Article
©Jeferson Applegate
The Lazy Editor,

Donut Goes to China

This short nonfiction article about Dunkin’ Donuts in China is full of sloppy writing and grammatical errors that need to be fixed.

By Maggie Pierce
From the October 2017 Issue

Learning Objective: to identify and correct errors involving capitalization, run-on and rambling sentences, and fragments

Featured Skill: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics,
Other Key Skills: revising, understanding conventions of standard English when writing, making effective choices for meaning and style
Common Core Standards
  • L.6.1, L.6.2, L.6.3, L.7.1, L.7.2, L.7.3, L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.3
TEKS Standards
  • 6.14d; 6.19; 6.20a; 7.14d; 7.19; 7. 20a; 7.21; 8.14d; 8.19; 8.20a; 8.21
Read the Article
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Activities (4) Download All Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Download the Lesson Plan

1. REVIEWING GRAMMAR AND WRITING CONCEPTS

  • Have students work in groups to complete one or all of the activity sheets that support the skills covered in the Lazy Editor article you’ve selected. You might have students complete the activity for a particular grammar skill that you know they struggle with, or you might have them complete all three activity sheets.
  • ALTERNATIVE IDEA: If students are already familiar with the concepts covered in the Lazy Editor, save the activity sheets for the end. Do the Lazy Editor first and assign the activity sheets on an as-needed basis for students to brush up on skills in areas where they showed weakness.

2. PREPARING TO READ

Have students read the headline, the directions, the captions, and the Find It/Fix It box.

3. READING THE LAZY EDITOR

Read the article once through as a class. Let students know that for now, they don’t need to worry about finding the mistakes—they should just pay attention to what the article says. 

4. DOING THE ACTIVITY

Divide students into small groups and have them follow the directions in the Find It/Fix It box. Let students know they must all agree on their edits, discussing anything they disagree about until they reach a consensus.

TIPS:

  1. Some errors have multiple possible solutions (adding variety in sentence structure to a paragraph, for example). Students should work as a group to come up with an edit that everyone supports.
  2. Students may write many of their edits directly in their magazines, crossing out the errors and writing the corrections above. Some edits, however, will be easier to make if students write on a separate sheet of paper. 

5. ASSESSING AND REINFORCING

  • Reconvene as a class to go over the edits. (Answers can be found in the Scope answer key.)
  • Invite students to explain their edits. 
  • If students are struggling with a particular skill, project the activity sheet for that skill and go over the grammar rules or writing guidelines that appear at the beginning of the activity. 
  • If students have not yet completed the activity sheets, assign them for homework as needed. 
Differentiated Writing Prompts
For Struggling Readers

Find the lower-level (Level 1) version of the Lazy Editor, which features only one type of error throughout the article, and the activity sheet that supports it. Begin by completing the activity sheet as a class. Then project the Lazy Editor and work through it together. 

 

For Advanced Readers

Find the higher-level (Level 3) version of the Lazy Editor, which includes more challenging errors than the version in the printed magazine. Have students complete the Lazy Editor individually, then work with partners to check each other’s work. Use the activity sheets on an as-needed basis. 

Text-to-Speech