Convention Focus Sticks & Day Three of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

Thinking back to a post some time ago that I never followed up on--Traits Tuesday: Anything Goes! I shared an idea I found on Make, Take, Teach--focus sticks for writing. I decided to make focus sticks for editing conventions.  Each example/icon on the stick represents something students are responsible for editing in their writing. 

The first is spelling--represented on the stick by a sentence with a misspelled word circled. My students circle words at any time during the writing process that they know, or are not sure, are spelled correctly.  These words are then revisited when editing their writing.

The second is punctuation--represented on the stick by a yellow box with . ? ! , ' .  This is a reminder for students to check end punctuation, the use of commas in lists, and the correct use of an apostrophe in contractions and possessives. 

The third is capitalization--represented on the stick by a sentence with letters crossed out and capitalized. This reminds students to check their writing for capitalization at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns.

The fourth is grammar/readability--represented by an ear icon. I always remind students to reread their writing and listen to how it sounds and ask themselves if their writing make good sense. 

The above areas of conventions are those students are used to editing in their writing.  The focus sticks will be a great visual to guide students as they edit/assess their writing in the area of conventions. 

Please feel free to download the strip and label I designed.  I simply glued a large googley eye at the end of colored craft sticks (fat ones). I printed, laminated, and glued the strips on sticks with a hot glue gun for extended use. I hope you find these useful or are inspired to create focus sticks tailored to your students' needs.  

Thanks for stopping back for Day Three of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

Today's Giveaway:

Winter Fest Place Value Game

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