REAL REVISION:

Sharing Authors’

Strategies with Students

http://www.katemessner.com

Grumpy Cat Breaks…

Revision should not be a surprise.

Assignment:

Write for three minutes, describing a place that you love.

WHAT REVISION ISN’T…

• Spell Checking• Hiring a professional editor• Solitary• A process with a single correct solution

or end point

WHAT REVISION IS

BrainstormingFree-Writing(and maybe starting over)

Princess Marty Frog-Slimeand the

Nutcracker Ballet

Confessions of a Sea Monster

“Well…This is funny. But it sounds more like a New Yorker cartoon than a book for kids.”

What if things turned out differently?

Two Books in One?

Who’s that guygirl?

Consideringdifferent formats

Draft 1

Draft 2 Draft 3 Draft 4

Time to

Write!Sometimes poem…

Time to

Write!Sometimes poem…

WHAT REVISION IS

• Finding & Strengthening the Heart of a project

What are you writing?My book is about

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

But underneath that, it’s really about ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

My book is about a 7th grader who finds a magic pencil that will answer any question.

But underneath that, it’s really about learning to make peace with our questions.

My book is about a boy who gets sucked through the dryer into a land of enormous ogres.

But underneath that, it’s really about taking charge of your life even when you feel small.

My book is about a boy who learns he has magical powers and is sent to a school for wizards.

But underneath that, it’s really about the power of family, love, and friendship.

My book is about a future society where teenagers are forced to fight to the death in an arena once a year.

But underneath that, it’s really about power, marketing, and revolution.

What are you writing?My project is about

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

But underneath that, it’s really about ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Plot and Pacing Studying a Mentor Text

MENTOR TEXT PLOT CHART

Mentor Texts for Student Writing

Newspaper EditorialsPetitions

Magazine Articles (StoryWorks, TIME for Kids, Sports Illustrated, etc.)Historical Documents

SpeechesDebate Transcripts

Memoirs

What writing that you admire feels like the kind of project you

hope your students’ work-in-progress will be? List a few pieces

that might be “mentor texts” for your writers.

Balancing Dialogue/Narration, Opinion/Supporting Facts, etc.

Highlight a Mentor Text

WHAT REVISION IS

Charts, maps, timelines, & outlines

Plot and Pacing: Timelines and Setting Charts

Personal Narrative and Short Stories

Over what time period does my story take place, and how do those hours/ days/weeks/months play out from chapter to chapter?

Plot and Pacing: Timelines and Setting Charts

Over what time period does my story take place, and how do those hours/ days/weeks/months play out from chapter to chapter or paragraph to paragraph?

Ch. 1 ------------------------------------ End

Mapping the Setting

Plot and Pacing: Characters & Changes

CH TREATMENT SYMPTOMS BELIEFS ACTION/PLOT POINTS

1 Medicine/light/exercise

Headaches dwindling

I-CAN really is a miracle clinic. But there are weird things…confused.

Discovers files on computer

2 Medicine/light/exercise

Headaches gone – clarity returns

I_CAN is helping our headaches, but Phase III is dangerous/weird.

Files on computer, sees changes in Trent – Docs are secretive

3 Medicine only Headaches gone – clarity remains

I-CAN is not what it seems – we need to escape

Plot to go w/ Molly – failed – desperation

4 Medicine wearing off

Headaches/confusion returning

Should we have left? Confused – scared

In swamp – find Molly…

Big-Picture Story Chart - What characters, settings, objects, jokes, themes, and threads are important in your project? Are they woven consistently throughout the

text?

What elements might be included on your students’

Big-Picture Chart?

• Characters• Objects• Themes• Threads• Supporting facts• Sensory language

WHAT REVISION IS

Considering all five senses.

Time to Revise!

Add sounds!

Time to Revise!

Add smells!

Time to Revise!

Add tactile imagery!

WHAT REVISION IS

Returning to Research

WHAT REVISION IS

Details and Word ChoiceBe specific.

Be surprising.

Look for delicious details

Look for delicious details

Role Play!Replace Tired Body Language

** Role Play! Replace Tired Body Language

ANGRYFRUSTRATED

ANXIOUSSCARED

JOYFUL-EXCITEDDEPRESSED

WHAT REVISION IS

Being a Word Ninja

veryreallyjustthat

“what looked

like”

JUSTANDRATHERBEGAN TOAS THOUGHTHENBUT ALWAYS

GLANCEDIN THAT

MOMENTSO A BITI GUESSMAYBETHATVERY REALLY

Time to Revise! ***

Cut at least 20 words

Watch for “pet” stories, ideas, themes, phrases…

Brainstorm: What words, phrases, & pet stories are on

your personal “MOST WANTED”

list?

WHAT REVISION IS

Being Social

-Critique Groups/Partners

Post-It Note Critiques

ORANGE = “I LOVE THIS!”GREEN = “I’M BORED.”

YELLOW=“I’M CONFUSED”

WHAT REVISION IS

Finding the Right Title

WHAT REVISION IS

Finding the Right Title

• TEN Titles• Highlight great phrases

• Crowd-source• Cut-it-Up & Mix-it-Up

WHAT REVISION IS

Making Lists……and getting to work!

Five Reasons Kids Don’t Want to Revise(and what teachers

can do about it)

REASON #1

“But I just FINISHED. And I like my paper the way it is.”

SOLUTION:

Start the revision conversation early.

After We Write…

• REVISION – PART I• REVISION – PART 2• REVISION – PART 3

REASON #2

“I already ran a spell check. I’m good.”

SOLUTION:

Teach students the difference between revising and editing.

REASON #3

“I don’t know where to start.”

SOLUTION:

Have a revision checklist ready…

Student Critique Partners• Trade papers with a partner•Use highlighters to indicate the following:• Pink = Consider cutting this part.• Green = I’m confused now.• Orange = Use more vivid details/precise language.• Yellow = This part works really well!

•In the margin next to each color (or on a Post-It note), write a note explaining your highlighting and making suggestions.

REASON #4

“Everybody says I’m a great writer. Great writers don’t need to revise.”

SOLUTION:

Use published authors as role models, through text examples and Skype visits.

GUESS HOW MANY DRAFTS?

14!

If your poem/essay/personal narrative/ research paper could talk back to you right now, what would it say?

REAL REVISION:

Sharing Authors’

Strategies with Students

http://www.katemessner.com