Teaching Writers
Using Six Traits
Ideas
Organization
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Voice
Mechanics
Presentation
Teaching For Ideas
Think aloud as you select a topic for your own writing
Write about things that happen in the classroom
As you read aloud, make self-to-text connections. Discuss the possibility
of writing about these ideas
Share jacket flap material and dedications to make connections with
where authors get their ideas
Search the web for author info
Share books by authors who wrote about things that happened in their
own lives (Tomie dePaola, Patricia Polacco)
Resources
Dear Annie by Judith Casely
Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Alan Ahlberg
Stringbean’s trip to the Shining Sea by Vera Williams
The Signmaker’s Assistant by Tedd Arnold
The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg
The Long, Long Letter by Elizabeth Spurr
Learning To Swim in Swaziland by Nila Leigh
Picnic at Mudsock Meadow by Patricia Polacco
Some birthday! By Patricia Polacco
Thundercake by Patricia Polacco
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
This Quiet Lady by Charlotte Zolotow
Someday a Tree by Eve Bunting
Uncle Vova’s Tree by Patricia Polacco
What Joe Saw by Anna Grossnickle Hines
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Teaching For Organization
Listen for ways authors structure text
Chart organizational words found in stories
Create a daily news chart and combine it into a weekly summary. Talk
about ways to organize the information
Study illustrations for clues about the passing of time
Talk about and list effective beginnings.
Study effective endings
Talk about surprises found in texts
Recognize when authors stick to a topic
Describe ways to organize information in non-fiction texts
Resources
The books of Eric Carle
Last Time They Met by Anita Schreve
Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
Teaching for Rich Word Choices
Listen for interesting word choices when reading aloud
Share the works of authors who make rich word choices
Play with words, substituting beginning sounds to make new words
Teach tongue twisters
Find examples of made-up words (Dr. Suess)
Make wall thesauruses
Throw away overused words – literally
Replace dull words with rich words and vice versa. Compare the
differences
Use specific nouns and lively verbs; remember adjectives are not the only
words that add interest
Popcorn – Everyone stands and thinks of another word for an overused
word such as good. When teacher points you give your word. If you
don’t have one or someone else says your word you sit down. If you think
of one you can stand up again.
Walking Thesaurus – Teacher wears a plastic apron and gives post-it
notes to students if they can think of another word for an overused
word. Then they can stick it to the teachers apron.
Round Robin – Put an overused word on a piece of paper. In teams pass
around the paper and write as many words as you can in a given amount
of time.
Resources
I Am Really A Princess by Carol Diggory Shields
Nocturne by Jane Yolen
Teaching For Sentence Fluency
Compare sentences and fragments
Explore different ways to write the same sentence. Try changing the
word order to vary the structure
Read pieces that have a natural rhythm
Sing and clap to the beat; read and clap to the beat
Count the number of words in a sentence. Are sentences of varying
lengths?
Combine shorter sentences to make longer ones and break up longer
sentences into shorter ones
Resources
Aunt Flossie’s Hat by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
Honey, I love by Eloise Greenfield
Teaching for Voice
Explore the works of several illustrators. Talk about their style.
Display the covers of two books by the same illustrator and one which is
not. Try to determine which are by the same illustrator and which is
different.
Share pieces of writing that have voice. Praise pieces that are unique.
Conduct author studies. Talk about what makes an author’s writing
special.
Read passages from distinctive writers. Try to identify the author.
Resources
The books of Eric Carle
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Bats by Gail Gibbons
Teaching For Mechanics
Use big books, charts, and overheads as you read aloud so students can
see what has been written. Read with expression illustrating the use of
punctuation.
Ask students to find specific punctuation marks. Discuss their
function.
Construct a high frequency word wall. Use important words which are
representative of frequent rimes. Each word with the same beginning
letter can be written in a different colour. Each day teachers calls out a
word and students find it, chant the spelling and write it.
Find words from your word wall in text – count how many times they
occur.
Use print from different sources and cut out high frequency words for a
poster or display.
Let students see you edit. Point out when you make errors and have to
correct them.
Write sentences with mistakes. Challenge students to find the mistakes.
Hunt for capital letters. Make a list of why we use them.
Resources
Yo! Yes! By Chris Raschaka
The Signmaker’s Assistant by Tedd Arnold
Teaching For Presentation
When sharing books, discuss the use of illustrations and how they are
placed in the story
Point out unusual or striking text features
In non-fiction, show how graphs, charts, and tables add meaning
Share a variety of ideas for publication (shape books, pop-up books,
sound books, etc)
Encourage the use of a variety of fonts to add meaning to the story
Praise and show creative ways of presenting text and illustration
Talk about the choice of medium for the illustrations
Talk about the relationship between writers and illustrators
Resources
Glasses by Elaine Smith
The Letter Jesters by Cathryn Falwell
Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera Williams
The Night I Followed the Dog by Nina Laden
When Picasso Met Mootise by Nina Laden