Lessons

Grade 7

Lesson

Peer Review of Fundraising Letters

Lesson

Peer Review of Fundraising Letters

Grade

Grade 7

UNIT

•

Optimism

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 1, Lesson 4, “Peer Review of Fundraising Letters,” students will participate in a peer review of 3 classmates’ fundraising letters. Students will write a one-page peer review letter for each student in their group and participate in respectful discussions where they share the successful aspects of their classmates’ writing and provide constructive feedback for revision.

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SUGGESTED TIME:

1 class period for students to read their peer review group’s writings and write a peer review letter for each classmate (letters they don’t complete in class can be finished as homework); 1 class period for peer review workshops

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RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Read classmates’ writings and write a one-page peer review letter to develop assessment and constructive feedback skills
Engage in collaborative discussions with peers
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Video: No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom - A Guide for Students by MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing (~6 min)
Prohuman Grade 7 Unit 1 Worksheet 4: Peer Review of Fundraising Letters

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1.A

Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1.B

Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1.C

Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1.D

Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.5

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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Intellectual Character A4

Understand what it means to be an “active listener” (e.g., intellectual humility)

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Intellectual Character B2

Practice and receive feedback on the ability to be an “active listener”

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Social-Awareness A3

Demonstrate respect for other people’s opinions and perspectives

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Social-Awareness A5

Practice “perspective taking” as a strategy to strengthen your acceptance of others

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Interpersonal/ Relationship Skills A5

Understand and practice positive collaboration and cooperation skills (e.g., teamwork)

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Responsible and Ethical Decision-Making A3

Write about and share a principle you want to live by that you learned from a family member, book, movie, or personal experience

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Step 1:

Explain that peer review is the process of sharing one's writing with and receiving feedback from fellow students. Peer review helps you to become a better reader, writer, and collaborator. The peer review process will also help you to develop your evaluation skills.
Play video: No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom - A Guide for Students by MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing (~6 min)

Step 2:

Break students into peer review groups of 4. Each student will make/give copies of their writing to the 3 other students in their group.
Each student will be responsible for reading their classmates’ writing and writing a one-page peer review letter for each classmate before the peer review workshop.
Peer review guidelines are on the worksheet.

Step 3:

Spend one class period on peer review. Each student’s writing should have 15 minutes of discussion in the peer review groups.

Step 4:

Students should read all their peer review letters and revise their writing.
Students should submit the first draft, all peer review letters, and the second draft to the teacher for feedback.

Step 5:

Students should read teacher feedback, complete a final revision, and submit the revision—along with all previous drafts and peer review letters—to the teacher for a final grade.

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GRADE 7 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 4: PEER REVIEW OF FUNDRAISING LETTERS

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Write a one-page peer review letter for each member of your group.
Provide feedback as though you were speaking to the writer directly. Be kind!
In the first paragraph, explain what you see as the writer’s goals for the piece.
In the second paragraph, explain what you think the writer did well.
In the third paragraph, explain what you think the writer can improve.

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Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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