Papers and Pencils: A Come Back

As I returned the first batch of graded papers to my 8th grade Extended English students first semester, this was the buzz in the classroom.

“Whoa. This is intense!”

“No one has ever given me this much feedback before.”

“Mrs. Tisch, you really liked this?”

“I made you laugh?”

“Last year, all we got were circles on a rubric and a grade.”

When I asked my students if they spent any time reading through those circles on the rubric, the overwhelming response was, “No. Why?”

Why indeed.

We returned to in-person learning this year, and I returned to grading papers—actual papers. The response was and is positive. From students and their parents. After I finished grading, I returned these paper copies to my students, and we spent more than fifteen minutes of class time reading through and talking about the markings within the text and the comments in the margins. Students asked questions to clarify why something was circled. Some asked me to read my comments to them, because I tend to write in cursive, and they freely admit that they “don’t know how to read cursive.” Sigh.

With no prompting from me, students talked to each other about things they read in their margins, marks they saw on their writing, and their reactions to my reactions. They asked each other questions. They asked me questions. They answered questions I had written in their margins. They wondered about their writing. They took time to look back at it without a reflection form or other artificial assignment. There was clear and real thought and talk about writing, and it simply happened.

This did not occur last year, when all comments were made electronically. In the digital world, the students simply saw their grades and moved on. I always gave them time to reflect and check, but then they disappeared. Hunting for, clicking on, looking at, and reading comments in Google Docs, Schoology, or any other digital platform for writing is cumbersome. Many…no most…of my students last year never looked at a piece of writing again, once it received a grade. I actually fielded a number of emails from students wondering why their grade was a B or a C. After spending a good 20 minutes or so reading, commenting extensively, and scoring it, they just didn’t look at it. It was too difficult to do. If students are given actual papers with writing on them, they can easily find the comments and markings. They can look at them and ask about them. And they do.

I choose to write every one of these comments, reactions, and circled errors in pencil. Pencil is not permanent. Pencil is erasable. Pencil is not harsh. Instead, it is soft…gentle. By writing in pencil, I allow the students to maintain ownership of their writing. They may, if they choose, erase every one of my comments and marks, and that is fine with me. Their writing is theirs, not mine. Writing is hard work, and I honor that. I will never claim to take away this ownership by marking it in red ink. What a violation that would be.

Does this process take more time? Yes and no. Yes, it does take time to print the writing. Many of my students do not have printers at home. So, they submit their papers to me in Schoology. I print them. That takes more time than simply clicking on them from the list of submissions in Schoology. And no, the commenting and marking takes far less time on paper than in Google Docs or Schoology. Electronic comments take multiple clicks and typing to explain why something is marked. On paper, I can circle things as I read with little to no interruption. I simply circle the errors. I do not explain what the error is. You can read more about this in Shoes and Boxes and Peanuts and Keys. Letting the students figure out what their errors are aids in learning and helps to encourage the above-mentioned talk. Of course, the margin reactions and comments take a bit of time, but they are easy to find when the students see their graded papers. Finding them easily is important. And those margin comments are the things they really look for. They know there will be much to read. There always is. I find the effort of printing and commenting in pencil worth the time and effort, both as I grade and when I return papers.

So, consider printing your students’ next pieces of writing. If that is not possible, ask them to hand-write their next papers. Then, mark them in pencil. Simply circle errors without explanation. If necessary, ask your students why they think something is circled. Use the margins for feedback, but even more, use the margins for real reaction. Show your surprise. Show your love for a specific phrasing or word. Wonder. Question. Gush. Then, get ready for some real reflection.