Learners Become a Panel of Judges

Learners Read Their Work

As before, I ask the first learner to read their piece aloud.

Learners Become a Panel of Judges

With no comment on the writing, I ask each small group to become a panel of judges. They must agree to award one medal to the piece of writing they have just heard. They can give a medal for a good beginning, a good ending, good details, or good organization, whatever they think is the best thing about the piece.

As I circulate while the panels of judges are working, I hear the kind of comments I previously gave during the writing group, such as: “I think we should give the medal for a good ending; it surprised me.” It does not matter which medal gets awarded by any group. The purpose of the group work is to get learners analyzing and talking about writing. If there is a lively discussion in a small group, I count that as a success.

Some groups might have a hard time discussing the writing and make a quick decision to put themselves out of their misery, then sit waiting for the time to be up. When I notice a group sitting in silence, or in idle chatter, I push them a little to explain their reasoning, and then model the next step:

“Which medal did you decide on?”

“Organization.”

“Good choice. How is it organized?” (I validate their decision, and ask for details about it.)

“Well, he starts in the morning, then the afternoon, then he tells what happened the next day.”

“So he organized it in the order things happened. That’s the most logical order when you are telling a story about something that really happened. How does that help you when you’re reading the story?” (I model giving a reason for their decision, and ask for its effect on the reader.)

“It helps you follow along.” “It’s clear.” “You don’t get mixed up.”

“Ah, I see why you gave a medal for the organization.” (Again, I validate their work on analyzing the writing.)

If they say they gave the medal for details, I ask for examples of good details in the piece; if they chose the beginning or ending, I ask what effect that beginning or ending has on the reader.