Tip #160 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly) - when to edit
Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.
#160
When
To Edit
There
are two types of people in this world: those who can edit and those who can’t.
Editing is a very
important skill for your child to learn. As she gets older, she will be
expected to do so on her own. The most obvious and simple way to help her learn
to edit is to edit her own writing. The trick, of course, is to know what to
edit and when. In general, these Dos and Don’ts should apply:
DO EDIT:
● Pieces
that will be published in some form or displayed.
● School
projects that you feel should be. (Her teacher will most likely let you know of
editing expectations of homework assignments, such as book reports.)
● Letters
etc. going to someone who may not be able to decipher her sound spelling.
DON’T EDIT:
● Lists
she writes if the job can be accomplished without perfect spelling. (If she’s
helping with the grocery list and spells “soup” “soop”, no one will care, and
the job will still be completed!)
● Her
journal writing.
● Letters
to family and friends that will understand the message without editing.
If she is writing only
for herself, her family, or her friends, formal editing can be replaced by a
quick rereading to check for glaring errors that will distract the reader from
the meaning of the piece.
When a long project does
require editing, using a colored pen can be fun. Your child can be challenged
to find as many of her own mistakes and correct or circle them in red. As
always, working with you on the final edits will help your child learn to edit
better and help her to learn to enjoy the process as well. When you are editing
with your child, be sure to have her sit next to you and watch as you say aloud
why you are editing something. For example, if she is writing about a trip to
Florida and she doesn’t capitalize the ‘f’, underline it and say, “Florida is
the name of the state (or proper noun for older children), so it needs to have
a capital.” By watching you and listening to your reasons, she will be more
likely to find her own mistakes in the future.
Giving kids an “Editing
Reminder Card” can also be helpful and empower kids to edit on their own. It
doesn’t have to be fancy; just jot a few basics of editing on a note card and
keep it wherever she does her writing. For most kids, these four things are
good editing reminders to write on the card:
1. Read it out loud
(Check for missing words and endings on words.)
2. Capitals (Add them
where they do need to be and get rid
of ones you don’t need.)
3. Punctuation (Do you
have periods, etc.?)
4. Spelling (Circle words
you need to fix.)
See our website for an example of an Editing Reminder Card.
Cindy McKinley Alder Patti Trombly
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