At this point in the unit, students have worked hard to complete the writing assignment and practice using strategies to improve their writing. When they have accomplished publishing a final piece, they should celebrate.
I use this time for students to reflect on how well they did as well as acknowledge the work of other students in class.
I start this lesson by congratulating students on their hard work and telling them we will celebrate it today.
They will have an opportunity to listen to other student's writing and give them compliments.
I show them how we first sit down next to an author and ask, "Will you read your story to me"? and then patiently listen and wait until they are finished before we give comments. Because this is a celebration and not a time for revision, we only give compliments when we are done. I refer to the list of skills on the wall that we have learned and developed over time. When student pairs are finished listening and giving compliments they say, "Thank you for sharing" and then find a new author.
Of course its important to demonstrate this at least once so I call on someone to come up to me and follow the procedures as described above. I pretend to read and ask them finish the procedure, jokingly giving me a compliment. Finally, thanking me and leaving.
At this point, I ask students to meet with a writing partner, often one that I have assigned. I tell them choose who will be student A and who will be student B. Bs will be the author sharing their writing first. They stay seated for 8 minutes while various students ask them to read. For another 8 minutes they will switch.
I ask students who are not sharing their writing yet to leave their writing at or in their desk.
When students are finished sharing, I allow for an extra 10 minutes or so for students to ask students who they wanted to hear from but couldn't because of time or because they were in the same group as they are. One student can read their story to multiples students. I remind them that respectful behavior is listening to the entire story once someone begins and waiting until they are finished before giving compliments.
After the share, students return to their own seats with their own writing and they reflect on how they did. They fill out a reflection sheet. This sheet also tells me whether or not they learned about revising and other important writing skills.
When they are finished, I give the class time to celebrate with snacks and juice while they chat with other writers. They may choose to read their story if more students are interested.