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Y’all Do · Students practice in groups

Partner Writing

Partner Writing has two students produce one piece of text together, which forces the reasoning into the open — a sentence has to be justified to a partner before it can be written down. TeacherHero places it in the Y'all Do phase and generates the roles so both students are writing rather than one dictating.

Co-construct a response while explaining writing decisions.

Real generated output

Y'all Do: Compare and Revise Together

The Y’all Do phase of a Grade 6 ELA lesson, as TeacherHero generated it. Planned for 9 minutes.

  1. The task

    Compare two responses about Ada's choice using fresh evidence. Choose the stronger reasoning and explain one error in the weaker response. Co-write two improved sentences that use conceal and falter accurately. Use the discussion stem for your explanation: “The stronger response is ___ because the evidence shows ___.”

  2. Grouping

    Partners, with one reader and one evidence checker.

  3. Roles

    • Reader: Read each card aloud and keep the pair moving.
    • Evidence checker: Point to words that support or reject claims.

  4. Teacher directions

    • Place one discussion-card set with each pair.
    • [0:00–2:00] Have partners read the fresh evidence and both responses.
    • [2:00–4:00] Ask partners to mark one supported phrase and one rejected phrase.
    • [4:00–4:30] Have partners switch roles before explaining their comparison.
    • [4:30–6:00] Listen for explanations that connect each phrase to evidence.
    • [6:00–8:30] Have partners co-write a revised two-sentence response.
    • [8:30–9:00] Collect the shared revision or scan it before You Do.

  5. Student directions

    • Read the fresh evidence on the first card.
    • Read Response A and Response B with your partner.
    • Mark one phrase in Response A that evidence rejects.
    • Mark one phrase in Response B that evidence supports.
    • Switch roles after reading the response cards.
    • Compare your markings using the printed discussion stem.
    • Co-write two improved sentences on the final card.
    • Use conceal and falter accurately in your sentences.

  6. Discussion stems

    • The stronger response is ___ because the evidence shows ___.

  7. What to look for

    • Students identify the guards checking papers as a reason Ada hides her tremor.
    • Students reject the claim that Ada feels completely safe near the guards.
    • Students reject the claim that Ada’s obligation ends when she considers her own needs.
    • Students explain that Response B connects conceal, obligation, and falter to source evidence.
    • The shared revision names Ada gripping the rail or weighing what she owes.
    • The shared revision uses conceal to mean hide and falter with accurate negation.
    • If students confuse fear with faltering, ask what Ada does when the whistle sounds.
    • If students copy Response B, ask them to add one specific choice from the evidence.

  8. Success criteria

    • I can point to evidence that supports each vocabulary word.
    • I can identify one claim that the evidence does not support.
    • I can explain why one response is stronger than another.
    • I can name one choice Ada makes while facing fear.
    • I can use conceal and falter accurately in two sentences.
Why the coach chose it here — Partner Writing fits this sequence because students already learned the four meanings in I Do and matched obligation and resolve to evidence in We Do. This phase shifts responsibility by asking partners to compare fresh reasoning, explain one error, and co-construct a new two-sentence response using conceal and falter. The task uses the elaboration lever because students must connect vocabulary, evidence, and Ada’s choice. The shared revision prepares students to write independently in You Do while keeping only one discussion frame for the hardest explanatory move.

Frequently asked questions

How do you stop one partner doing all the writing?

Named roles. The plan writes out what each partner is responsible for, so both students have a job and each has to explain a choice to the other. The example on this page shows the roles as the model assigned them for one Grade 6 lesson.

What do partners produce?

One text they both agreed on, against the lesson's success criteria. Because those criteria reach this phase in the same context every phase receives, the pair is writing toward the same bar the independent task will be judged against.

Is this the same as peer review?

No. Peer review responds to writing that already exists; partner writing produces it jointly. The negotiation happens while the sentence is being formed rather than after, which is the point — the reasoning is spoken at the moment it is being decided.

Strategies that pair with it

Collaborative Error Analysis

Y’all Do · Diagnose and correct a flawed response together.

See the example

Collaborative Graphic Organizer

Y’all Do · Complete a shared organizer that feeds the independent product.

See the example

Compare Two Responses

Y’all Do · Evaluate two possible responses against the criteria.

See the example

Think-Pair-Share

Y’all Do · Rehearse independently, compare with a partner, then share.

See the example
Example free · generation with Pro

One move out of six phases.

A TeacherHero lesson generates all six with your course, unit, week and text in context, so the Y’all Do phase continues the one before it instead of starting over.

Explore a whole example lesson