Peer Review Session

Overview

Unit: Exploring Love Through Poetry (Lesson 18 of 30)
Duration: 60 minutes
Class size: 25 students
Key Stage: 3 (Year 9)
Subject: English (National Curriculum, England)

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National Curriculum Links

• Reading (KS3):
  • Identify and interpret themes and conventions in a range of texts
  • Explain and evaluate the impact of language, form and structure on meaning
• Writing (KS3):
  • Plan, draft, edit and proofread to improve accuracy, coherence and overall effectiveness
  • Use a wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect
• Spoken Language (KS3):
  • Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
  • Use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Evaluate their peers’ comparative essays on poetry, focusing on structure, language, and thematic exploration of love.
2. Provide constructive, specific, and balanced written and oral feedback to support peer improvement.
3. Reflect on feedback received to identify strengths and areas for development in their own writing.
4. Apply editorial skills aligned to KS3 expectations for accuracy, coherence and mature expression.

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Resources Needed

• Printed copies of each student’s comparative essay
• Peer review worksheets with structured criteria
• Highlighters/pens in different colours
• Example model paragraph for effective comparative analysis
• Whiteboard/interactive board for discussion points

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Starter Activity (10 minutes)

Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and model constructive feedback.

• Begin with a brief whole-class discussion on what makes feedback useful (e.g. specific, evidence-based, balanced, kind). Record ideas on board.
• Display a carefully anonymised sample paragraph from a Year 9 comparative essay (on love poetry).
• Students read silently and then suggest strengths and areas for improvement.
• Highlight key phrases demonstrating effective analysis or where language could be clearer or more nuanced.
• Emphasise use of subject terminology (e.g. metaphor, juxtaposition, tone) as part of the feedback criteria.

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2. Main Activity: Peer Review Workshop (35 minutes)

Step 1: Organise students in pairs or small groups (3) to share essays.

• Each student exchanges essay copies with peer(s).
• Use a structured peer review worksheet, including:
  • Introduction: clarity of thesis/comparative focus
  • Body paragraphs: use of evidence, comparison techniques, analysis of language/themes of love
  • Conclusion: summarises key insights and personal response
  • Technical accuracy: spelling, punctuation, sentence variety
• Students highlight relevant sections on the essay and write clear, evidence-backed comments on the worksheet.

Step 2: Rotate after 15 minutes, so each essay is reviewed by two peers, enriching feedback variety and depth.

Step 3: Circulate and scaffold where necessary, prompting higher-order questions like:

• "Can you suggest a more precise comparative phrase?"
• "How could this paragraph link ideas more effectively?"
• "Does the language show an understanding of poetic devices?"

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3. Plenary: Reflect and Commit (10 minutes)

• Ask students to read all peer feedback received and note two strengths and two areas for improvement in their own exercise book or digital document.
• Prompt them to share one insight aloud about how peer feedback can improve their writing or understanding of poetry.
• End with a “commitment to action” statement: each student writes one editing goal for their essay revision in the next lesson (e.g. “I will improve my comparison of imagery in the two poems”).

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Assessment & Differentiation

• Formative assessment through observation of peer discussions and quality of feedback on worksheets.
• Use feedback quality rubrics to identify pupils needing extra scaffold support or challenge.
• Higher ability students encouraged to use advanced literary terminology and suggest alternative interpretive angles.
• Support lower ability students with sentence starters for feedback (e.g. “I like how you…”, “It might be clearer if you…”).

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Extension Ideas

• For homework, students apply peer feedback to draft a revised essay introduction or paragraph.
• Introduce a digital peer feedback platform (e.g. shared class document) where students post anonymous comments for review.

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Teacher’s Notes and Tips

• Model a growth mindset: frame peer feedback as a valuable skill for all writers, including the teacher.
• Use real-time feedback like “two stars and a wish” approach (2 positives, 1 suggestion).
• Encourage respectful language and emphasise keeping critique focused on work, never the person.
• Consider pairs based on writing ability pairing to optimise peer support.

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This lesson deepens students’ analytical skills in poetry comparison and develops critical literacy, communication, and editing competencies exactly as prescribed in the National Curriculum for KS3 English.