I’ve shared before my love of using proofreading and editing to teach grammar, mechanics, and writing. In the past we’ve used Evan Moor’s Daily Paragraph Editing, but that series only goes up to 6th grade. For Sprite’s 7th grade, I’ve switched over to The Critical Thinking Company’s Editor in Chief workbooks.
These workbooks have three levels:
- A level for grades 4-6
- B level for grades 6-8
- C level for grades 8-adult
How I Use Editor in Chief
I photocopy the exercise so that Sprite can make corrections directly onto the page. I look over her edits and we discuss if necessary. Sometimes a grammar or mechanics topic will arise, and we use our grammar references to delve into it. I may add on a grammar exercise if the concept seems tough to understand. Any notes can go directly into her grammar notebook.
Then Sprite copies the paragraph with all her corrections into the grammar notebook (a composition notebook). She affixes the image and caption on the facing page.
How I Schedule Editor in Chief
Day 1 Make corrections to the paragraph. Show mom for checking.
Day 2 (possibly) Discuss any grammar or mechanics issues from the paragraph by reading a grammar reference and looking at sample sentences.
Day 3 Rewrite the paragraph neatly into the notebook. Affix the picture and caption.
Day 4 (possibly) Review or do more practice with the grammar or mechanics points.
If the editing practice goes very smoothly without any need for a grammar mini lesson, we may do two exercises a week. It’s highly flexible and dependent on Sprite’s understanding from week to week. I am not a proponent of busy work. If she already understands something, we move on.