Do you ever feel that you spend hours grading student essays for the same grammar mistakes to reappear on the very next paper?
As a voracious reader, I did well in any subject related to language arts. But I did not cement the rules of grammar in my mind until I took dual enrollment English composition, during which I opted to do “corrections” to reclaim points squandered on grammar errors. I was glad to discover that many of my university professors also allowed me to do corrections to earn back points (and, of course, strengthen my grammar skills), and I soon realized how much the reflection process helped with long-term retention.
Later, as an English teacher, I gave all writing assignments a mechanics grade alongside a content grade, and I allowed students to do corrections to earn back points on their mechanics grades. I had a number of students tell me that this practice was more helpful than any grammar activity we did.
In fact, my own homeschooled middle schooler–a precocious kid who actually enjoys reading grammar textbooks–does these corrections today and admits they help her more than standard grammar lessons.
HOW THE CORRECTION PROCESS WORKS
Corrections are simple independent (out-of-classroom) assignments in which students review their grammar errors, research and cite the applicable rules, and rewrite their sentences correctly. Just as with writing, the process is the point. This activity draws from the fact that we learn more from our missteps than from successes and that active reflection aids with retention.
WON’T CORRECTIONS DOUBLE MY GRADING LOAD? (SPOILER: NO)
Corrections are not hard or even tedious to grade. My dual enrollment professor required that we list the page numbers of cited rules from our textbook, but I have dropped this requirement. I check just two factors:
- Was the rule correctly cited?
- Was the error corrected?
If yes, the student earns back 50% (half) of the points lost on the original mechanics grade for the error. I don’t offer a ton of feedback on these, just a check if the correction is acceptable and a new score at the top. To be candid, I frequently graded these while on hallway duty!
To keep the workload manageable, I set two clear boundaries:
- No “corrections of corrections.” On occasion, a student introduces another grammatical error in the correction. Either the students succeeds on the first try or does not.
- Strict deadline. I don’t allow corrections to hang out in the ether for long; corrections are due within a week after the graded assignments are returned.
GRAB THE FREE STUDENT GROUND RULES PRINTABLE
If you’re interested in setting up your own system for corrections, I’ve included my own ground rules handout in the subscriber vault this week. You’ll need to be a subscriber to access it.
ANY QUESTIONS?
That’s all for today! If you have any questions, please let me know.
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