Right now we are in the middle of our đđ¶đ”đŽđȘđ„đŠđłđŽ unit. We have just finished our discussion on stereotypes and identities, and I wanted the students to explore the questions--What makes someone an outsider? What does it mean to be an outsider?
I decided to have the students write an essay to show what they have learned during our reading and discussion. I didn't have enough time to run through a full, 5-paragraph essay, so I pulled out my group essay strategy. Having students write group essays has so many positives!
It fosters collaboration.
It add differentiation to your curriculum.
It give you fewer essays to grade.
How To Write Group Essays
Step 1: The first thing I did was divide my students into groups of 3. Due to Covid, my students have to stay in their assigned seats. The groups are made up of students who sit next to each other. That way they can still talk with each other
Step 2: Now the real fun begins. The students each come up with their own claim, and they choose the one that they think will be the best for their essay. This helps the students to analyze claims and to choose the one that will have the best evidence to support.
Step 3: After they pick a claim, one student will be the scribe and they write the introduction together. After the introduction is written, each student will write their own body paragraph. Before they write, they will be talking with the other group members about reasons and supporting details for the claim. They will be talking about the most logical order in which the reasons should be written.
Step 4: Lastly, after all the body paragraphs have been written, the students will come back together and write the conclusion and peer review the essay.
Writing a group essay took my students 2 class periods. The first class they discussed their topic and what they were going to write. There was extra time left and they were able to start typing their parts of the essay. The groups finished up typing the essay and peer reviewing each other's parts.
My students loved writing their essay this way. It was a quick and easy way for writing practice. Now instead of grading 60 essays, I only have to grade 20! It is a win-win for all of us.