How can I use NoRedInk’s interactive tutorials to help my students with Peer Reviews?

 

If you create a Peer Reviews without any prerequisites, we recommend scaffolding students’ Peer Reviews experience with our interactive tutorials. This way, students will understand what they should be shooting for in their own writing, and the feedback they give their peers will be more accurate and helpful.

 

Each interactive tutorial walks students through a lesson, provides examples, and ends with check-for-understanding questions.

 

What interactive tutorials are available for Peer Reviews?

We offer several different interactive tutorials for specific Peer Reviews criteria:

• If your students are writing thesis statements:
  • Is the thesis statement a fact or an opinion: https://www.noredink.com/learn/tutorials/965
• If your students are writing introductory paragraphs:
• Using a hook to grab the reader’s interest: https://www.noredink.com/learn/tutorials/1193
• If your students are writing thesis statement and topic sentences (outlines)
  • Keeping Language Concise: https://www.noredink.com/learn/tutorials/975
• If your students are writing body paragraphs
  • Distinguishing strong and weak evidence: https://www.noredink.com/learn/tutorials/1090

Where can I find interactive tutorials for Peer Reviews?

In addition to using the links above, you can find links to interactive tutorials in two places within the Peer Reviews assignment:

1. When Creating a Peer Reviews Assignment

After writing a prompt and choosing the essay component, you can select your rating and grading criteria. Available tutorials will be linked below:

 

 

When a Peer Reviews Assignment Is in Progress

After creating a Peer Reviews assignment, you’ll see it show up on your Assignments page. First, click on the graph icon.

 

On the next page, look under “Rating and Grading Criteria.” Click on “View Tutorial” next to any criterion to open its tutorial in a new tab.

How can I pre-teach with NoRedInk’s interactive tutorials? 

We recommend showing tutorials to your students before they write their drafts and again before they begin rating their peers’ writing.

 

Here’s an example of how you might use interactive tutorials at each stage of a Peer Reviews assignment:

 

Before Creating a Peer Reviews Assignment

Preview the interactive tutorial for yourself. Note any places where you may want to provide additional explanation (for example, defining key terms used in the tutorial) and any places where you’ll want to pause to take students’ questions.

 

Before Students Write Their Drafts

Project the interactive tutorial on the board as your students follow along. For the check-for-understanding questions at the end of the tutorial, poll your students by a show of hands or have them write down their answers so you can follow up with any students who might need additional support.

 

Before Students Begin Rating Their Peers’ Writing

Share the link to the tutorial with students before class. At the start of class, ask students to open the tutorial on their computers and work through it independently. After students complete the tutorial, you can follow up with your own check-for-understanding questions or have students move straight into rating their peers.

 

Can students review the tutorials on their own?

Yes! If students need to review a concept, they can access interactive tutorials while rating their peers’ writing. To access a tutorial, students click “Need help?” then click “Try this tutorial.”