss daily. You will want to emphasize that we want to concentrate on big concerns first in peer review workshops, i.e. content, organization, focus, etc. rather than style and mechanics. These things (style and mechanics) are important, too, but they are normally not THE most important aspects to focus on in workshop. [I often remind students that they aren't the things that I'm most likely to look at either. I will almost always focus on larger issues of focus, organization, development, etc. when I'm commenting on and grading their papers.] Bring in a few of what you consider to be the most important points from "Friendly Critiquing," then (again, from the daily) ask students to generate a short list of peer review rules for the class.

Peer Review Workshop - [Try to save at least 30-35 minutes for the workshop itself.] Pass out your workshop worksheet (see Appendix 10 for one possibility), and explain that you will always offer this type of structure for them in workshop, but that they aren't required to answer EVERY question on the sheet. A good way of approaching this is to have them read through the Response essay once without commenting on it, simply noting on a separate sheet of paper the general problems that they see. Then on their second read, they can fill out the parts of the worksheet which address these problem areas before they move on to the less relevant sections of the sheet. Encourage students to use as much detail as possible when answering the questions and writing in the margins. Also remind them that you will tell them when they have about ten minutes left in class, so that they can discuss their comments with their partners. Finally, remind students that they should give priority to the questions/concerns that the writer indicated on the workshop sheet, and begin the workshop by having them fill out the "writer" section of the sheet. (When they exchange essays, they'll exchange workshop sheets as well.) [If your students are acting like they are frustrated because they don't have enough time for this workshop, you might offer them the option of taking it home to spend a little more time completing it, then discussing the comments briefly at the beginning of next class.]

Be available to answer student questions as they review one another's essays.