One of my favorite strategies when teaching a piece of writing is to have students color-code the areas we are focusing on when they think they are ready to write their final draft. By highlighting or underlining in colored pencil, they are able to visually check their writing. Content that is missing is more likely to be noticed than if I give them a checklist. Often with a checklist, they will check things off, never really making sure their writing is complete. By color-coding, they can’t color-code what isn’t there. And it can be done on the final copy too, if you only want to score for specific content.
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I love this. We try to always ask when we use the checklist, “Can you show me where you tried this…?”. Your idea is much more proactive for the kids. Thanks for sharing!
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I have also used a checklist in the past, and I totally agree that it has not been as useful as intended. I always think color is a great tool!
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Great suggestion. I’m going to try it!
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A lot of our teachers use the color-coded checklists and it is very helpful for students.
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