✏️ WritingGrade 2Lesson 33
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Edit a Partner’s Story Kindly

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Learning Objectives

  • 1Give kind, specific feedback on a partner’s story — one strength and one helpful suggestion
  • 2Use the star-and-wish method to frame feedback, always starting with a genuine star
  • 3Check a story against the editor’s checklist — capitals, punctuation, vivid words and order, and dialogue
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Mini Lesson

An editor is someone who reads a piece of writing and helps make it better. The best editors are kind — they always notice what is working well before they suggest what to improve. This is called the "star and wish" method!

The Star and Wish Method

  • Star — name one thing the writer did really well. Be specific: "I love how you described the dragon’s sparkling scales."
  • Wish — suggest one helpful improvement. Use kind language: "I wish I could hear more about what happened next."
  • Always start with the star — the writer needs to feel encouraged first.
  • The wish must be about the writing, never about the person.

What to Check When Editing

  • Capital letters — does each sentence start with one?
  • Punctuation — does each sentence end with . ? or !
  • Vivid words — are there specific, interesting adjectives?
  • Clear order — does the story have a beginning, middle, and end?
  • Dialogue — if there is dialogue, are the quotation marks correct?

Kind Editing Language

  • Try: "I really enjoyed the part where..."
  • Try: "One thing that could make it even better is..."
  • Try: "I noticed... — you might want to check..."
  • Avoid: "This part is wrong / boring / bad."
Star and wish editing method diagramTwo boxes — Star (what worked well) and Wish (one helpful improvement) — with example phrases in each.Star and Wish EditingStar — what worked well"I love how you describedthe dragon's sparkling scales."Specific + encouragingWish — one improvement"I wish I could hear moreabout what happened next."Kind + about the writing, not the person
Star (what worked well — specific and encouraging) and Wish (one kind improvement suggestion about the writing).
Editing checklist for five writing elementsFive checklist items — capital letters, punctuation, vivid words, clear order, and dialogue — to review when editing a partner's story.Editor's Checklist[ ] Capital letters at the start of each sentence[ ] Punctuation at the end of each sentence[ ] Vivid, specific adjectives and verbs[ ] Clear beginning, middle, and end[ ] Quotation marks correct (if dialogue used)
Five-item editor's checklist — capitals, punctuation, vivid words, clear order, and dialogue marks.
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Ask yourself: "Did I start with a genuine star? Is my wish kind and specific? Would the writer feel encouraged — not hurt — after reading my feedback?"

Vocabulary
Editor
A person who reads a piece of writing and helps make it better with kind, specific suggestionse.g. A friend reads your story and gives you a star and a wish.
Star
The first part of kind feedback — a specific, genuine compliment about what the writer did welle.g. "I love how you described the castle as towering and crumbling."
Wish
The second part of kind feedback — one kind, specific suggestion about the writing (never about the person)e.g. "I wish I could hear more about what happened at the end."
Feedback
Helpful comments that tell a writer what is working and what could be improved in their writinge.g. One star + one wish = kind, useful feedback.
Dialogue
The words a character says out loud in a story — always written inside quotation markse.g. "Stop right there!" shouted the knight.
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