Using real examples of good (and bad!) student work is MUCH BETTER than just telling the kids what you expect (normally as a rubric or descriptors). It makes the task ahead of them feel more achievable and more realistic. When we as adults try to do something new, probably the first thing we do is seek out what others have done before us, work out what’s good and bad, and what we can do to improve it, or make it personal or fit the context better.

If we don’t have good student examples, why don’t we make the models / examples by doing the work first? Then after the activity, make sure you archive the genuine examples!

Ron Berger from EL leads a writing critique workshop where — based upon a piece of student writing — students identify the elements of a quality story.