Proofing and Editing Your Writing! (4th-7Th Grades)

In this class, students will learn helpful ways in which they can better proofread and edit their own writing in 4th-7th grades.  The order of our class will go as follows:

1: I will first give a short talk on what we can do to become better editors of our writing, but also what NOT to do! 

2: I will share my screen with students and show them how I proof and edit one of my own writing pieces that needs a bit of work to provide a visual example to them that supports what we talked about in the opening of class. 

3: On a shared screen, together the students and I will practice revising and editing samples of writing that have need a lot of work. 

4: Students will also learn that while some grammatical editing is black and white, there is a gray area of proofreading and editing that depends on the editor and their interpretation. We will practice looking at a poorly written sentence and then students will each separately rewrite the sentence in a way that they think sounds better. Those who wish to share their re-written sentences can so that we can see the variety of options available. 

I can’t wait to get writing with you!

This is my fourth year of being a 5th grade teacher! I love to teach my students how to become better writers! Next year I am being moved up to teach regular and honors middle and high school English and I can't wait!!

I have been a creative writer since I could hold a pen! I earned a Bachelor of Science in English from Towson University in 2004 with a focus in writing. I earned a Certificate in Graphic Design from Montgomery College in 2009. I've worked on numerous marketing teams during my professional career at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University. After leaving these positions, I began my own graphic design business, combining writing and digital art for numerous small businesses and non-profit organizations. A few years after beginning my business, I took on a job as Marketing Director for Hagan Realty in Rockville, MD, both designing and writing the material we used to market the properties we were selling (both in print and online). I have had experience working at a small publishing company with their writing, editing, and design of print and digital material. 

Over my years of experience, I have learned that you can be a good writer in the sense that you have a good story to tell or you communicate your ideas well. However, if your writing is full of spelling and grammatical errors, it will not be taken seriously and your readers will focus on your mistakes, rather than what you are trying to communicate.  I will share some of the mistakes I've made in my own profession, due to simple spelling and grammatical errors, to show the students that our goal should always be, "Edit, edit, and then edit again!" 

Let's practice the art of good writing! I can't wait to help you!