6 + 1 Traits of Writing Unit Plan
*Means the document is uploaded onto School Loop.
Individual Student Friendly Rubrics begin on p. 266 of the 6 Traits Book
Page numbers refer to pages in the 6 Traits Book
Introduction to 6 + 1 Traits
1 day
Day 1:
1. In groups of four, brainstorm the requirements for a perfect ALMS
uniform.
2. As a class, create a Uniform Rubric*.
3. Explain that you will use a rubric to grade student writing also, and
introduce the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing rubric*.
4. Go over each trait and what students need to earn a 5.
Ideas
4 days
Day 1:
1. Intro. Ideas rubric (in book).
2. Project sample essays and have student volunteers score them using
the rubric.*
3. Tell students how you would’ve scored the essays (1, 3, 5) and why.
4. As a class, complete “Call It Out” Lesson. Give the students a broad
topic like “animals” and have them narrow it to a specific animal, then
specific details about the animal, in a word web form.
5. Give students the Observation Chart, and have fill it out for HW.
Day 2:
1. Show Me, Don’t Just Tell Me*: Project the example and explain how
the telling statement and the showing statement are different.
2. Building Blocks*: Practice adding details to a telling statement to
make it into a showing statement. After completing the document
together, have students to it themselves with the telling statement:
“the teacher yelled” and share the aloud.
3. For HW: on the back of their Observation Charts, have students write
a paragraph describing the SETTING of the place they observed,
using what they’ve learned about showing statements.
Day 3:
1. Ask Me a Question: Divide students into groups of four. Have each
student take a turn telling the story of their 5th gr. Promotion (2 min).
The other students may not talk. When the storyteller is finished, the
other 3 students write down at least one question they have for the
storyteller. Rotate until all students have told their story.
2. Have storytellers keep their questions and use them to write 2 pages,
double-spaced, on their 5th gr. Promotion. Remind them to use what
they’ve learned about Ideas.
Day 4:
1. Put students in groups of four, have them switch 5th gr. Promotion
papers, and score each others for Ideas. Make sure you discuss
constructive criticism and insist they use comments from the rubric
to help their classmates improve their writing.
2. For HW, have students rewrite the 5th gr. Promotion story to turn in.
Use the Ideas rubric to score the stories (I give one score for Ideas
on the 1-5 scale, and one score out of 20 for completion and following
directions).
Organization
4 days
Day 1:
1. Intro. Organization using the rubric.
2. Score Sample Essays*
3. Go over Parts of Organization: Introduction, Body, Conclusion.
4. Hand out To Begin a Piece of Writing* and explain that the
Introduction is a writer’s chance to engage their reader and make
them want to keep reading.
5. HW: Have students write an Introduction to an essay on their
favorite food.
Day 2:
1. Have a few students share their Introductions and give positive
feedback and suggestions.
2. Hand out Organizational Options* and explain that the body
paragraphs must support the ideas given in the Introduction.
3. Have students begin writing the 3 body paragraphs for their favorite
food essay and finish for HW. I usually give 2 nights, with a grammar
Wed. in between.
Day 3:
1. Have students fill in the Transitions Chart* using their body
paragraphs, and instruct them to add transitional words if needed.
2. Hand out Types of Conclusions* and explain that the conclusion is the
writer’s chance to “wrap it up.”
3. For HW, write the conclusion to the favorite food essay.
Day 4:
1. Students exchange favorite food essays in groups of four, and score
each other’s papers for Organization.
2. For HW: rewrite the favorite food essay to be turned in.
Voice
4 days
Day 1:
1. Intro. Voice using the rubric.
2. Describing Voice handout*
3. Score and describe Sample Essays.*
Day 2:
1. Mailbag, p. 133: Write a letter to someone famous who interests you
or who you admire. Ask them questions, explain why you admire them,
and tell them what you have in common. Use Voice, so that I can tell
who wrote the letter without looking at the name.
2. Show sample Mailbag letters.
3. HW: Complete rough draft of letter
Day 3:
1. Swap and score Mailbag letters for voice, and describe the voice.
2. HW: Rewrite Mailbag letters and be prepared to share them.
Day 4:
1. Collect the Mailbag letters and select a handful to read out loud. Have
students describe the voice and try to identify the writer.
Word Choice
3 days
Day 1:
1. Your Personal Top 10, p. 168.
2. Intro. Word Choice with rubric.
3. Score Sample Essays*
4. Descriptive Limits*- Write a scary story without using any of the
words on the list.
5. HW: Write your scary story/Descriptive Limits
Day 2:
1. Expanding Small Phrases to Bigger Ones, p. 172*
2. HW: Rewrite scary stories adding more descriptive words.
Day 3:
1. Swap and score Scary Stories/Descriptive Limits for Word Choice
2. HW: Rewrite Scary Stories/Descriptive Limits
Sentence Fluency
4 days
Day 1:
1. Intro. Sentence Fluency using the rubric.
2. Score Sample Essays*
Day 2:
1. Putting Words in Order: Take the sentence, “A hungry boy named
Matthew greedily gobbled the delicious, cheesy, steamy, topping-filled
pizza.” Print each word on one piece of construction paper. Hand out
“a,” “boy,” “gobbled,” and “pizza” to four students, and have them
stand at the front of the room and put themselves in correct order.
Then add one word at a time by giving the paper to a student and
having them figure out where they belong in the sentence. Make sure
the sentence makes sense each time by reading it aloud. “Matthew”
and “named” must be added at the same time. Then, go backwards.
This shows students how to stretch out and condense sentences.
2. Sentence Stretching, p. 202 *
3. Which is Better?, p. 207 *
4. HW: Write a short story about your last vacation.
Day 3:
1. Grammar Day- Kinds of Sentences from Language Network workbook.
2. HW: Make sure your vacation story includes all four kinds of
sentences.
Day 4:
1. Swap and score vacation stories for Sentence Fluency.
2. HW: Rewrite your vacation story and make sure you read it out loud to
at least one person to check Sentence Fluency.
Conventions
2 days
Day 1:
1. Intro. Conventions using rubric.
2. Score Sample Essays.*
3. Intro. Editing Symbol Chart, p. 220. (I copy it on the back of the
Conventions rubric). Have students add the new paragraph symbol and
the indent symbol.
4. HW: Conventions Editing Practice*
Day 2:
1. Go over Conventions Editing Practice*
Presentation
1 day
Day 1:
1. Intro. Presentation using rubric.
2. Score Sample Essays- I use essays that students have turned in and I
haven’t returned yet.
Final Project: Autobiographical Essay
4 days
Prior to beginning the Autobiographical Essay, you may want to read one or
more published autobiographies. I use “Julie/Julia” by Julia Alvarez.
Day 1 (same day as presentation):
1. Intro. Autobiographical Essay & rubric*
2. Show sample essays
3. Brainstorm for essay & choose topic.
4. Begin 1st draft due in 2 days
5. HW: Work on 1st draft.
Day 2:
1. Work on 1st draft.
Day 3:
1. Swap & score 1st draft for 1st five traits ONLY.
2. HW: Write 2nd draft with suggested changes.
Day 4:
1. Swap & score 2nd draft for Conventions ONLY
2. HW: Write final draft due in 2 days.