Last week, I was asked to work with an 8th grade boy. During November, his classmates and he were writing stories as part of National November Writing Month, AKA NaNowWriMo. I sat down next ot him and asked him to first read his story to me. Once he finished, I explained, “You’re the kind of writer who doesn’t use very much punctuation as you draft. However, as you just now read your story to me, I heard you pause. At those moments, that’s where the punctuation can be added. May I help you reread it again and add punctuation? It will help a reader to know when to stop and pause,” I ask.
His eyes moved from his iPad and looked right at me. A smile formed and he agreed. For the next 20 minutes, he reread his story. At the pauses, I showed him how to type a period or a question mark. Then I showed him how to use the shirf key plus a letter to ensure the next word, after the end punctuation, begins with a capital letter. Once he suggested adding an exclamation point and I agreed. It was a statement that needed an extra umph! After reading the last line, without prompting, he exclaimed, “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. Now a reader of your story will knows exactly how to read it because you are the kind of writer who edits for punctuation!” I told him proudly.
Today, I helped an 8th grade girl. Just prior, the classroom teacher was offering some tips to the whole class. One was to reread your story and if you see the word “and”, consider turning that long sentence into two shorter sentences. This teacher also mentioned how the first thing to do today was to read the comments that she added to each person’s story. When I sat down, I dutifully asked this student to show me her comments from her teacher. Typed into the small box, to the right of her document draft ,was the tip the teacher had just orally explained about eliminating “and”.
“May I help you to turn that long sentence where you used “and” into two shorter ones?” I ask.
This student also lifted her eyes from her electronic document and smiled. For the next 15 minutes, she read her story sentences to me. Each time “and” was found, I simply verbally reminded her that just before the “and”, she could end the sentence with punctuation. Then I whispered, “Now delete the word “and”. Now make the first letter of the next word begin with a capital letter.” Having my voice supporting her allowed her to successfully turn the teacher’s tip into a reality. As I got up to leave, I mentioned to the teacher, “She’s now the kind of writer who doesn’t write really long sentences with an “and” in the middle.” As I shared this news, the student had the biggest smile on her face.
These two experiences remind me of the importance of teaching writing. A student can write. A student can hear tips. But having a teacher pull up beside a student and ask if they can help edit a story is the best. Whispering in after a student writer drafts is one of my favorite tasks as a teacher!