English · Stage 5

Editing

Writing — edit your own writing in passes: meaning and words first, then sentences, then spelling and punctuation

✦ English📘 Stage 5 · S5⏱ ~14 min🧒 Ages 9–10★ Free to start

I can edit and improve my own writing.

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Kavi Reads It Again

"The first draft is never the finished writing," said Kavi. "A good writer reads it again — and edits in passes. First I read for meaning and swap flat words for stronger ones. Then I fix the sentences, joining or splitting them so they flow. Last of all I check the spelling and punctuation. And here is the secret: I don't only hunt for mistakes — I change what already works into something better."

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What your child will learn

1Edit in passes — and change to improveEditing is reading your own draft and making it better. Don't try to fix everything at once. Go through in passes, in this order, so you never polish a sentence you were going to cut anyway.

2Fixing is not the only kind of editingRead both cards. One edit repairs a mistake; the other makes good writing even better. A real editor does both.

3Which editing pass does each change belong to?

4Watch a draft get editedTap each line to hear it. The first line of each pair is the first draft; the second is the edited, improved version.

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A peek inside

Edit to improve: 'The cake was nice.' The spelling is perfect — can you still make it better?

Nothing is broken, but 'nice' is a flat, vague word. Editing is not only fixing errors — you change words to improve. Swap 'nice' for an exact, vivid word.

Try this at home: Which editing pass comes FIRST: checking spelling, or reading for meaning?

Ready to play and learn?

Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.

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Part of English · Stage 5 · S5 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.