Four Keys to Writing Success
Using 6 Traits
Deb Wragge
ddwragge@esu8.org
Professional Services Coordinator
ESU 8
Today’s Purpose & Agenda:
• To learn the writer’s language of 6 Traits
• To sharpen your skills in working with student
writers
• To learn where to access and how use literary
mentors as examples
• To plan and use focused lessons and strategies
to build student skills
To be effective teachers of writing, we must
first teach ourselves what good writing is,
and then we are better equipped to teach
our students.
Vicki Spandel (5th edition, p. 13)
Four Keys to Writing Success
Surround students with writer’s
language
Teach students to assess writing
Call on literary mentors for examples
Use focused lessons and strategies to
build skills
Key 1: Surround Students with
Writer’s Language
• Know the Traits Well Yourself
• Make Posters
What is 6 Traits Writing?
• A shared vocabulary for teachers and
students
• A method of scoring and examining
writing consistently
• A tool for writing and using the Writing
Process
• A feedback system to students
• A tool to guide instruction in the
classroom
6 Traits allow teachers to…
•
•
•
•
Use rubrics
Use samples of student writing
Help students discuss specific features
Improve student writing through the
qualities of good writing
• Incorporate a variety of lessons/activities
If YOU know the traits well, writer’s language
will be a natural part of your instruction and of
every writing conference.
Vicki Spandel (5th edition, p. 158)
The 6 Trait Model
• Ideas –
– the heart of the message, topics supported with relevant details
• Organization –
– the internal structure of the piece, order makes sense: introduction, body
paragraphs, conclusion, and transition are smooth
• Voice –
– the tone and flavor of the author’s message, text makes you feel some type of
emotion: laughter, crying, anger; without voice, it is usually boring
• Word Choice –
– the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning
• Sentence Fluency –
– the rhythm and flow of the language
• Conventions –
– mechanical correctness, spelling, capitalization, and grammar/usage
Possible Posters to Display:
Key 2: Teach Students to Assess
Writing
• Rubrics and Using Rubrics and
Checklists
• Share Examples of Writing –
–Weak Writing and Strong Writing
Teacher “Leap the River” Rubric
Stronger Performance
Teacher “Leap the River” Rubric
Stronger Performance
Student Writing Checklist – Gr 3& Up
Student Writing Checklist – Young Writers
Making Decisions
Teaching
IDEAS:
Thinking helps you make good decisions. When making
a decision take your time and not rush into a hasty
conclusion. Clarify the decision you are making. Be
sure you understand all aspects of your decision,
without confusion. Reason out the consequences your
decision will effect. Question whether the concluding
effects will be positive or negative.
Before proceeding ahead with any decision making
process, devise other alternatives, if any, noticing who
and what may be affected. Be sure to ask others for
their opinion on the subject. Keep in mind, however,
that their opinion may not be correct or even helpful.
Quality decision making depends on facts, not opinions.
Eventually, your decision will have impact on other
things. These impacts cannot always be foreseen. Take
your time in determining which impacts are most
effected, and be careful in the end.
Fishing Lessons
It was a cool, crisp morning, about the time when the dew begins to form on
the grassy banks of the stream. I had been anticipating this moment for some
time and now it was here. Grandpa and I were going fishing at an ideal spot
swarming with fish. We left at about 4, but by the time we got there and
unpacked, the sun was just creeping over the horizon.
Grandpa pulled the rod back and let it fly, right down stream, farther than
I could see. Then, I lowered my toy fishing line down until it was just under the
surface. Right away, Grandpa got a tug on his line, but it wasn’t a fish. It was a
baby alligator. The alligator was a semi-small, but it still put up a fight. Grandpa
would gently reel it in, give it some line, then reel it some more. Just then, I
realized he had gotten the scissors and was trying to cut the jumping line.
Before I could blink, he cut the line and the alligator swam into a drain pipe.
That really surprised me because that was his favorite hook.
