First grade writers have been working on their editing skills, rereading their stories, finding and fixing common mistakes, and making their writing even stronger before they turn in a first draft. They’re learning that great writing doesn’t happen all at once, but through careful thinking and revision.

Before sharing their work with a teacher, students use a writing checklist to guide their editing. They check that each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with the correct punctuation, that words are separated by finger spaces, that familiar words are spelled correctly, and, most importantly, that their writing makes sense. Good editing skills give students in the early grades a strong foundation as their writing and the ideas they communicate become more complex. First graders have been putting these skills into practice, writing personal narratives about winter break and “how-to” pieces, and they will continue to build on them as they begin writing for their penguin projects next month. In our first grade classrooms, young writers who need additional support also have opportunities to work in small groups with a teacher, allowing for targeted practice of skills and individualized feedback.

“We really hold the kids accountable for using their best handwriting and following the editing checklist,” says first grade teacher Kelly Porter. “That accountability, along with small-group instruction and the care we take in teaching the mechanics of writing, sets them up for success in second grade, where they’ll be doing even more writing.”