Students exchange their writings with participating classrooms to obtain revision suggestions. Stories are rated according to the Michigan MEAP rubric and anecdotal comments are provided according to a short conferencing form provided by the project coordinator. This exchange should take place between classrooms at least once and more often when possible. Students create at least one illustration for their story and e-mail this illustration with their story draft. Final drafts of stories must be typed.
Students revise their illustrations, if necessary.
In the Middle . Revision strategies, including snapshots and thoughtshots, are discussed in Barry Lane's After the End. A block of at least 90 minutes is provided to students each day for reading and writing. Novels are read in literature circles. The project coordinator's classroom is a one-computer classroom, but since all students are at different stages in their writing on any given day, not all students need to type their stories at the same time.