Six Traits
Writing Workshop
Grades 3-6
November 6, 2006
September 29, 2009
Debbie Schraeder
ESU #3
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Ideas for Writing in the Content Areas
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
Quotes Reflection
Meet and Greet the folks at your table then…
Read through the quotes.
Choose one that strikes a chord.
Turn to your neighbor and read the quote aloud.
Listen to your neighbor read.
Talk about the quotes.
Handout pages 1-2
Discuss
How could you use quote collecting as a writing
activity for your grade level or content area?
Book recommendation:
Wit and Wisdom from the
Peanut Butter Gang
By H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Writing Topic Bingo!
Move about as needed to fill in the boxes, finding others with
interests both different and similar to yours.
When you hear the signal (bells) come back to your table and
talk about this question...
When and why would you use an activity like this at your grade
level? How would it need to be modified?
Handout page 3
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Ideas for writing in the Content Areas
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
Writing is a
powerful tool
that can influence
others and clarify
one’s own
thoughts.
Why should students write in all
content areas?
Writing is a natural expression of learning. Writing
provides a way to think about learning.
Students need daily practice in writing about subject
content.
Part of teaching a subject is teaching students how to write
and react to information learned about that subject.
Writing and sharing the writing with others reinforces
learning.
www.makingstandardswork.com
When was the last time you
wrote a narrative?
When was the last time you
wrote non-fiction?
As adults, 90% of our reading
and writing is for information.
Handout page 5-6
The trait of IDEAS- RAFT
R-Role of the writer
A-Audience that will be reading
the writing
F-Format- letter, article, poem…
T-Topic or subject of the writing
In Industrial arts…
In Journalism…
In PE…
In….
Handout pages 7-8
The trait of IDEAS- RAFT
How to Use It:
1. Analyze the important ideas
or information you want
students to learn from reading
a story, a textbook passage, or
other material.
2. Brainstorm possible roles
students could assume in their
writing.
3. Next decide the audience and
determine the format.
4. After students have finished
reading, explain RAFT.
Handout page 9
Reflection Strategy- RAFT
Stop and Talk
How might you use this strategy in your classroom or
professional setting?
Brainstorm some topics and work through possible
Role/Audience/Format/Topic examples
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
Prevoke Vocabogram
Work in Pairs
 Sort the
words
 Make a
prediction
Handout pages 10-11
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
The Prevoke and Writing
Voice: Read aloud to find the author’s voice. Talk about the
qualities of each character.
Organization: Unpack the structure of text.
Ideas: Prediction is a high level comprehension activity.
Word Choice: Use vocabulary to predict the meaning and
structure of the text.
Sentence Fluency: Read aloud to find flow and rhythm
Conventions: Look for signals that tell you how to interpret the
text.
Thought for the day-- Ask the kids!
“Without reading we wouldn’t have writing, and without
writing we wouldn’t have any reading!”
-a first grader’s answer to the question
“Why do we read and why do we write?”
6 Trait Card Sort
In pairs, categorize the statement
cards under the correct blue
6 Trait card.
Ideas
Organization
September, 2008
Voice
Word Choice
ESU#3
Sentence
Fluency
Conventions
17
THE 6+1 TRAITS
Ideas
Organization
•
The heart of the message
•
The internal structure of the piece
•
The feeling and conviction of the
Voice
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
individual writer
•
The precise language chosen to convey
meaning
•
The rhythm and flow of the language
Conventions
•
The mechanical correctness
Presentation
•
How the writing looks on the page
Why bother?
Because six trait writing provides…
Common language
Consistency in assessment
The “how to” for revision
6-trait writing is all about revision!
To teach the traits--Teach the concept first.
Surround students with writer’s language.
Share strong and weak examples from written works.
Write--and link writing activities to the traits.
Read and link reading activities to the traits.
Practice revision and editing on anonymous texts.
See Framework for Teaching the Traits on page 15
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Ideas for writing in the Content Areas
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
What Makes Writing Work?
Essays that Worked by Boykin Curry
What do you notice?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Boring-- it put me right to sleep.
Flat, empty.
Safe.
She was writing just to get it done.
Mechanics are pretty good.
It doesn’t say anything.
The organization isn’t too bad.
What Redwoods? The title doesn’t
go with the paper.
She (he?) seems like a nice kid- I
want to like it.
It’s not that bad for fourth or fifth
grade-- I assume that’s what it is
right?
