In this guide
If you've ever handed a draft back to your child covered in corrections, you know how that goes: tears, frustration, and the same mistakes next time.
Kids learn much more when they find their own mistakes. A short checklist turns "check your work" from a vague instruction into a clear routine.
Revising vs. editing
These are two different jobs, and kids should do them separately.
- Revising is about the ideas: Does it make sense? Is anything missing? Is it in the right order?
- Editing is about correctness: capitals, punctuation, spelling and grammar.
Revise first. There's no point fixing the spelling in a sentence that's going to be cut.
The revising checklist
Read the whole piece out loud, then ask:
- Does my first paragraph say what the writing is about?
- Does each paragraph have one main idea?
- Did I give an example or detail for each point?
- Is there anything that doesn't belong?
- Did I use transition words to connect my ideas?
- Did I replace at least two plain words (good, nice, fun, said, went) with stronger ones?
- Does my ending wrap things up?
The editing checklist: CUPS
Many teachers use the CUPS method for editing:
- C – Capitals: first word of each sentence, names, places, the word "I"
- U – Usage: words used correctly (their/there/they're, to/too/two), verbs that match the subject
- P – Punctuation: periods, question marks, commas in lists, quotation marks around speech
- S – Spelling: circle words you're not sure about, then check them
Have your child read the piece once for each letter. Looking for one thing at a time catches far more mistakes than reading once for everything.
Tricks that help kids catch mistakes
Read it out loud. The ear catches what the eye skips: missing words, run-ons, sentences that don't make sense. See our guide on run-on sentences.
Point at every word. Slowing down with a finger or pencil stops the brain from auto-correcting.
Take a break first. Even ten minutes away from a draft makes mistakes easier to spot.
Read the last sentence first. For spelling and punctuation checks, reading backwards sentence by sentence stops kids getting lost in the story.
Use a different colour. Editing with a coloured pen (or highlighter) makes changes visible, and many kids find it more fun.
A printable-style checklist
Copy this onto an index card your child keeps with their writing supplies:
Before I hand it in:
☐ I read it out loud.
☐ Every paragraph has one main idea.
☐ Every point has an example.
☐ I upgraded two plain words.
☐ Capitals ☐ Usage ☐ Punctuation ☐ Spelling
How parents can help
- Ask, don't tell. Instead of "this is wrong," try "read this sentence out loud. Does it sound right?"
- Focus on one area per draft. If capitals are the issue this week, only check capitals.
- Celebrate catches. When your child finds their own mistake, that's a win worth noticing.
More on this in how to give feedback on your child's writing.
Try it: Take a piece of writing from last week. Do one CUPS pass per letter and count how many fixes your child finds on their own.
Where this fits
Self-assessment is one of the most valuable writing habits a child can build. It makes them more independent in every subject. Smart Little Writers includes self-assessment walkthroughs so kids learn to check their own work, and the final lesson focuses on revising and finalizing writing.