When we begin writing a new piece in class, students will have at least two days to just write. They are getting their ideas down on paper, and they are not worrying about spelling, organization, grammar, handwriting, or anything else that would curb their creativity. Students are even encouraged to write a blank line in their writing for those times when they cannot remember a specific name or place, or anything else that might slow them down from writing. Then, we spend the next several days and weeks revising each piece of the writing. This is the phase in the writing process where students are working to make their writing sound better. Some examples include: changing their beginning to create a lead that hooks the reader, adding more interesting words, creating dialogue to expand on details, or adding a variety of transitions to aid in the organization of their writing. Students do not focus on spelling or mechanics at this time.

Only after the drafting and revising are complete, do writers move on to the editing phase. Now, they are going to make their writing look better by focusing on things like capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. When edits are made right after writing, our minds tend to make us see what we think should be there, and it is easy to miss errors. Because the editing is done on a day that is separate from when they originally wrote the piece, students are more likely to see errors in their writing. When editing, students spread out in the room and read their writing out loud to themselves or to their stuffed animal buddy. Doing this helps students be much more successful in finding errors such as missing words or sections that don’t sound right. Fourth graders are also learning to identify run-on sentences as they make sure each sentence ends with proper punctuation. They are checking that the first word in every sentence is capitalized, and they are learning to identify proper nouns that need a capital letter. Students make sure they have correctly spelled words they know how to spell, based on their knowledge of spelling patterns and word sounds. They use their pens to circle words that look wrong, but they aren’t sure about. Frequently misspelled words will be added to their writing journal as a personal “dictionary” and students will be instructed on how to spell the word based on spelling rules and patterns.

The final step in our writing process is to publish. Typically, the publishing involves starting a Google doc and typing everything from our writing journal into the document. Students highlight each section of their draft to be sure they are including all edits and revisions. Spelling and grammar tools are turned off to eliminate those pesky little red and blue lines that show up when students write. These lines will not help students learn to identify grammar mistakes and spelling errors on their own. They can be a source of frustration, and can decrease a student’s confidence in their writing. By turning off their tools, students are doing the work, not their computer. Students have more ownership over their writing.

Please remember that the goal of your child’s writing is growth. Your child is learning how to form complete sentences, which are compiled into paragraphs, and organized into a piece of writing that is better than their last. Next time you see a published piece of your child’s writing, compliment him/her on the ideas, the sentences, the use of figurative languages, and the small details included in their piece. 

Please note: While I am here to guide them in their writing and teach them the skills needed to advance their writing skills, I will not take their writing and make edits for students. If I did that, students will not learn how to spell words they didn’t know, they aren’t going to understand grammar rules, and they certainly are not growing as a writer. Mistakes are expected and supported, because they are still growing as a writer.