Teaching Strategy
Read Aloud Peer Review
Have students work in pairs to read each other's work aloud, and then give each other feedback.
Overview
About This Teaching Strategy
This teaching strategy has been adapted for use in UK classrooms from our Common Core-Aligned Writing Prompts supplements.
Hearing paragraphs and essays read aloud can be a helpful step in the editing process because it allows students to notice things that they may miss when reading their writing silently to themselves. It also gives students the chance to offer feedback on another’s work. Reading an essay aloud with a peer can, therefore, help students redraft their work, whilst also developing their ability to give and receive constructive criticism.
As with all reading and writing tasks, students benefit from seeing models so they understand the procedure and have an opportunity to ask questions. Thus, before students practise this strategy with their own writing, we recommend that you model the process with a sample piece of writing. Read aloud a sample paragraph at an appropriate speed so that the listener can process the information and frame revision suggestions in a positive manner that uses the terms students have been learning: inference, claim, evidence, and analysis.
Lesson Plans
Steps for Implementation
How are you planning to use this resource?
Tell Us MoreYou might also be interested in…
Rose, Thorn, Bud
The Rose, Thorn, Bud exercise increases students' self-awareness as they reflect on recent successes, challenges, and opportunities.
Fist to Five
Students communicate how they are feeling in response to a chosen prompt, giving teachers a pulse on the class’s opinions or well-being.
First Chapter Fridays
Read aloud a chapter of a book your students are interested in to build community around stories and storytelling.
Compass Points
Students get an opportunity to give feedback about the class and communicate their needs and worries.
Exit Cards
Students share how they are feeling, what their needs are, and what goals they’d like to set in an exit card.
Establishing Opening and Closing Routines
These opening and closing classroom routines will set a welcoming tone, allow students to connect with one another, and encourage goal setting.
What’s In a Name?
Students explore the relationship between our names, identities, and the societies in which we live.
Frame a Special Item
Students identify an object that holds special meaning and learn about each other by sharing the stories of these special items.
Envisioning Our Classroom Space
Students analyze a poem in order to determine the qualities of a classroom community where members are seen, valued, and heard.
Unlimited Access to Learning. More Added Every Month.
Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.
Exploring ELA Text Selection with Julia Torres
On-Demand
Virtual
Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.
Working for Justice, Equity and Civic Agency in Our Schools: A Conversation with Clint Smith
On-Demand
Virtual
Issues of equity and education have long existed in our country and continue to manifest today. How can writing and the power of one's voice help us respond to these disparities? Listen to writer and educator, Dr. Clint Smith, where we hear his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.
Centering Student Voices to Build Community and Agency
On-Demand
Virtual
Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.
The resources I’m getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable.
—
Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif
