The Practitioner Gives Specific Positive Feedback

There are only a few steps to giving this kind of feedback:

1. Look at the piece of writing, ignore the mistakes, and find something that the learner did well.
2. Read the good part out loud.
3. Say it’s good, for instance, “You have a really strong beginning here.”
4. Say what effect it had on you as you read it, for instance:
   • It made me want to read more.
   • It made me see a picture in my head.
   • It made me laugh (cry, think, wonder . . . ).
   • It cleared up something I was confused about.
   • It made me feel good (bad, sorry for, angry . . .).
   • It reminded me of something from my own life.

“Look,” I might say, “Barb tells us what her uncle said when he found the dog wearing his pajamas. She gives us his exact words. I like to hear his voice in there; it makes a change from hearing Barb’s voice telling the story, and I like a change. When I hear his words, I feel like I’m right there, and I believe the story more because I get it right from his mouth.”

I go on to make another comment about something else Barb did well, and my part is done. The whole thing (reading and commenting) takes three or four minutes.