Before You Return Feedback To Students
What we did as a class together (key word: together!) before students received their individual essay feedback
I made a slight mistake after returning from Spring Break last week: I told my students that I had finished grading their essays ahead of schedule.
“CAN WE SEE THEM LIKE RIGHT NOW, MR. LUTHER?” was pretty much the consensus reaction in all the class periods—yes, they told on me to peers in other classes—so I had the absolute joy of spending the day fending off hordes of desperate pleas for me to at minimum enter the scores in the grade book, even if they couldn’t see the feedback yet.
(An aside: what a crazy world we have created for ourselves in education with these digital, accessible-at-all-times grade books, right?)
Of course, I did no such thing.
Instead, I told them that I was not ready to return the feedback yet because I still had to design the lesson through which to deliver the feedback.
This got more than a few eye rolls.
But I meant what I said: “feedback return lessons” have in many ways become the foundation of our classroom, and consequently I invest a considerable amount of time to prepare for them—which is why I refused to release those essays on that first day back from Spring Break even though the 20,000 words of individual feedback or so were 100% ready to be returned.
They would have to wait a few more more days, I told them, because feedback lessons matter.
This is also why I decided to write a post detailing each stage of this particular feedback lesson, a lesson that without question ended up being worth the wait.
(Here is the complete slide deck, too, for those curious!)
⓵ Leading with Reflection
In my mind, every time you return feedback to students in the classroom it is an opportunity for students to reflect on their identity as a writer.
So that’s where we started.
Once the already-disgruntled students filed in and were reminded that that they would not be getting their essay feedback until the end of the lesson—the collective groan was beyond audible following this reminder—students got their spiral notebooks out and settled into our feedback lesson sequence.
Choosing from a collaboratively-sourced list of twenty words (thanks to the generosity of Bluesky educators), students took time to write reflectively about how they saw themselves as writers at this point in the school year.
Then they shared their answers with classmates—take a listen!
This is how we began the day: creating space for students to lead with reflection before they had seen their feedback with a question that we could arrive back at full-circle at the end of the feedback process.
(Note: if you’re an ELA teacher, bring this question into your classroom—I was so fascinated by what students had to say!)
⓶ Learning from Peer Writing
Another value I try to lean into in the classroom at this point in my career is leveraging student writing as an instructional tool.
Beyond our Beautiful Language Wall system, in lessons like this one I try to look for opportunities to highlight specific successes that everyone can learn from.
In this recent essay, one of our whole-class emphases was leaning into intentionality and innovation with how students opened and closed their essays—so I picked five “exemplar” openings and closings, added my own notes about what they did well, and posted them around the classroom.
Students then went around and participated in a silent gallery walk, recording three appreciations in their spiral notebook of the choices their peers made as writers along with leaving their initials on their favorite open and closing. (Note: you can see some of the exemplar examples in the above-image.)
Why leave those initials? Because while this was first and foremost an opportunity for further writing growth, it also was very much designed to celebrate the ten students who got to see their own writing centered as a model for their classmates to learn from.
A win/win scenario, right?
⓷ Anticipating Feedback from Trends
At this point we moved into what has become sort of the bread-and-butter part of our feedback lessons for me: [1] sharing the trends of strengths and growth areas I had collected while grading the essays and [2] having students anticipate which feedback trends will apply to their own essays.
Briefly, three reasons why I feel like this has been a transformative shift in our classroom:
This motivates me to be mindful of patterns while grading, improving my own intentionality as a reader of student writing and provider of feedback
Students also get to see and discuss precise strengths and growth areas, affording them important lenses for considering their own writing
Furthermore, by asking students to anticipate which will apply to their own individual feedback (and to discuss this with peers), it makes them even more engaged with the feedback once they receive it
If there was one recommendation I would give for educators looking to elevate what assessment looks like in their classrooms, it would be to prioritize collective feedback in your own process as a teacher and to then center that collective feedback prior to returning individual feedback.
It is such a purposeful space each time we do this, and honestly the “rising tide” in so many ways for so much of what we do.
⓸ Creating Space to Celebrate
“Mr. Luther, do we get our feedback now?”
