Use Private Comments for 3 Rounds of Writing

On Twitter @katiewohlfiel shared one of her writing techniques. “First round- write a short snippet of what’s happening in first person point of view. Second round- write short snippet in second person point of view
Repeat for third person limited and omniscient.” Great idea, here is a suggestion for how to facilitate this in Google Classroom.

One of my all time favorite writing activities.
First round- write a short snippet of what’s happening in first person point of view.
Second round- write short snippet in second person point of view
Repeat for third person limited and omniscient #engchat #5thgrade #writing pic.twitter.com/xjVKg91Og7

— Katie Wohlfiel (@katiewohlfiel) March 27, 2019

Private Comments

Private Comments is my favorite feature in Google Classroom. They are a conversation not just a comment. I ask students to “respond in the Private Comments.” This makes it much faster for me to give feedback and for students to respond to feedback and I have NO DOCUMENTS TO OPEN!

Round 1

Create an assignment in Google Classroom asking students to describe something from the first person point of view… IN THE PRIVATE COMMENTS.

Students should Mark as Done.

Provide Feedback

In the Private Comments give students feedback on their initial write. This may take more than one back and forth with the student for them to respond to the feedback.

#respond

Tip: When replying with feedback that prompts a response, end the feedback with the hashtag #respond. This would allow students to filter their Gmail for notifications that require a response. It also clearly indicates to students that you expect them to respond.

Return Without a Score

When you return without a score in Google Classroom it put the student’s status back to “assigned.” I will leave a general Private Comment on return letting students know what is happening.

Change the Due Date

When you return work without a score after the due date it shows as “Missing.” Update the due date to reflect the due date for responding to the feedback.

Round 2

When returning student work after round 1, still without a score, provide the prompt for round 2. “AK: Round two! Now that your first person perspective has been approved, rewrite the scenario in the second person point of view. #respond”

Change the Due Date

If you are returning after the due date, update the due date to reflect when round 2 is due.

Round 3

Repeat for round 3. After the students have done all 3 of the perspectives and responded to the feedback, release their score.

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