6 Traits and More: A Practical Approach to Teaching Writing Effectively

by Courtney Kistemann

You Will Learn….

• What are the 6 traits• What does “Leaping the River” mean• How the 6 traits fits into the writing process• Fun activities to do at home• How to prep for AIMS writing

Types of Writing

• Formal and Informal Letters• Personal Narrative• Expository Writing• Functional Text• Persuasive Text• Literary Response• Research Writing

The Six Traits of Writing1. Ideas2. Organization3. Voice4. Word Choice5. Sentence Fluency6. Conventions

This program was developed by creative teachers and modified for international use at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

Ideas and Content• Writing has a main idea that is clear and well

thought out• Author includes “beyond-the-obvious” detail• Ideas demonstrate clarity, focus, sense of

purpose• Ideas and supporting details paint a picture

Very often brainstorming, graphic organizers, story starters or narrative prompts can be used to help students get started.

The writer should:• Show not tell “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the

glint of light on broken glass” Anton Chekhov • Be original and write from experience• Make sure that the piece being written is

interesting so that the reader will want to read all the way to the end

• First and last impression are key• Is your writing a tasty gourmet burger or is it

from the dollar menu

Scoring Anchor Papers

Imagine that a pair of shoes has wings. Write about what happens when someone puts them on.

Organization…More than Just Paragraphs

• Deals with how you organize the ideas• More than beginning, middle and end• Ideas flow from one paragraph to another

(transitions)• Introductions hook reader and introduce

theme, main idea and purpose• Conclusion is interesting and leaves the reader satisfied

Writing a Personal Narrative Activity

Voice

• Writing portrays the author’s personality• Author uses voice appropriate to topic and

audience• Expresses author’s feelings towards subject

Is there real passion? Does the author care?

Developing Characters Voice… with Hats

Word Choice

• Student uses creative language (similes and metaphors)

• Stays away from said and other graveyard words

• Uses action verbs• Descriptive language• Uses appropriate and interesting words• Stays away from slang and common jargon

Wanted Monster Poster

Fluency

• Students write complete sentences• Sentence style and length vary• Appropriate transitions are used that helps

the flow and rhythm of the piece• No run-ons (wordy language)

Text begs to be read aloud

Writing Complete Sentences

Complete sentences must contain a subject and a predicate. Students must know the definitions of the parts of speech in order to write complete sentences.

Sentence Variation

Sentence variation means that sentences should not all start with the same word or phrase, and the vocabulary within a sentence should vary. The structure of sentences should also vary, so that the piece does not begin to sound sing-songy or immature.

Transitions

Transitional words are words that string together sentences or ideas. Transitions can use words such as and, but, nonetheless, however, in addition, for example, similarly, also and moreover. Students need to see examples of these words in use in order to put good transitions to work.

Conventions

• Grammar• Punctuation• Spelling

The best thing is to teach your child to read their work aloud. They will be able to hear the mistakes

6 Traits and The Writing ProcessStep 1 – Pre-write/PlanGenerate, develop, & think about ideas, organization, voice Step 2 – DraftDevelop ideas, organize ideas, use voice, sentence fluency and word choice Step 3 – ReviseAdd, delete, develop, adjust: ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice Step 4 – EditFind problems and correct conventions Step 5 – PublishShare the completed writing

Revision vs. Editing Activity

FAT-PPrompt- “Your parents just got a tax return and want to

use the money to redo the backyard. Write a letter to your parents describing what you think should be done to the backyard.

F- What is the format?A- Who is the audience?T- Underline the topic.P- What is the purpose?

Help your child identify FAT-P often in preparation for AIMS

Ways to Assess

• Students can evaluate their pieces using checklists and rubrics

• Parents and Eagleridge teachers should guide, help evaluate and make suggestions

• When evaluating give constructive comments• Formative assessment should always be done so

that students can work toward improvement• Portfolios

Best Teaching Practices• I do…you do…we do• Model, model, model• Read and discuss great authors together• Use research-based methods such as

4-square writing, writer’s workshop, teaching the quality of writing, 6 traits + 1 writing….and more

• Become familiar with AZ state standards