Which activity exemplifies a metalinguistic strategy for assisting students with language difficulties?

Editing peers' writing assignments exemplifies a metalinguistic strategy because it encourages students to think about language use and structure. This activity requires students to analyze and evaluate how language is used in their peers’ writing, fostering awareness of grammatical conventions, sentence structure, and overall textual coherence. Through this process, students engage in higher-order thinking about language, which reflects metalinguistic awareness—the ability to reflect on and manipulate the structural aspects of language.

In contrast, the other activities primarily focus on specific language skills or comprehension rather than on the reflection and analysis of language itself. Providing definitions of new vocabulary words emphasizes understanding and usage rather than critical analysis of language structures. Helping students order story elements focuses on narrative comprehension without necessarily improving their awareness of linguistic rules. Discussing pictures' similarities and differences, while promoting observational skills, doesn't deeply engage students in the analysis of language, which is central to metalinguistic strategies.