Subject adaptation · Years 9–10 · English / Literacy · Field-Based STEM · Tony Jones
A finished draft can look fluent for reasons that have nothing to do with the student in front of you. The Reconstruction Check finds out which reasons apply.
Phase 1
Drafting Completed
Phase 2
Tools Closed
Phase 3
Account From Memory
Phase 4
Evidence Recorded
The Strategy
After any drafting phase, students close their device, notes, and any tool they used.
Within two to three minutes, students account from memory for the key decisions in their writing: one choice of structure, one choice of evidence or detail, and one choice of word or phrase.
The teacher records one sentence noting what the student could explain unprompted.
Where a student cannot account for a decision, this is a teaching moment, not an accusation. The next step is support, not penalty.
The Reconstruction Check is kept as a diagnostic artefact and assessed alongside the draft, not used to replace it.
In Practice
Narrative Writing
After drafting a short story opening, students close their work and explain one decision about their narrator, one decision about pacing, and one word choice they are proud of.
Persuasive Writing
After drafting an argument, students account for their strongest piece of evidence, the order they chose to present points in, and one word they selected for tone.
Text Response
After drafting an analytical paragraph, students explain the quotation they selected, why it supports their point, and one alternative they considered and rejected.
Implementation Notes
Decision Checkpoint
Run the check immediately after drafting, not at a later lesson. Distance in time weakens what the check can reveal.
Teacher Judgement Note
Keep the tone conversational and low stakes. This is a checkpoint for understanding, not an interrogation, and should never be framed to students as a test of honesty.
Related Frameworks
Decision Vignette · Trace Map · Evidence Lock
Tony Jones · Founder, Field-Based STEM · Tomorrow Ready Resources · Free to use and share