I pondered over this while I doodled around with my plastic hook in the
water. About when the sun got all the way over the horizon, and it slowly was
starting to get hot, we headed home with a puny guppy I caught in my plastic
net. On the way to the house, I asked Grandpa why he hadn’t just caught the
alligator or at least reeled it in. He replied with a question – “Why cause the
little fella any more pain than what life dishes out?” I learned that day that all
things have a right to life and that life has a reason to be had.
Tips:
1. Do not worry about the grade level of the
writer.
2. Read the papers aloud
3. Encourage students to work in pairs or
teams.
4. Do not limit your practice to student papers
use other genre as well.
– Newspapers and Ads, Directions, Other Author’s
work, Informational Posters, and on and on
Key 3: Call on Literary Mentors for
Examples
• Gather some of YOUR favorite literature.
– Scan it for samples which would show the traits in
action
• Don’t overlook the bad writing.
It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most
disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is
wonderful [Roald Dahl, Matilda, 1988, p.7]
Calves come early in the spring.
It was how we knew the winter would die, would end.
In the dark of the barn light when it was still cold enough outside to make
things break, in the warm dark night of the closed barn they came, and when we
would open the door in the morning to start chores we could smell them, the new
claves. [Gary Paulsen, Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass, 1992, p. 3]
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means
sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican
records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like
sobbing…At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin
and just the roof of their mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer
something, like sliver [Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, 1989, p.11]
Warts are wonderful structures. They can appear overnight on any part of the skin,
like mushrooms on a damp lawn, full grown and splendid in the complexity of their
architecture [Lewis Thomas, The Medusa and the Snail, 1979, p. 76]
An Instruction Sheet –
How to Set Your Watch’s Alarms:
– Press set-recall. Hour flashes. Press + or – to change hour;
hold button to scan values.
– Press NEXT. Minutes flash. Press + or – to change.
– Press NEXT. AM/PM flashes in a 12-hour format.
– Press NEXT. Alarm day flashes. Press button to select DAILY,
WKDAYS, WKENDS.
– Press DONE.
– To turn on/off, press START/SPLIT.
– Alarm clock icon appears when alarm is on. When alarm
sounds, night-light flashes. Press button to silence. If no
button is pressed alarm sounds for 20 seconds every five
minutes.
Each of the three alarms has a different alert melody.
College Textbook Introduction:
• In most college courses students spend more
time with their textbooks than with their
professors. Given this reality, it helps if you
like your textbook. Making textbooks likable,
however, is a tricky proposition… [We] have
tried to make [this] book lively, informal,
engaging, well organized, easy to read,
practical, and occasionally humorous. [Weiten
and Lloyd, Psychology Applied to Modern Life,
2003, p. xix]
Activity: Compare the watch instructions to the
college textbook introduction.
– Think About on Your Own:
• Which piece is more appealing, compelling? Why?
• Which piece is more comfortable to read? Why?
• Which piece has more character, Voice? In what
way?
• Which piece is more clear and condensed? How?
• Which pieces would you rather read?
• Which piece would you rather your students
wrote?
• Can you guide [teach] them to write in this
manner?
Key 4: Use Focused Lessons and
Strategies to Build Skills
• Focused lessons allow students to tackle
writing one small bite at a time.
– Ideas
– Organization
– Voice
– Word Choice
– Sentence Fluency
– Conventions
Ideas: Main Idea, Detail, Clarity, Focus, Interest
1. Encourage students to choose their own
topics.
– To find topics: Keep lists, barrow from one
another, read extensively – and talk
– Model for students about how you create a list of
possible writing topics
– Talk about where YOU get your ideas
2. Write a thesis statement.
–
–
–
A message, or thesis, is different from a topic.
A topic can be expressed in a single word, a thesis
requires a statement.
A one-word topic leads to sprawling writing; a thesis give
writing direction and focus.
3. Put your sense to work.
• Select a sensory-rich passage from literature
[Suggestion: Select passages from Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux (2003),p 21-22]
• Share it/them aloud with your students. Give them a
hardcopy to follow and take notes.
• Next, in pairs, have them create a sensory chart of the
sights, sounds, smells, etc. they notice.