Handout page 16
What do you notice?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I can just see it. I feel like I’m in
that car.
I love the line “her eyes were as big
as her fists.”
He’s having a good time [most
readers assume the writer is male].
I know these people.
Lively!
I sympathize with Mom-- I hate mice
too!
I like the pickle jar-- I can even smell
the pickles.
Great images-- love Dad backing
into the tree and mom in her
nightgown.
You get every point of view- even
the mouse’s!
Handout pages 17-18
How to Use Student Work
Make overheads of them and talk about the traits with students. Use
the rubrics to pick out criteria/characteristics such as…
• eye catching details
•questions to the creator
•parts to add to or re-do
•expressive images or language
•interesting or favorite words used on own or in dictation
•use of conventions
•the intended audience
Other characteristics you would add?
Qualities teachers look for…
Review the handout from the Great Source Education Group.
Highlight and discuss the qualities that are important to you.
HINT: Develop mini-lessons around these qualities.
Handout pages 19-20
The Idea of ‘Place’
When we write we place ourselves in our world. We say “This
is where I am, right now, and this is how I feel about that”.
Conversely, when we focus on places where we have been, we
often connect to a deep and specific sense of how we felt when
we were there. By mapping our literal, physical placements,
we are often able to more accurately map our psychological
placement.
Julia Cameron, The Right to Write
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
The Power of Rubrics
The Six Trait Model is an analytical model. There are…
Rubrics for creative/personal writing.
Rubrics for informational technical writing.
Rubrics for each trait.
Rubrics for Statewide Writing/ used holistically.
REMEMBER: Students and parents should have rubrics.
Comments on student work should tie directly back to the
rubric.
See set of ‘one-pagers’
Rubric Confusion…
Six Trait rubrics come from two main publishers:
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Great Source Education Group
Rubrics will vary in scale points between 1 and 6.
The descriptors will further clarify performance levels.
The rubrics are analytical, each trait is scored.
Rubric Confusion…
Today you will be using these rubrics. Locate each and place
them on the table where you can use them easily…
Write Traits 6-Trait One-Pager
Write Traits Technical One-Pager
Statewide Writing Rubric
Point Values of Rubrics
5
strong but not necessarily perfect
4
strong draft
3
balance of strong and weak
2
writer is beginning to go in the right direction
1
credit for putting pen to paper
Some rubrics have a scale of 5, but sets of descriptors for 1, 3
and 5. Scores of 4 or 2 means that indicators are present in
both of the two adjoining point values.
Strategy for Scoring
ASK YOURSELF: IS this piece stronger than weak? Or is it
weaker than strong?
Stronger than weak: Go to the top half of the rubric
Weaker than strong; Go to the lower half of the rubric.
This initial decision will help you focus and will
increase the reliability of scoring.
Recognizing the Traits
Select ONE trait and
highlight characteristics
that you see in your
students. Look across all
rubrics.
Compare with a neighbor.
Technology
Integration
Linda Peters
ESU#3
Agenda
Welcome and Warm Up Activities
Ideas for writing in the Content Areas
Introducing the Traits
What Makes Writing Work? Qualities of Writing
Using Rubrics and Student Papers
Trait by Trait
Language to look for
Scoring student work
Teaching and learning activity
Literature
For each trait we will…
Review the language to look for.
Review a rubric and score a paper.
Do a teaching/learning activity.
Learn about books for that trait.
Write down things to remember.
“Where do you get your ideas?” That’s the question
most often asked of writers by non-writers. My ideas
come from from memories, images, dreams, stray
happenings, but they all have one thing in common: I got
the ideas because I was looking for ideas. A person who
has it uppermost in his mind, that someone is trying to
poison him, will often find that his food tastes a bit
peculiar. The anticipation is all.
Richard Kennedy
What’s important about the trait of IDEAS?
Look for the following…
Clarity and Focus of the Content
Rich and Vivid Details
Clear Sense of Purpose
Substance and Accuracy
Fresh and Original Thinking
mathterpieces
Tips on Assessing the Trait of Ideas
Think quality, not quantity. It isn’t more ideas that make a
paper strong but the writer’s effective use of just the right
information.
“Too many scoring systems reward students for including
merely more arguments or examples; quantity is not quality,
and we teach a bad lesson by such scoring practices.”
-Grant Wiggins
The Attic
Look for descriptors
that fit this paper for
the trait of ideas.
