How to Make Time When There Is No Time for Timely Feedback, Part 1

As a high school English teacher I read a lot of essays.  Perhaps even more so this year since our school moved from a semester block to an eight period day.  Not only are the majority of my classes writing a lot (between AP and Creative Writing alone), but each type of writing is unique to the class, which means the feedback I provide has to be unique as well.

You would think sitting down to hundreds of essays with a pen and a plan would be a nightmare.  You would be correct; however, that is not how I do feedback (or even grading) in my classroom.  It may surprise you to learn that providing feedback is actually one of the aspects of teaching I enjoy the most.

This month, I am going to share with you two strategies I use when it comes to providing feedback to students in a way that is easy for the teacher and meaningful to the students.  As with most of my writings, I do not know if this is applicable to the lower grades.  I just know that it has worked for me these past few years and is one reason I haven't completely drowned in papers despite teaching such writing heavy course loads.

The first strategy I'll share is something I call a spot check.  This is a low stake grade -- if you want to attach a grade to it at all -- and usually works best early or midway through a writing assignment.  The reason for which is that it allows you the freedom to roam the room giving your feedback while the majority of the class is working towards an end goal or assignment.   

To begin, I have a clear target in mind that I want to check my students' writing for and I usually pick one aspect of writing to focus on.  Perhaps it's just looking for their thesis statement or maybe I want to see how they are supporting one of their claims.  I communicate this to students as soon as the class starts.

Once they know what the spot check will be for, I have the students clearly mark (or highlight) whatever it is I am checking so that I can see it quickly without causing too much disruption while circling the room. Once they have it out and marked, I tell them to keep working while I am circling the room -- reading the text I said I would.  

The key to this is NOT writing your feedback, but having a brief conversation with the student.  Instead of writing feedback comments, I quietly converse with them and tell them if what they have written works (and why) or if it needs improvements (and why).  If they don't have it, then it becomes a quick conversation about obstacles or struggles preventing them at this time, followed by encouragement or a challenge to show me before they leave class.

I love using this in class because it lets you see their progress, hold students accountable for doing the writing in class, and can also lead to helpful insights about your students' writing.  You can also use this spot check to find your expert students and, if a writing is particularly good, collect it as a mentor text.  

Even if you don't show it as a mentor text to the whole class, if nothing else you know whose writing you can borrow if the next student appears to be struggling.  There have been a number of times where I have asked a student to pass me their paper so I could show it to their desk mate as an example. 

On the other hand, if you start seeing a majority of students struggling, you now know what your next lesson can be or even redirect the class in the moment to address it on the board.  

The key to a successful spot check is to focus on ONE aspect to give feedback on that day.  It needs to be something that you as the teacher can both read and respond to quickly.  When I do a spot check, it's usually for one paragraph and a few words of praise and polish for the student.  That's it. If you have to read more than a page for 30 students or more -- you probably aren't going to get to everyone in a short class period.  

This strategy has saved me a lot of grading time, while also being meaningful and beneficial to my students.  I'd love to hear if you use a similar strategy or how you see yourself adapting this to your classroom!  Check back later this month for my other tip for reducing grading time while increasing meaningful feedback.