8.2 Assisting with Writing Mechanics and Proofreading/Editing

8.2 Assisting with Writing Mechanics and Proofreading/Editing

Once a student has completed their draft and revised it for content and organization, they enter the editing and proofreading stage. During this stage, the focus shifts to writing mechanics: grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Correct mechanics ensure that the writer's ideas are communicated clearly and professionally. For a paraprofessional, the key challenge is providing instructional support that helps the student identify and correct their own mechanical errors, fostering independence rather than creating dependency.

Key Areas of Writing Mechanics

Paraprofessionals must have a solid grasp of basic grammar rules and mechanics to guide students effectively.

1. Grammar and Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject and verb must agree in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs.
  • Incorrect: "The students walks to the cafeteria."
  • Correct: "The students walk to the cafeteria."
• Verb Tense Consistency: Writers should maintain the same tense (past, present, or future) throughout a paragraph unless there is a clear reason to change.
  • Incorrect: "She ran to the door and opens it." (Mixed past and present).
  • Correct: "She ran to the door and opened it." (Consistent past tense).
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must match the nouns they replace in number and gender.
  • Incorrect: "Every student must bring their own pencil." (Historically debated, but grammatically singular/plural mismatch).
  • Correct: "Every student must bring his or her own pencil," or make the subject plural: "All students must bring their own pencils."

2. Spelling and Reference Tools

Spelling instruction often involves reinforcing phonetic spelling rules, identifying sight words, and teaching students to use resources. Paraprofessionals should encourage students to consult dictionaries, word walls, personal dictionaries, or spelling checkers rather than simply providing the correct spelling.

3. Punctuation

• End Punctuation: Ensuring every sentence ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
  • Paraprofessional Tip: Ask the student to read the sentence aloud. The natural drop in pitch at the end of a statement indicates a period is needed.
• Commas: Used to separate items in a list, join compound sentences with coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), and set off introductory phrases.
• Apostrophes: Used for contractions (e.g., can't, it's) and to show possession (e.g., the boy's hat, the girls' locker room).

4. Capitalization

Students must remember to capitalize:

• The first letter of a sentence.
• Proper nouns (names of specific people, places, days of the week, months, and holidays).
• The pronoun "I".
• Main words in titles of books, movies, and articles.

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Instructional Tools for Proofreading and Editing

Paraprofessionals can introduce specific strategies and tools to make proofreading structured and less intimidating.

Editing Checklists: The COPS Strategy

A highly effective mnemonic tool is the COPS checklist, which helps students focus on one mechanical element at a time:

• C - Capitalization: Did I capitalize the first letters of sentences, proper nouns, and the pronoun "I"?
• O - Organization: Is my handwriting neat? Did I indent my paragraphs? Is there appropriate spacing between words?
• P - Punctuation: Do I have end punctuation? Are my commas and apostrophes in the correct places?
• S - Spelling: Did I spell high-frequency words correctly? Have I checked words I was unsure of?

Using Proofreading Marks

Teaching students standard proofreading marks allows for clear, non-verbal feedback:

• Three underlines ( ̼ ) under a letter indicates it should be capitalized.
• A slash ( / ) through a capital letter indicates it should be lowercase.
• A caret ( ^ ) indicates that a word, punctuation mark, or letter needs to be inserted.
• A circle around a word with "sp" written above it highlights a spelling error.
• A loop (delete symbol) indicates a word or letter should be removed.

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Guiding Feedback Without Writing for the Student

The most common mistake made by well-meaning paraprofessionals is holding the pencil and writing the corrections on the student's paper. This teaches the student that the paraprofessional is responsible for their work. Instead, use these scaffolding techniques:

1. The "Underline and Prompt" Technique: Instead of correcting a misspelled word, underline it. Ask the student, "I noticed a word in this sentence that doesn't look quite right. Can you find it and try to sound it out?"
2. Guided Inquiry: If there is a capitalization error, point to the word and ask, "Why did you capitalize the 'm' in 'monday'?" or "What do we always do to the first word of a sentence?"
3. Read Aloud for Punctuation: If a student writes a run-on sentence, ask them to read it aloud. Where they naturally pause to breathe is usually where a comma or period belongs.
4. Use a Dry-Erase Board: If a student is stuck on a spelling pattern (like -tion vs. -sion), write both options on a separate whiteboard and ask the student to identify which one looks correct. Once they choose, have them write it on their own paper.

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Worked Scenarios in the Classroom

Scenario 1: Correcting Grammar

• Context: A second-grade student writes: "We was playing tag at recess."
• Paraprofessional Action: The paraprofessional points to the sentence and asks the student to read it aloud. The student reads it. The paraprofessional asks, "Who was playing tag?" The student replies, "We were." The paraprofessional says, "Exactly. When we talk about more than one person, do we use 'was' or 'were'?" The student corrects their paper to read, "We were playing tag."

Scenario 2: Spelling Support

• Context: A third-grade student spelling "beautiful" writes "byutiful."
• Paraprofessional Action: The paraprofessional says, "You got the beginning and end sounds exactly right! The middle part of 'beautiful' is tricky. Let's look at our class word wall under 'B' to see if we can find the correct spelling, or let's look it up in your personal dictionary." The student locates the word and corrects their paper.