Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose: Research, Argument, Story and Media

Editing and Proofreading, Word Processing and Cursive

D2.6 D2.2 A1.1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can edit my drafts for spelling, punctuation, grammar and format, including tricky Grade 7 errors.
  • I can use spell checkers and grammar checkers wisely, accepting good suggestions and rejecting wrong ones.
  • I can use word-processing tools (shortcuts, find and replace, styles, comments and suggestions, version history) with growing fluency.
  • I can write in cursive fluently, with a personal style that is still easy to read.

Words to know

edit
To correct a draft's accuracy: spelling, punctuation, grammar and format.
proofread
To read a final draft slowly and carefully to catch any remaining errors.
comma splice
Two complete sentences joined only by a comma (It snowed, school closed.).
subject-verb agreement
Making the verb match its subject: singular with singular, plural with plural.
word processing
Creating, editing and formatting text on a computer or tablet.
keyboard shortcut
A key combination that does a task quickly, such as Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z on a Mac) to undo.
version history
A record of earlier versions of a document, so you can see or restore them.
legible
Clear enough to be read easily.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you learned what spell and grammar checkers catch and what they miss (homophones, real-but-wrong words, names), proofread aloud and backwards, practised keyboarding on the home row for fluency and accuracy, and worked toward fluent cursive.

In Grade 7 you'll tackle trickier grammar errors, judge checker suggestions like an editor, build word-processing skills (not just typing) and develop cursive with a personal style that is still legible.

Tricky Grade 7 errors to hunt for

  • Comma splice: It snowed all night, school was cancelled. Fix with a period, a semicolon, or a joining word: It snowed all night, so school was cancelled.
  • Subject-verb agreement with tricky subjects: Each of the players is ready. (Each is singular.) The box of mittens is heavy. (The subject is box, not mittens.)
  • Its / it's: it's = it is or it has; its = belonging to it. The dog wagged its tail.
  • Plural possessives: one student's bag; two students' bags; the children's books.
  • Pronouns: My cousin and I went (subject); for my cousin and me (object). Test it: drop my cousin and see if it still sounds right.
  • Consistent verb tense: don't slide from past to present in the middle of a story without a reason.
  • Comma after an introductory word or phrase: Last weekend, we went skating.
Can you say "it is" or "it has"in its place?yesnoit’sIt’s snowing.(it is snowing)itsThe dog wagged its tail.(belongs to it)
A one-question test for its and it's. If it is or it has fits, use the apostrophe.

A draft to edit (written for this lesson)

last weekend me and my cousin went to a science museum in toronto, it was amazing. Each of the exhibits were hands-on. The students' from our school loved the planetarium, it's dome made the stars look real. Everyone grabbed their coat when we left, then we walk to the subway.

Worked example

Let's edit the draft

Find and fix the errors in the draft above.

  1. Capitals: last → Last; toronto → Toronto.
  2. Introductory phrase: Last weekend, needs a comma.
  3. Pronouns: me and my cousin went → my cousin and I went (subject).
  4. Comma splice: ...in Toronto, it was amazing. → two sentences.
  5. Subject-verb agreement: Each of the exhibits were → was (each is singular).
  6. Apostrophe: students' (possessive) → students (simple plural, nothing is owned).
  7. Comma splice + its/it's: planetarium, it's dome → planetarium; its dome.
  8. Tense: then we walk → and then we walked (past tense, joined properly).

Last weekend, my cousin and I went to a science museum in Toronto. It was amazing. Each of the exhibits was hands-on. The students from our school loved the planetarium; its dome made the stars look real. Everyone grabbed their coat when we left, and then we walked to the subway.

Note: Everyone grabbed their coat is correct in Canadian usage; their is often used for one person when we don't know or don't need to say their gender.

Checker suggestionAccept or reject?Why
colour → colorRejectColour is the Canadian spelling. Set the language to English (Canada).
Mississauga flagged as misspelledReject (check it first)Place names and people's names are often not in the dictionary. Check the spelling in a reliable source, then add it.
Their going skating → They're going skatingAcceptThey're = they are.
Passive voice warning: The rink was flooded by volunteers.Your choiceIt's grammatically correct. Change it only if active voice is clearer: Volunteers flooded the rink.
I seen it → I saw itAcceptSaw is the correct past tense.
Judging checker suggestions like an editor. Checkers are helpers, not bosses.
Just for fun

Why did the comma break up with the two sentences?

It was tired of holding together things that really needed a period. (That's a comma splice!)

Word-processing skills

The Grade 7 curriculum asks you to use word-processing skills with growing fluency, so you work quickly and accurately. Many programs use these shortcuts (on a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl):

  • Ctrl + Z undo; Ctrl + Y redo (on many Macs, Cmd + Shift + Z)
  • Ctrl + C copy; Ctrl + X cut; Ctrl + V paste
  • Ctrl + B bold; Ctrl + I italic
  • Ctrl + F find (and often find and replace)
  • Ctrl + S save (many online documents save automatically)

Other tools that improve accuracy and effect:

  • Styles (Heading 1, Heading 2) keep headings consistent and can build a table of contents.
  • Find and replace fixes a repeated error everywhere at once, such as a misspelled name. Check each change before replacing all.
  • Comments and suggesting mode (track changes) let a peer suggest edits that you accept or reject.
  • Version history lets you go back to an earlier draft if you change your mind.
  • Alt text on images, and readable fonts and sizes, make your document accessible.