Handout page 21
Literature that demonstrates the trait of ideas…
Marc Brown
Arthur
Byrd Baylor
I’m in Charge of Celebrations
Sneed Collard
Animal Dads
Mem Fox
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
Arnold Lobel
The Frog and Toad Treasury
Patricia MacLachlan All the Places to Love
Bill Nye
Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blue Ocean
Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are
James Solheim
It’s Disgusting and We Ate It
Teaching the trait of Ideas
Talk about where ideas come from.
Model differences between generalities and good details.
Read aloud from books with striking detail or strong imagery.
Model how to eliminate filler or unnecessary information.
Model the use of questions to expand and clarify a main idea.
Teaching the trait of “Ideas”
For older young writers…
Focusing the Binoculars
For younger young writers…
I saw a dog…
Handout page 22
Important Details
Using the handout, pick out the 6, most interesting, most
intriguing, bits of information in the list. Ignore irrelevant
details and common knowledge.
Handout pages 23-24
Where Ideas Come From
What’s the difference between thinking something
up and getting something down?
In what way is writing an act of listening instead of
an act of speech?
I don’t see how a writer can operate without
going out as a reporter. I don’t care if you’re
writing plays, movies, or even if you’re a
poet…Think of the feast that’s out there: Get out
there! Take a look!
Tom Wolfe
Whose Voice is it?
Eleanor Roosevelt
Helen Keller
Shakespeare
Albert Einstein
Walt Disney
George W. Bush
Larry the Cable Guy
Britney Spears
Oprah Winfrey
Napoleon Bonaparte
Handout pg. 26
VOICE: What to look for…
Expression of individuality
Reader wants to keep reading
Commitment to the topic
Suits the audience
Fits the purpose
Tips for Assessing Voice
When a writer has a chance to choose a topic he or she cares about,
voice explodes from the page.
You will find that the more you read, the easier it is to score the trait
of voice. It’s much harder to tolerate voiceless writing. Pieces that
are strong in voice are rewarding to share aloud. Think of the books
you like to read to students in the classroom. Those are the best
examples of voice.
From Creating Writers p. 61
(Second Edition)
When teaching VOICE…
remember…
It makes you feel….it
makes you laugh, cry,
wince, cringe, fume,
shudder, jump up and
down….it moves you.
Books that demonstrate the trait of voice…
Kevin Henkes
Julius
Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street
Sneed Collard
Monteverde
Carolyn Lesser
Great Crystal Bear
Toni Morrison
The Big Box
Gary Paulsen
Harris and Me
Louis Sachar
Holes
Jerry Seinfeld
Sein Language
Jerry Spinelli
Maniac McGee
Chris Van Allsberg
Jumanji
Remember! Illustrations can demonstrate voice, too!
Teaching the trait of Voice
Read aloud from works that have strong voice.
Share numerous voices.
Help students develop appropriate voices for the situation.
Help students identify an audience.
Give students opportunities to practice through different genre.
Identify, describe and compare the voices of professional writers.
Let students hear your voice as you share your own writing.
Voice or Not?
Some people just do not know how to drive well. Roy is one of
them.
You do not want to be a passenger when Roy is at the wheel. He
either cannot recognize the color red or else he does not know
what red lights are for. He never stops. I pity drivers who get in
his way. He zooms right up behind them and hits the horn full
blast. What’s worse, he passes everything on wheels, even if he
has to go into the ditch to do it!
Handout page 25
Response to Literature…
Thoughts and Feelings
Dogteam
By Gary Paulsen
Handout page 27
CONVENTIONS: What to look for…
Spelling, Punctuation and Capitalization,
Grammar Usage, Paragraphing,
Consistency of Use,
Creative Use to Express Voice or Style
Tips on Assessing the Trait of Conventions
1.
Look beyond spelling. Spelling is important but not the whole of
conventions.
2.
Look for what is done well, not just the mistakes. Balance the two.
3.
Do not overreact. One mistake--or two or three-- cannot spoil the whole
performance. Ask OVERALL, how well does the student control and use
conventions to make meaning and organizational structure clear?
4.
Do not consider neatness of handwriting in assigning a score. Handwriting
is a physical skill; writing is intellectual. Don’t confuse the two.
From Creating Writers page 62
Zeena and the Marshmellows
Use the Write Traits
rubric to find
descriptors that fit this
paper for the trait of
conventions.
Handout pages 29-30
Books that demonstrate the trait of conventions…
David Shannon
NO DAVID!
