Welcome Message

Thanks for dropping in on the editing foxhole. Let's review the protocol for the foxhunt:



Catching them nine li'l foxes with the editing checklist rather than the old way* (see endnote below) is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3:

1. FLAGGING--Getting the hounds to sniff out the scent of the game, 30 minutes on up. That's the skinny strip of paper that sensitizes learners to the whole slew of writing errors. Didn't know Subject-Verb Agreement mattered? They'd know when the exercise was over. Can't put a space before a period or comma? They'd so know as they count up the number of mistakes. Learners don't all need to start together--perfect for an early morning exercise. Those who finish first get to check with a partner and count up the number of mistakes caught. Mention out loud the tally of mistakes--what, Silvia there's got 15 already? You need to find another 5!--that'll get participants all heated up and competitive. Taking up the answers can be done on a whiteboard, handout, PowerPoint screen, etc. Each mistake will be tagged with a number using the checklist (next).
2. THE CHASE IS ON--Hitting and opening a line, 90 minutes or more. So the exposure stage is done, and the hounds are ready to tackle each "line" or whiff of fox they discover. Everybody now gets an letter-sized editing checklist with errors numbered 1 - 9 to correct (see sample pages across the top of this blog). To get the hunt going, leave the answers for the skinny strip on the board and number them off according to the checklist--e.g. a spelling mistake will be flagged "9. Spelling." Some learners may start doing the handout from the beginning; others from the end (spelling's a favourite, Number Nine!). They can refer to the board or answer sheet if they don't remember what a Comma Splice looks like. Do emphasize that they're to look for only the mistake that's covered by the number, i.e. they're not to check for SVA or Comma Splices under Spelling. Like hounds, the class moves in a pack. Early finishers check their work with a partner who's finished. The final answer check-in could be one-way or collaborative, depending on class dynamics and other factors, like amount of time. Spelling seems to be a favourite, and leaving the class in the hands of a volunteer learner to write the answer out on the board with classmates' help for 15 minutes can be an interesting experience. The other eight points could be tackled backwards after that, from no. 8 all the way back to no. 1.
3. TALLY HO!--Spotting and waving your hat in the direction of the quarry, 120 minutes on up, who knows? It's a mark of success when not just the hounds but the humans, too, get in on the act. In the ESL classroom, this happens when learners are able to spot their own errors or someone else's without a prompt. They're no longer mere spectators but directors of the hunt. There are several ways in which to do this. One way is to print out learners' writing samples (if they have their own blogs, that's super handy) ahead of time, double-spaced and preferably enlarged on 11 x 17 paper, and create an editing gallery inside (or outside) the classroom. If space and paper are constraints, letter-sized printouts--double-spaced!--would do, and these can be taped to desks for a editing walkabout. Everybody becomes an editor, editing checklists in hand, to inflict their new-found knowledge on their classmates' writing. Anonymity is your call. Notwithstanding the risk of permanent and irreparable damage to self-esteem, the pluses of writing down names, by both authors and editors, is a sense of ownership and responsibility. In cases of ambiguity, the author could look up those two or three classmates who signed their names on the sheet as editors. The teacher, coloured pen in hand, is the final arbiter, going through any under- or over-corrections and adding any comments necessary. Learners then collect back their work and proceed to do their corrections. The fun part is watching the class move from teacher-guided corrections to peer correction to self-correction, editing checklists in hand.

It is unknown if King Solomon actually yelled Tally Ho! or even staged a mounted red-coated foxhunt. But going by his nuptial conquests, he seems to have been fairly successful at eliminating them little foxes that spoil the romantic vine.
Thanks for coming by! Please leave a comment on how the method or the handouts could be improved!



*The "old way" for some of us involved doing things piecemeal, a week here on comma splices, a week there on verb forms and tenses, where it's easy for learners to forget what they've learnt as the weeks drag on. Catching all nine foxes at a go is far more demanding on learners' concentration but aims to give a sense of what instructors and native speakers see, with the added advantage of being adaptable to and repeatable with a continuing intake of students.