MINI LESSON: Peer Commenting

Peer Commenting

Overview:

Students will choose and respond to the writing Idea that inspires them and publish their finished piece to the appropriate Group. Students will also give and receive meaningful comments from their classmates on the writing they publish.

This lesson can be broken up into two parts: choosing Ideas and writing about them one day, and commenting on the work of classmates on another.

Objectives:

• I can leave meaningful comments on the writing my classmates publish.
• I can publish my writing to the appropriate Group.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6

Vocabulary:

• Commenting

Materials:

• One to one devices
• Individual student narratives

Lesson Outline:

• Part One:

• Explain to your class that they will be writing on the topic of their choice and practicing how to leave meaningful comments on the writing their classmates publish.
• Review this tutorial on why and how we comment on what other people publish.

• Part Two: Writing

• Allow students a short amount of time (5 minutes or less) to search the Ideas, Galleries, and Groups for an idea they wish to write about.
• Once students have settled on an idea, give them time to write. You can decide how much time you want them to work on their writing.
• When the time is up, have students publish their piece and share it to the appropriate group.

• Part Three: Commenting
  • Allow students time to read and comment on the writing published by other students, keeping in mind what they learned earlier about leaving meaningful/helpful comments.
  • Have students comment on 3 to 5 classmate posts.

Enrichment/Extensions:

• Have students add audio to their post.

Accommodations:

• Use the Description area when creating an Idea to provide step-by-step instructions or links to instructional references (ie skill videos, visual aids, etc).
• Use the audio tool to record instructions when creating an Idea. You can read the Idea and Idea Description text out loud so students can listen and replay them as needed.
• Modify the lesson to include small groups and be sure to follow provided personalized accommodations based upon any student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).