Planning, Revising & Polishing
Aligned to W.5.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Strong writing rarely comes out perfect the first time. Plan before you write, then revise ideas and edit mistakes, or try a fresh approach.
Worked examples
Example 1
Your first draft says 'The dog was nice.' Revising, you change it to 'The shaggy dog nudged my hand until I laughed' — more vivid and clear.
Example 2
'The concert was loud' becomes 'I felt the bass in my chest before I heard it.'
Example 3
Read your draft aloud to someone else. The places they look confused are the places to fix, even if you thought they were clear.
Practice questions
- Make a quick plan before writing a paragraph.
- Revise one dull sentence to make it vivid.
- Edit a sentence for a spelling or comma error.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Planear, Revisar y Pulir
La buena escritura rara vez sale perfecta a la primera. Planea antes de escribir, luego revisa las ideas y corrige los errores, o prueba un enfoque nuevo.
Ejemplo 1: Tu primer borrador dice 'El perro era bueno.' Al revisar, lo cambias por 'El perro peludo empujó mi mano hasta hacerme reír' — más vivo y claro.
Ejemplo 2: 'El concierto estaba fuerte' se vuelve 'Sentí el bajo en el pecho antes de oírlo.'
Ejemplo 3: Lee tu borrador en voz alta a alguien más. Los lugares donde se ve confundida esa persona son los que hay que arreglar, aunque tú los creyeras claros.
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