Peer Review Feedback

Lesson Overview

This 50-minute lesson supports Year 8 students to engage effectively in peer review of their final projects within the unit Survival Through Words. It is designed to develop critical feedback skills and improve students' ability to reflect constructively on others' work and their own, aligning confidently with the Victorian Curriculum standards for English.

Victorian Curriculum Alignment

Content Descriptions:

AC9E8LY06: Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising and expanding ideas, and selecting text structures, language features, literary devices and visual features for purposes and audiences【1:AC9E8LY06.md】.
AC9E8LY07: Plan, create, rehearse and deliver spoken and multimodal presentations for audiences and purposes, selecting language features, literary devices, visual features and features of voice to suit formal or informal situations【0:AC9E8LY07.md】.
AC9E8LE03: Explain how language and/or images in texts position readers to respond and form viewpoints, important for understanding peer feedback effects【15:AC9E8LE03.md】.

General Capabilities developed:

Critical and Creative Thinking
Intercultural Capability
Personal and Social Capability

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

Apply constructive feedback strategies to assess peers’ final projects, focusing on structure, content, language, and presentation.
Reflect critically on feedback received to identify strengths and areas for improvement in their own projects.
Collaborate effectively in peer discussions, using respectful and clear language.
Demonstrate understanding of text structures and language features appropriate for their project genre.

Lesson Details

Time	Activity	Description	Resources / Notes
0–5	Introduction & Purpose	- Teacher explains the focus: peer review to refine final projects. - Share success criteria and reminders about respectful communication.	Project criteria checklist; Poster on 'Giving Effective Feedback'.
5–15	Modelling Effective Feedback	- Teacher models one peer review using a sample project. - Emphasise criteria: clarity, use of language features, engagement, adherence to purpose.	Sample project printout / projection.
15–35	Peer Review Sessions (Paired Work)	- Students exchange projects in pairs. - Use structured peer feedback sheets guiding comments on strengths, suggestions, and questions. - Teacher circulates offering guidance.	Peer feedback templates; Students’ final projects.
35–45	Group Reflection and Feedback Sharing	- In groups of four, students share key feedback points received. - Discuss how feedback can improve final drafts. - Teacher facilitates reflection questions focusing on constructive criticism and positive reinforcement.	Whiteboard/Display for capturing feedback ideas.
45–50	Lesson Wrap-up and Next Steps	- Teacher summarises importance of peer review in learning. - Students set personal goals based on feedback. - Homework: revise project incorporating peer and teacher feedback for final submission.	Goal-setting slips or student journals.

Assessment

Formative assessment throughout peer review:

Use of feedback sheets to monitor understanding of criteria and quality of feedback given.
Teacher observation of peer interactions and respectful communication.
Student reflections demonstrating comprehension of peer suggestions and ability to self-assess project improvements.

Differentiation Strategies

Provide sentence starters on feedback sheets for students who need scaffolding, e.g., "One strength of your project is...", "I suggest you could...".
Allow verbal feedback options for students with written expression challenges.
Encourage advanced students to provide deeper analytical feedback focusing on the use of literary devices and text structures (aligned with AC9E8LY06, AC9E8LY07).

Innovative Twist to Wow Teachers

"Feedback Carousel" with Digital Twist: Students rotate to review more than one peer’s project briefly (5 minutes each), jotting digital or written formative feedback on tablets or notebooks before settling into their partner for in-depth review. This ensures multiple perspectives and a dynamic, engaging peer review environment.
Use of Voice Notes: Where possible, students record a brief oral summary of their feedback instead of writing, integrating multimodal literacy relevant to AC9E8LY07.
Reflection via Visual Concept Mapping: Students create a simple concept map showing how feedback received will adjust their project focus or presentation style, linking ideas visually as well as textually.

Teacher Preparation

Prepare sample project with exemplars of strong and weak elements for modelling.
Print peer feedback templates and success criteria posters.
Arrange seating for paired and group discussions optimising interaction.
Prepare digital tools if using voice notes or tablets for feedback.

This lesson leaves students empowered to critically engage with peers’ work and improve their own, developing skills essential under the Victorian Curriculum’s English strand for Year 8 while embracing innovative approaches to peer assessment.

References:

Victorian Curriculum F-10: English, Year 8, Content Descriptions AC9E8LY06, AC9E8LY07, AC9E8LE03【0:AC9E8LY07.md】【1:AC9E8LY06.md】【15:AC9E8LE03.md】

Teaching Instructions