Janet Marshall
Look Once Look Twice
Jane Bell Kiester
Caught Ya! Grammar with a Giggle
Chris Raschka
Yo! Yes?
Patricia O’ Connor
Words Fail Me (Upper Level)
Teaching the trait of Conventions and Layout
Invent editing lessons in which students count or correct errors.
Teach copy editor’s symbols and show how to use them.
Provide many opportunities to practice editing anonymous texts.
Analyze examples of good and poor layout and compare.
Give students an opportunity to match layout with form
(brochure, poster, business letter, or research piece.
Trait Demonstrations
Conventions
C.O.P.S.
Students as Editors:
Gulpers and Viper Fish
Handout pages 31-32
Editor’s symbols, pages 33-34
Look for the Signals
Read without punctuation,
then read with.
Talk about ‘respect for the
reader’.
Have students read with
and without the signals.
Look for the Signals
Yo yes hey who you me
yes you oh what’s up
not much why no fun
oh no friends oh yes
look hmmm me you
yes me you well well
yes yo yes yow
ORGANIZATION: What to look for…
Enticing Lead Sentence
The first sentence and introduction should be engaging.
Thoughtful Transitions
One paragraph should set the scene for the next paragraph.
Logical Sequencing
There is a systematic approach to exploring topic.
Controlled Pacing
Details are provided in the right amounts; sentences vary in length.
Satisfying Conclusion
The piece should have meaningful ending.
Tips on Scoring the Trait of Organization
1.
Look for a powerful lead that truly sets up the piece and tells you the writer
knew where s/he was headed.
2.
Look for an insightful conclusion that shows the writer made some
discoveries and is hoping you did, too. The lead and conclusion should
connect.
3.
In a narrative look for a turning point, resolution, moment of discovery.
4.
In an expository piece, look for a most significant statement or statements.
5.
A persuasive essay should contain a primary argument or compelling
summary of several arguments. In short, there is a moment of significance
in most pieces of writing, and everything else leads up to, supports, or
winds down from that moment.
From Creating Writers page 60
Einstein
Use the Write Traits
rubric to score this
piece.
Handout page 35
Books that demonstrate the trait of organization…
Margaret Wise Brown
The Important Book
Robert Sneeden
YUCK! A Big Book of Little Horrors
Mem Fox
Tough Boris
Sneed Collard
Sea Snakes
Gary Paulsen
My Life in Dog Years
Janell Cannon
Stellaluna
Beatrix Potter
Peter Rabbit
Margery Cuyler
That’s Good! That’s Bad
Teaching the trait of Organization
Work on strong leads
Brainstorm transition words and use them
Practice the art of sequencing
Match organization pattern with the writing
Work on interesting endings
Handout pages 37-38
Ways to Organize Writing…
•Somebody wanted… but…. so …
•Main Idea and Support
•Solving the Mystery
•Comparison and Contrast
•Question and Answer
•Step by Step
•Chronological Recounts of events
•Most Important to Least Important
•Visual Patterns
•Point and Counterpoint
•Main Events
Handout pages 39-40
Ways to Organize
Technical Information
Identifying Organizational Patterns…how would you
organize these?
Handout pages 41-42
•Newspaper account of a traffic accident
•Recipe
•Short-story mystery
•History of a small town--how it began, how it’s evolved
•Description of the anatomy of a frog
•Medical textbook piece on how to perform an appendectomy
•Brochure on things to do in New England
•Description of how to treat a dog bite
•Account of a first home run
•Discussion on advantages and disadvantages of owning a pet
•Reasons to vote for a particular candidate
•Article on what it’s like to wear glasses vs. contact lenses
Sea Snakes Champion Divers
Can you put the
sentences in
order?
Handout page 43
Sea Snakes, by Snead Collard
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Word Choice
Surely Not!
Adjective in Detail
Handout pages 45-47
Crickwing
By Janell Canon
Pets are Forever
Use the Write Traits
technical rubric to score
this piece for word choice.
Handout pages 49-50
WORD CHOICE: What to look for…
Word Smithery
The writer uses words as tools.
Use of Active Verbs
The writing is lively and shows action.
Special Moments
The piece should contain a message that is meaningful.
Visual
Descriptions should be vivid enough that the reader can see what’s
happening.
Specific and Precise
Writer chooses the best words to express the purpose of the piece.