Sensory Details Chart by Grade 5 Students:
Sensory Details Based on
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
Sights
Sounds
Taste & Smells
Feelings
• Sunlight
• Yellow patches
on the floor
• Table
• Books
• Mice
• Squiggles
• Words
• Wooden Floors
•
•
•
•
• Glue
• Paper
• That “library”
smell
• Old furniture
• Carpeting
• Mouse fur
• Warmth of the
sun
• Smooth surface
of the table
• Roughness of
paper
• Glue on your
tongue
• Paper in your
mouth
• The chills – when
Despereaux
began to read
Mice scurrying
Paper crunching
Talking
The words “Once
upon a time”
4. Revise a weak example.
The Redwoods
Last year, we went on a vacation and we had a wonderful
time. The weather was sunny and warm and there was
lots to do, so we were never bored.
My parents visited friends and took pictures for their
friends back home. My brother and I swam and also
hiked in the woods. When we got tired of that , we just
ate and had a wonderful time.
It was exciting and fun to be together as a family and
to do things together. I love my family, and this is a time
that I will remember for a long time. I hope we will go
back again next year for more fun and an even better
time than we had this year.
THE REDWOODS
Last summer, my family and I went on a vacation to see the California, Redwoods. Most
of the time was great, though not everything turned out the way we expected. We spent
most of our time basking in the sun and hiking. We basked so much I got a sunburn from head
to toe, and had to spend the next several days peeling my outer layer of skin.
One day we hiked the Sunrise Trail. The cool morning air was easy to hike in so we ended
up doing the whole thing. The giant ferns were like something out of a prehistoric movie. The
trees were so huge we could not see the tops. Three of us linking arms could not reach
around the trunks. It was amazing to think how old they were and to try imagining what they
had lived through. It made us feel tiny and transient.
Like sun bathing, hiking had its drawbacks. The main one being my brother. We saw a
gorgeous sunrise and several deer. I had never been close to a deer before and I was very
excited, but I knew better than to yell. Not Tom! He came crashing out of the brush yelling, “A
deer! Look you guys!” We just glared at him. That was the last time we took the Sunrise Trail.
My parents aren’t big hikers, so they spent their time visiting friends, mostly people I
wasn’t too fond of, but my parents loved. They took what seemed like thousands of pictures
to show the folks back home. Practically every rock was photographed. Every tree was in a
picture. It got quite nerve-wracking having a camera pointed in my direction constantly, so I
took off for the woods, secretly hoping to get lost.
My family doesn’t take many vacations, so it was fun being together. I will never forget
those deer or hiking the Sunrise Trail with the people I love. Maybe we’ll come back next year,
or go someplace different. It doesn’t really matter as long as I am with my family. Next time,
though, I think our camera may experience an unfortunate accident.
Organization: Lead, Pattern/Structure,
Transitions, Pacing, Conclusion
1. Nail the lead.
– Share a list of leads.
•
•
•
Ask your students to help you choose the most
effective one.
Lead a discussion as to “Why” these and other leads
you share are “Nails.”
Sample:
–
–
–
She stood six feet tall and are whole apples, core and stem
included.
She used her voice like a weapon.
We could feel her coming before we heard her.
2. Play the scramble game.
1. Begin with a text that is well organized:
good sequencing, clear transitions.
–
–
Make sure it is age/grade and length
appropriate.
It’s best to have a piece with a clear beginning
and ending.
2. Copy it. Cut the copy into strips.
3. Have students play with it like a puzzle.
–
Begin with groups of 2-4 students. Then as
students increase their skill, shrink the group
size over time, until each student completes
their own puzzle.
4. Provide students with a “Master Copy” to
Check their work.
3. Listen for the ending.
–
Endings have a sound all their own – a sound readers
(and writer) learn to listen for.
• Human being have the capacity to wipe out cockroaches –
along with every other animal and plant on the planet. The
only question is, will we do it?
• The cockroach is a hardy creature, capable of withstanding
heat, cold, and even radiation. They are found on all parts of
the earth, and come in many sizes from tiny to over three
inches in length. They have lived for over 400 million years –
and might live for another 400 million years. Who knows?
