Using Google Docs for Revising

 KIPP Bay Area Schools Tech Tip

Objective:
Students will be able to use Google Docs as an effective tool for drafting, revising, and sharing their writing in a collaborative manner.

Procedure:

1. Students draft writing in a new Google document.
2. Students share the document as read and comment only.
3. Students complete a teacher-created form to collect names and links to documents.
4. Teacher leads revision mini-lesson.
5. After guided practice of the revision skill, students apply the same skill to their writing.
6. Students open spreadsheet to locate and open links to their teammates' writing.
7. Students comment on their teammates' writing, focusing on the particular revision skill (using sentence starters, if needed or useful).
8. Students read comments and make additional revisions to their writing.
9. The teacher comments / assesses students' writing.

Benefits:

• Students are able to work at their own pace 
• Students can more easily read their teammates’ writing 
• Students can collaboratively write and revise writing, in real time 
• Students learn to evaluate their teammates’ writing, a higher level skill 
• Students receive more feedback on their writing 
• That feedback is also more targeted 
• The teacher can assess just one skill (in a more time efficient manner)
• A lot of time, paper, and student engagement/sanity is saved by not having to rewrite drafts over and over again

See It In Action:

• Check out a sample lesson: click here
• See students' work and their revisions/comments:
• Valerio (responding to teammates' comments): click here
• Diamond (responding to students' and teacher's comments): click here
• Assata (responding to teacher's comments): click here