Tips on Scoring the Trait of Word Choice
Pretend you are holding a yellow marker in your hand, and just imagine
that you are going to highlight each word or phrase within a student’s
paper that strikes you or captures your attention---words and phrases
that seem right or noteworthy or commanding in some way. Perhaps you
wish you’d written them, or you think, “That’s original. I haven’t heard it
said quite like that.” Your word choice score is just a function of how often
the words and phrases grab your attention. Every line? That’s a 4. Often
that’s a 3 or 4. Sometimes? Perhaps a 3. Not sure? Maybe a 2. Not even
once? That’s a 1.
From Creating Writers page 62
Teaching the trait of Word Choice
Work on strong leads
Brainstorm transition words and use them
Practice the art of sequencing
Match organizational pattern with the writing
Work on strong conclusions
Books that demonstrate the trait of Word Choice…
Kevin Henkes
Julius
Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street
Janell Cannon
Crickwing
Mem Fox
Tough Boris
Pam Munoz Ryan
Hello Ocean
James Florian
Insectlopedia
Word Collections
Listen
Write or tally
‘rare’ words
and/or
phrases.
Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan Illustrated by Mark Astrella
crashing rumors
nooks
glistening
amazed
chameleon
bobbing
Pacific
coral reef
wafting
reeky
continents
tide that tickles
musty
briny
benthos
shushing
plankton
nekton
Appeared in the Minden local newspaper;
September, 2003
SENTENCE FLUENCY: What to look for…
Rhythm and Flow
Words should have natural a cadence when read or spoken.
Smooth Phrasing
Phrases add a lyrical quality when read or spoken.
Well-built Sentences
Complete sentences or fragments should express effectively
in the writer’s voice.
Different sentence lengths
Helps to establish rhythm, to add flair and drive the reader
onward.
Varied Sentence Beginnings
The piece should have sentences starting with different
words to avoid monotony.
Literature that demonstrates the trait of
William Shakespeare
Bill Nye Big Blast of Science
Sandra Cisneros Four Skinny Trees
Poetry of any kind
Speeches delivered by famous people
(www.americanrhetoric.com)
Rhythmic, repetitive texts
Tips on Scoring the Trait of Sentence Fluency
Try reading the text aloud. You don’t have to read the whole thing. Put
expression in it. Don’t be inhibited, or you’ll wind up scoring your own
inhibition and not what’s in the text.
Imagine you are reading for a part in a play. Does the text help you
give a good performance? Is it easy to relay meaning, nuances, flavor, feelings?
Can you awaken that sleepy guy in the back row? Do you feel like you’re
floating from one sentence to the next almost effortlessly? The piece gets a 4 in
fluency. Score down a bit of you bump along, need to stop frequently and
reread, or find yourself repeating patterns.
From Creating Writers page 62
Civil War
Look for descriptors that
fit this piece for sentence
fluency.
Handout page 51
Teaching the trait of Sentence Fluency
Read aloud from the most lyrical, rhythmic texts you can find
Ask students to read aloud
Invite students to take part in choral readings
Revise monotonous text to make it fluent
Write one sentence many different ways
Giant burrowing cockroaches have a common name.
They are are diggers.
They construct underground chambers.
The chambers are one to three feet down.
The chambers have a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade.
The temperature is the same all year round.
The cockroaches live on twigs and dry leaves.
They gather the twigs and leaves from litter around their dens.
Their digs are shared with centipedes and beetles.
Their digs are also shared with silverfish and other roaches.
Occasionally, their digs are shared with large frogs.
Handout page 52
“As their common name implies, giant burrowing cockroaches are
diggers, constructing underground chambers one to three feet
down, where the temperature is a comfortable twenty degrees
centigrade all year round. Here they live on fallen twigs and dry
leaves, gathered from the litter that surrounds their deep dens.
Their digs are often shared with centipedes, beetles, silverfish,
other roach species and occasionally, large frogs.”
From The Compleat Cockroach (p. 25) by David George Gordon
You are already teaching the Traits!
TTYN and discuss what you
are already doing to teach the
traits.
Handout pages 53-54
Quick Trait Quiz
Identify which trait is the problem.
Handout pages 59
Writing, I think, is not apart from living.
Writing is a kind of double living. The
writer experiences everything twice. Once
in reality and once in that mirror which
waits always before or behind.
-Catherine Drinker Bowen
Atlantic, December 1957
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Thank you for a great day!
Debbie Schraeder
dschraeder@esu3.org
402-597-4865