• Who can say if our planet’s evolutionary history won’t repeat
itself – and eventually set the scene from which higher life
forms will emerge. It’s a good bet that the first land-dwelling
animals to appear in this freshly reconstructed world will
resemble the cockroach.
Voice:
Individuality, Passion for the topic, Connection
to the audience, Honesty, Confidence
1. Provide a safe environment for sharing.
2. Respond to student’s work with unabashed
enthusiasm.
3. Reward risk.
4. Remind students to tell the truth.
5. Read aloud.
6. Go for contrast.
7. Ask students to read aloud.
8. Write letters.
9. Talk story.
Word Choice:
Accuracy; Strong verbs; Fresh; Lively words
and phrases; Word pictures; Freedom from redundancy,
wordiness, vague phrasing, jargon
1. Read, read, read!!
2. Harness the power of verbs.
– Verbs give writing energy.
•
•
Exercise: Have students take a passage and
“strengthen” the verbs.
Revision with Partners:
–
The weather was bad, In fact, it was really bad. Rain fell
everywhere. The wind was Blowing. If this kept up, we might
not be able to hold our soccer game.
3. Put Adjectives to work.
Think about this sentence:
Tom walked down the dusty road.
– Create a “MOVIE” with words.
•
Have students revise this sentence using adjectives and
adjective phrases.
Sentence Fluency:
Smooth flow, variation in sentence
beginnings and lengths, Transitional words and phrases to build bridges,
Fragments for effect, Authentic dialogue
1. Hear it. It’s an aural skill.
– Read aloud, focusing on poetry, where the
rhythm is built in.
2. Perform it.
– Seek out samples with dialogue. Think about
implementing choral readings for students.
3. Try “Sentence Aerobics.”
In groups of 4-6, with each student in the group using a half sheet
of paper or a 3x5 card:
1.
Write one thing you know to be true (doesn’t have to be profound) –
your sentence should be no more than 12 words long.
2. Pass your sentence to the left.
3. Read the sentence in front of you and rewrite it – only this time,
begin the sentence in a different way.
4. Pass to the left.
5. Read and rewrite the second sentence, this time starting with a
pronoun: One, He, She, I, they, We, Everybody.
6. Pass to the left.
7. Read the third sentence and revise, starting with the word If.
8. Pass left.
9. Read the fourth sentence and revise once more, this time turning
the sentence into a question.
Return the five sentences to the originator and read some aloud to hear
the possibilities.
Sample:
1. Cleaning the garage is not fun.
2. The very last item on my to-do list reads
“Clean the Garage.”
3. No one like to clean the garage – including
me.
4. If you paid me a thousand dollars. I wouldn’t
clean the garage.
5. Who would clean the garage if there were
one other thing on Planet Earth to do?
Conventions:
Editing for correctness, Developing a proofreader’s
eye, Learning to recognize, read, and use copy editor’s symbols, Checking
layout and presentation, as needed.
1. Help students to understand the reasons
behind conventions.
2. Teach copy editor’s symbols.
3. As a teacher DON’T correct everything.
– Don’t fix it for the student.
•
Research shows that it is highly unlikely students will even
look at your corrections, let alone learn from them.
4. Practice on the work of others first.
5. Avoid over-correction.
– Worksheets, drills, sentence diagramming, and lots
of correction is NOT helpful. Over-correction actually
may restrict students’ growth as writers.
6. Employ the 72-hour rule.
– Time is the editor’s friend. Students will edit much
more efficiently and effectively. They need the
mental break.
7. Remind students to read from the bottom up to
look for spelling errors.
– You cannot skim (easily) when you read backwards.
Final Comments & A Wiki Walk:
 To learn the writer’s language of 6 Traits
 To sharpen your skills in working with student
writers
 To learn where to access and how use literary
mentors as examples
 To plan and use focused lessons and strategies to
build student skills
 ESU 8 Staff Development Wiki: http://esu8-staffdevelopment.wikispaces.com/