“Not quite yet,” I smile, “but we’re getting close!”
One more ritual of celebration to take care of first: the Title Crown.
In this ritual, I share and explain my three favorite essay titles for each class period, followed by applause from their peers and a chance to “sign the crown”—a hastily-crafted paper crown that, at this point in the school year, is filled to the brim with student signatures. I love this part of the lesson, too, as it is a chance to highlight the creativity of students who may not have had the strongest overall essays, but still get recognized for this particular strength.
An easy win? You betcha. Here’s one student’s reflection:
On the left side, you can see how they felt before they formally submitted the essay—followed by their enthusiasm after they received their individual feedback along with being celebrated for their essay title.
Affirmation matters, and in my eyes it is a critical part of what a “feedback lesson” can and should be.
⓹ Reading a Full Exemplar
We had one more step before students had their feedback returned to them nearly an hour into this lesson: reading a full-length exemplar that a classmate wrote.
(Here’s one of these exemplars, if you were curious!)
Why do this as our final step?
A few students absolutely showed out and I wanted their classmates to see what is possible by reading and learning from a classmate’s essay
Though I take their names off these full-length exemplars, I am very aware that showcasing a full essay like this can be quite the affirmation for student writers
Finally, this is logistically helpful within the lesson as, while everyone is silently reading, I can silently share back their individual results
But once again, more than anything else, affirmation matters.
A student who had their exemplar featured anonymously last year on this essay wrote the following in their end-of-lesson reflection: “I should be more confident because I am good at writing and do like this essay and I should like actually admit to myself when I think something is good because I never do and I probably should be more confident considering I quite enjoy writing and often think my work is good but just won’t admit it.”
Because I am good at writing.
(This job can be really cool some times!)
And When They Finally Get Their Feedback?
This post is quite long already, so I’ll be as efficient as I can in laying out how this particular lesson ended once the individual feedback was returned to students:
Students silently went through their feedback and then updated their Writing Stories (more on this system here, for those curious!)
I circled the room during this silent space for processing and reflecting, answering clarifying questions and checking in with individual students
We returned as a classroom community to our opening question, with a shift towards what they hope to become (see above!) as far as their writing identities
This time, though? I called on each student by name and they shared their hope aloud whole-class, one at a time, and then debriefed with peers about the reason behind that hope.
Then the bell rang and that, finally, was that.
Worth the wait, indeed.
Some Additional Notes
First off, feel free to share in the comments about what returning student feedback looks like in your classroom or school building—including any strategies that you have found helpful and/or meaningful for students! Conversations in the comments continue to be one of my favorite things about The Broken Copier, so don’t hesitate to dive into that space if you have something you’re willing to share!
A few other pieces I wanted to highlight before signing off:
I had the very cool opportunity to share my myriad feelings about AI for recently—especially my conviction that we need to push for a more imaginative vision of what the classroom can be rather than falling into the limiting temptation of what AI may end up confining it to.
I also happened to stumble back across John Spencer’s website at the perfect time to read this piece: “We Want Students to Be Creative, But How Do We Assess This?” As I buckle up for my own end-of-year projects in our classroom, this was the precise thing I needed to encounter!
The best thing I read on Substack recently? “Breaking the Spell” by , which includes this mic-drop of a line: “But there is a smaller step, one that requires a lot less of us, but that is nonetheless incredibly powerful: ask questions. Push back on the technology, shatter the illusion that AI is all-powerful, inevitable, necessary, or even good…”
As always, don’t hesitate to leave feedback via comments; to reach out via email (marcus.luther@gmail.com) if you want more resources and support in moving towards collective feedback lessons; and to share this post if you think it could be helpful for others!
More than anything, though?
Take care of yourselves in this final stretch of the school year. Take care of yourselves in this moment. And when you can, take care of the people around you, too.
Teaching is community work, after all. So let’s lean into community.
I am going to return to this multiple times...every step in this lesson is thoughtful and purposeful. This lesson is the antidote to "they only care about the grade".
What I love most about this post is that you’ve created a supportive classroom culture of learners, NOT a zero-sum game where students are just chasing grades. Well done!