Rainbow editing gives each editing check its own color, so students can see what’s in their writing and what’s missing. I started using it when my students kept telling me they had edited and revised, but I never saw any proof. Here’s how it worked, plus the free rainbow editing checklist my students used.
Free checklistThe rainbow editing checklist is free. Jump to the free checklist
When my class was writing our snow globe stories, I ran into a problem you might recognize: when it came time to edit and revise, students would read their stories and SAY they had edited and revised, but I never saw any real proof that they had.
So I made a checklist that gives each editing check its own color. Students mark their draft with each color, so both of you can see what’s there and what’s missing:
It was the best way I found to make students actually PAY ATTENTION to what they were reading. Once the colors were on the page, we talked about what they showed:
Student drafts marked with rainbow editing colors
Students could tell when they needed “more color,” and they worked to fix it. It made a real difference in my classroom.
Rainbow editing shows students where to look. When your students move into opinion and informational writing, these Write On! revision mini-lessons teach them how to fix what the colors point out:
Free rainbow editing checklist: the one-page checklist my students used, with a color and a question for each check.
Get the free checklist
