Grade by Grade
D. Composition · Writing Our Ideas

Making My Writing Better: Revising and Editing

D2.5 D2.6About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can listen to feedback and add or take out sentences to make my writing better.
  • I can check my writing for capital letters, end marks and spelling.
  • I can fix my mistakes.

Words to know

draft
The first try at writing. It doesn't have to be perfect.
revise
To change your writing to make the ideas better, like adding or taking out sentences.
edit
To fix capitals, punctuation (end marks) and spelling.
feedback
Helpful ideas from someone else about your writing.
word wall
A list of words you can look at to help you spell.

Writers fix things!

Even famous authors don't get it perfect the first time. Their first try is called a draft. Then they make it better in two ways:

  1. Revise: make the ideas better. Add something, take something out, or change the order.
  2. Edit: fix the little things: capitals, end marks and spelling.
Revising (ideas)Editing (fixing)
Add a sentence or detailCapital letters
Take out a sentence that doesn't belongEnd marks ( . ? ! )
Change the orderSpelling
Use better wordsSpaces between words
Revising and editing are different jobs.

Getting feedback

A friend or grown-up can give you feedback. Good feedback is kind and helpful:

  • ⭐ Star: "I like how you…"
  • ❓ Wish: "I wish you would tell more about…" or "Could you add…?"

You decide how to use the feedback to make your writing better.

Worked example

Let's revise with feedback

Noah's draft: I went to the farm. I saw a cow. My pencil is blue. It was fun.

Feedback: ⭐ "I like that you told about the cow." ❓ "I wish you would tell more about what the cow did. And does the pencil belong?"

  1. Take out a sentence that does not belong: My pencil is blue is not about the farm. Cross it out.
  2. Add a detail: The cow said moo and licked my hand!
  3. Read it again: does it make sense? Yes!

Revised: I went to the farm. I saw a cow. The cow said moo and licked my hand! It was fun.

I went to the farm. I saw a cow.My pencil is blue.+ The cow said moo and licked my hand!It was fun.ADDa detailTAKE OUTit doesn't belongRevising changes the ideas.
Noah revised his draft: he took out the pencil sentence because it is not about the farm, and he added a detail about the cow.
Worked example

Let's edit together

Edit this: my sister and i made a snowman we gave it a red skarf

  1. Capitals: start of the sentence → My. The word I is always a capital. The second sentence starts with We.
  2. End marks: there are two ideas. Put a period after snowman and after scarf.
  3. Spelling: skarf doesn't look right. Check a book or a word wall: scarf.

My sister and I made a snowman. We gave it a red scarf.

Before:my sister and i made a snowman we gave it a red skarfcapitalcapital IperiodcapitalspellingperiodAfter:My sister and I made a snowman. We gave it a red scarf.
Editing fixes the little things: capital letters, end marks and spelling. Each circle shows one fix.

Read it out loud

Read your writing out loud to check it.

  • Where you stop or take a breath, there might be an end mark.
  • If something sounds wrong, fix it.
  • Point to each word as you read so you don't skip any.
Just for fun

Why do pencils have erasers on top?

Because even pencils make mistakes! ✏️

Spelling tips

In a draft, just try your best: say the word slowly and write the sounds you hear. When you edit, check words you're not sure about:

  • Look on a word wall or a list of words you know.
  • Find the word in a book.
  • Ask a grown-up.
  • Circle words you think are wrong, then check them.
Hands-on activity

Writing detective

You need: a piece of your own writing (or a grown-up writes a short paragraph with 4 mistakes), a coloured pencil or crayon.

  1. Revise first: Read the writing out loud. Ask a grown-up for one star ⭐ and one wish ❓. Add or cross out a sentence.
  2. Then edit with your coloured pencil. Hunt for:
  • capital letters at the start and for the word I and names
  • end marks
  • spelling (circle words to check)
  1. Count how many mistakes you found and fixed. Give yourself a detective badge! 🔍

Your turn

1

What is the difference between revising and editing?

2

Which sentence does not belong in a story about a trip to the beach? We swam in the lake. We built a sandcastle. I have a cat. We ate lunch on a blanket.

3

Edit: i like to skate

4

Edit: we went to the park it was sunny

5

Give a friend a star for this sentence: My dog is fluffy and brown.

6

Find the spelling mistake: I have a red bik.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a draft?

2

Is the word I always a capital?

3

What do you use to check spelling?

4

What two kinds of feedback did we learn?

5

Should you read your writing out loud to check it?

More practice: on your own

1

Edit: my friend sam is funny

2

Feedback says: "I wish you told how you felt." Revise: I lost my tooth.

3

Edit: do you want to play

4

Why might a writer take a sentence out?

5

Find 2 mistakes: Yesterday i saw a big trukc.

Challenge

1

Revise to add a detail and edit: we went sledding

2

Edit this: on saturday me and mom went to toronto we saw the cn tower

3

Your friend's feedback is "It's bad." Is that helpful? What would be better feedback?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Revising means…

2.

Which is an editing job?

3.

Which sentence is edited correctly?

4.

Which is kind, helpful feedback?

5.

A sentence in your story is not about the topic. What should you do?

6.

Which word needs a capital letter?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 1 writers revise using feedback from others (adding or deleting sentences) and make simple edits to capitalization, punctuation and spelling.

How to help at home:

  • Keep revising and editing separate. First talk about the ideas, then fix the small things.
  • Use "star and wish" feedback. Always start with something specific you liked.
  • Limit edits to 2 or 3 things per piece. Too many corrections discourage young writers.
  • Make a small personal word wall on the fridge with words your child uses often.

Common difficulties:

  • "I'm done!" and refusing to change anything. Make revising a game: "Can you find one place to add a describing word?"
  • Erasing everything. Encourage crossing out with one line and writing above. Messy drafts are good drafts!
  • Expecting perfect spelling. Phonetically plausible spelling is normal in Grade 1. Praise the sounds they got right.