Counting down ~

@Hands on Support

Yesterday students drafted an essay in the computer lab. The prompt and directions were on my Moodle course. Today we're in the computer lab again--this time focusing on revision and editing. Most students seem to think that 'revision' is simply fixing spelling and sentence errors. It is, however, much more than that. When a writer revises their work, they make sure their ideas are presented clearly and concisely, that each example supports their main idea, and that every paragraph relates to their thesis. This takes a lot of care and effort. It's probably not too far off to assume that revision will take 2-3 times as actual writing. I posted a presentation for students to work through that asks them to mark up their essay--these mark ups will give them ideas for revision.

Since the computer lab comes with all sorts of distractions, from Google chat to Tumblr to YouTube, I also gave points for being on task today. It's a pretty simple 0 or 20 points, based on what I see up on the kids' monitors. This would be a handy check for you to determine how well your teen uses his or her time in class. On the outside chance students finished with their mark ups and revision, there was always their PBL assessment to work on.