Keep building keyboarding fluency too: fingers on the home row, eyes on the screen, accuracy first.

Cursive with a personal style

By Grade 7, your cursive can show personality: maybe a particular slant, a loop on your capital letters, or a signature style. Personal style is great, as long as your writing stays legible:

  • Consistent slant: all letters lean the same way (or stand straight).
  • Consistent size: tall letters (b, d, h, k, l, t) are taller than short ones (a, c, e, o).
  • Spacing: clear gaps between words.
  • Clear letter shapes: a and o closed, u and n not mixed up.

Cursive is useful for notes, journals, cards, timed writing and your signature.

b d h k l ta c e otall letters reachthe top lineshort letters reachthe dotted midline
Guide lines for consistent size: tall letters rise to the top line, short letters stop at the midline. The same idea keeps cursive legible, whatever your personal style.

Proofread like a professional

  • Edit in passes: one for spelling, one for punctuation, one for grammar, one for format.
  • Print it out or change the font size; a new look helps you see errors.
  • Read aloud, slowly. Your ears catch missing words.
  • Keep a personal error list (the errors you make most often) and hunt for those first.
  • Do a final check after the checker: it can't catch everything.
Hands-on activity

Editing station and cursive card

You need: a computer or tablet with a word processor (with a grown-up's permission), a timer, paper or a blank card, and a pen.

Part 1: Word processing

  1. Type the draft from this lesson exactly as it appears, mistakes and all. Time yourself.
  2. Set the document language to English (Canada). Run the checkers and decide: accept or reject each suggestion?
  3. Fix the errors the checkers missed, using the editing steps.
  4. Use find and replace to change cousin to aunt everywhere. Check each change.
  5. Add a title with the Heading 1 style. Use Ctrl + Z to undo one change and Ctrl + Y to redo it.
  6. If your program has version history, open it and look at your earlier version.

Part 2: Cursive

  1. Write a thank-you card in cursive to someone (a coach, a librarian, a grandparent).
  2. Check: Is the slant consistent? Are tall letters taller? Is it easy to read?
  3. Ask the person who receives it: Could you read it easily?

Your turn

1

Fix the comma splice: The bus was late, we missed the start of the game.

2

Choose: Each of the singers (has / have) a solo.

3

Choose: The cat licked (its / it's) paw.

4

Write the possessive: the backpacks belonging to the students.

5

A checker changes neighbour to neighbor. Accept or reject? Why?

6

What keyboard shortcut undoes your last action?

7

Name two things that make cursive legible.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does proofread mean?

2

What does it's stand for?

3

What does find and replace do?

4

Fix the capital: we visited ottawa in may.

5

What is version history?

More practice: on your own

1

Edit: Me and him went to the library, we borrowed three books.

2

Edit: The bag of apples are on the counter.

3

Fix the tense: Yesterday we hike up the trail and saw a deer.

4

Why should you check each change instead of clicking Replace all right away?

5

A grammar checker suggests changing The goalie made a brilliant save to The goalie made a save. Accept or reject? Why?

Challenge

1

Edit this paragraph and explain each change: Its the first snowfall of the year, the children's sleds are ready. Each of the kids want to go first. Them and their parents walks to the hill.

2

Explain how comments and suggesting mode (track changes) help when you get feedback from a classmate on a shared document.

3

Describe your own cursive style in two or three sentences, and name one thing you'll practise to make it more fluent or legible.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which sentence is correct?

2.

Choose the correct verb: Each of the dogs ___ a collar.

3.

A checker changes favourite to favorite. You should…

4.

Which shortcut copies text in many programs?

5.

Which is correct?

6.

What matters most when developing a personal cursive style?

For parents and teachers

Big ideas (D2.6, D2.2): Grade 7 students edit their drafts to improve accuracy and style, including by checking spelling, punctuation, grammar and format, and edit digital texts using word-processing software, including spell and grammar checkers. They write in cursive fluently, with a personal style, and apply word-processing skills with some fluency, automaticity and proficiency to improve the accuracy and effect of their texts. Organizing and checking their own work builds transferable skills (A1.1).

How to help at home:

  • Check that the device's language is set to English (Canada).
  • Encourage short, regular typing practice for accuracy, then speed.
  • Ask your child to write cards and notes in cursive; real purposes build fluency.
  • When you see a checker suggestion together, ask: Is it right? How do you know?

Common difficulties:

  • Accepting every checker suggestion, including American spellings.
  • Comma splices, which are very common at this age. Read each sentence alone: can it stand by itself?
  • Its/it's and possessive apostrophes. Keep a personal error list.

The science museum draft is written for this lesson. Supervise device use.