Peer Review: Narrative

Student Objectives

Instruction & Activities

Student Assessment/Reflections

 

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

Students will

• focus on maintaining a positive attitude toward the critiquing process.
  
  
• as peer reviewers, explore more concrete and specific ways to provide feedback on peer texts.
  
  
• as writers, concentrate on self-editing and listening skills that help them identify places they'd like to rethink in their own texts.

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Instruction & Activities

1. Remind students of the characteristics of narrative writing. You might write the information on a piece of chart paper or on the board so that writers can refer to the list while working.

   • Focuses a clear, well-defined incident or series of related events.
     
     
   • Develops plot, character, and setting with specific detail.
     
     
   • Orders events clearly.
     
     
   • Uses description and dialogue as appropriate to develop setting and character.
     
     
   • Shows events rather than just telling about them.
     
     
   • Establishes and maintains a tone and point of view.
     
     
   • Uses a logical and effective pattern of organization, such as chronological order, flashback, or flash-forward.
     
     
   • Uses transitional words and phrases to maintain coherence and establish sequence within and between paragraphs.

2. Discuss the difference between vague and specific feedback, using Sample Peer-Review Comments overhead or handouts.
   
   
3. Answer any student questions before having students break into groups of three to four each.
   
   
4. In their groups, members take turns reading their drafts aloud as the other students follow along with copies. You may choose to have them read their own or have them exchange and read another group member's paper.
   
   
5. Members react to the piece by writing comments on the PQP form.
   
   
6. Next, group members share their reactions with the writer in order to initiate discussion.
   
   
7. At the end of this discussion, the PQP forms are given to the writer for use during revision.
   
   
8. Group members repeat this process until all members' drafts have been shared.

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STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS

• Kidwatching provides the perfect assessment for this activity. As you circulate throughout the room, note which students understand the concepts and which need more practice. Provide on-the-spot help for any students who need more examples or instruction.
  
  
• Ask students to submit their PQP forms with their finished papers so that you can review the comments and how the writers have used the advice they have been given. When you grade student papers, you might use the same PQP form to assess student writing.

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