The Gossipy Model of Peer Revision: This Strategy Was Adapted from Jim Burke S Reciprocal

The Gossipy Model of Peer Revision:

This strategy was adapted from Jim Burke’s Reciprocal teaching practice in his book The English Teacher’s Companion. This has sometimes been dubbed “interrupted reading”. In Reciprocal teaching, as a student is reading, the other students ask the reader to stop and are able to either ask questions, make predictions, clarify meanings, draw inferences, summarize points, make connections, visualize ideas, point out discrepancies, and so on. Essentially, this technique flips it to where now it is interrupted reading about a student’s writing. It is now a revision strategy rather than a reading strategy. Essentially, the writer has the opportunity to explicitly hear what goes on in the readers’ heads. Insight arises by listening to what did or did not make sense. The “gossiping” about the paper puts a fun twist to the process however a student’s age and ability to playfully gossip about a paper is indicative of the title. Here is how it goes:

Things to think about before entering:

 Be strategic on your groupings....  Stress playful banter rather than spiteful gossip (the connotation that gossip sometimes has negative impacts).  The point is to talk about what you are seeing in the paper and to show the writer how you are making meaning of the paper in a fun way. Make your thinking apparent as you are reading.  If you are working with younger writers not ready, you may want to switch the name “Gossip” with “Reciprocal Feedback”.  The skills you are focusing on are: o Connecting to self o Areas of confusion o Summarizing o Questioning o Assumptions

Step One: Form groups of three students. One person in the group volunteers their paper to the group for scrutiny. This is going to be read aloud by one of the other group members. Be strategic on your groupings.

Step Two: Designate Roles The writer of the paper does not talk but takes notes on the conversation. The other two students choose a reader and a listener. The writer reads along and writes notes on the actual paper when the two other students talk about the writing. Step Three: Review Norms: The teacher and the class review the norms set forth about “gossiping” about a paper. It could go as far as saying:

 No hateful comments  No references to personal or private life  Only positive gossip 

Step Four: Begin the Gossip Gossip about the paper. Readers talk about the paper as if they were gossiping about it. While the reader is reading aloud, the person listening interrupts with questions, observations, clarifications etc. The writer of the paper is forced to observe how other readers are making meaning of their paper. The talk is about how the readers are making sense of the paper rather than trying to “fix” the paper.

Example:

Monica: Stop for a second, what does that mean? I don’t know. Jenn: Me either Monica: And who is Williamson? Jenn: That’s Louis! Monica: Really? Jenn: Yeah-last name Monica: Oh. But I still don’t know who is saying this. Jenn: Let’s keep going It’ll probably say

Step Four: Debrief The group talks about possible next steps for the writer after listening to the pair gossip about the paper. Using the notes that writer took from the gossipy conversation. Note: Gossip is a genre that students understand and may gravitate toward the negative stigma and nastiness that gossip can have. Students need to see and be taught how to be playful in this situation while at the same time being constructive.

Adapted from: Kittle, Peter. "Reading Practices as Revision Strategies: The Gossipy Reading Model." The Quarterly 25.3 (2003): 32-4. Print.