The write traits writing program

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Featured Video. Instead, look above them, beyond them, or through them. This reinforces that the I do is a one-person monologue. Speak in the first person. Rather than questioning What could you do? Use only I, me, and my statements during a Think Aloud. Plan out every Think Aloud. They just do it! Since the skill is so automatic, it requires teachers to slow down and carefully consider their thinking process before attempting to teach it to students.

The Think Aloud portion of a lesson provides the explicit teaching students need. If Step 2 is the I do , then Step 3 is the We do. During this part of the lesson, the whole class works together to apply the skill with the teacher providing support.

Rather than calling on individuals during the mini-lesson, engage all students with opportunities to think through the skill. The challenge of getting every student involved in the learning is not a new one.

However, this procedure needs to be taught, practiced, and fine-tuned. They allow for all students to experience examples orally, which is significantly better than only students each experiencing a single written example at the board.

Step 4 closes the mini-lesson and sets students up for a response activity. Identify what you want students to do with the skill on their own. Consequently, keep the lesson short. Increase student engagement during a Six-Traits mini-lesson by incorporating a trigger.

Not only do visual aids add a level of energy and excitement, but they also help students remember the purpose and function of specific writing skills. When identifying a mini-lesson trigger, first consider the function of the writing skill. The key is to really understand the purpose the skill serves within writing. When do writers use the skill? Where do writers use the skill? Then, with that knowledge, brainstorm an object in the real world that functions similarly.

For example, when teaching students to write about a narrow topic or focused thesis statement , the goal is to show them how to go from a large, broad subject to something smaller, more finite.

Everyday items that get smaller are Russian stacking dolls, Tupperware, and nesting boxes. Reveal one of those objects within the lesson to demonstrate how a large subject can be narrowed down to a smaller, more focused topic. Step 2 of a mini-lesson often includes revealing examples of the skill in action.

Although workbooks and worksheets include examples, they are typically contrived and formulaic and lack the quality and sophistication of authentic sentences. Mentor text reveals the skill within real-world writing. No, you do not teach a new skill every day. You teach a mini-lesson every day, but the same skill will be taught across multiple days.

Consequently, plan multiple mini-lessons to teach a specific skill. This requires slowing down instruction—and expectations. Provide opportunities for students to first recognize the skill in mentor text before expecting them to try it and apply it within their own writing.

First, reveal excerpts of authentic text where the skill appears. The first mini-lesson focused on studying the skill as a reader. Day 2 transitions to Try It as a writer. Instruction must include the teacher modeling how to return to a previous draft and insert the skill in context.

This will again require Thinking Aloud during the lesson. Students must hear how an expert discerns when, where, and how to incorporate the skill within his own writing. DAY 3 The third day of a mini-lesson series transitions to lifelong acquisition. Teach students how to incorporate the skill while composing a first draft rather than as a revision technique as practiced the previous day.

This kind of instinctive application demonstrates mastery. PART 4. One of the most powerful aspects of the Six-Traits language is its application beyond instruction. Provide writers with clear feedback within formative assessments and daily conferences utilizing the same six ingredients of good writing. Literacy expert Carl Anderson has done extensive work in the area of writer conferencing. This type of formative assessment reveals the skills students are mastering but also what they need next instructionally.

Conferring with students is nothing new, and most teachers agree on the benefits of conferencing. However, this facet of writing can often be grueling for teachers. Such a conference is called a product conference as the teacher will spend minutes with an individual student going over all parts of his piece. The advantage of this meeting is that the teacher can point out numerous strengths and numerous areas for improvement in preparation for a final draft. While spending all this time with one student is powerful, the other 25 kids lack teacher feedback and support for a long time.

Although these types of conferences are important, product conferences should happen infrequently. Plan to conduct them only about three or four times a year in preparation for publishing a piece. In between, converse with students via frequent process conferences. The goal of a conference is to help students become better writers.

Students need feedback during all stages of the writing process—not just during the final revision and editing stages.

Unlike the longer product conference, a process conference lasts only a few minutes, and it can happen at any stage in the writing process. Students would rather have a few minutes of teacher feedback regularly versus 20 minutes once a month. They need to be in touch with the teacher more often, but they do not necessarily need to be one-on-one.

Leading a process conference with small groups of students allows more students to receive feedback more often. Group process conferences allow teachers to touch base with more students each day and provide a critical, formative assessment of where students are and what they need next. The most vital pieces of a writer conference include offering a specific trait compliment area of strength and comment area of weakness.

For example, Jeremy, your word choice in this piece is fantastic! Now, I am wondering about your sentence fluency. Most of your sentences are the same length, and your reader will appreciate some variety. Consider inserting some compound sentences and then put your draft through the Slinky Test.

Remember, a conference is nothing more than a conversation. However, with this approach, students have little ownership and may not understand some of the rubric language. Consequently, create a writing rubric with your students. Furthermore, this method honors the education research. With a kid-friendly Six-Traits rubric, you can provide students with individualized feedback on their writing. But contrary to popular belief, providing precise feedback to student writers does not have to involve an all-encompassing critique with the red pen.

Accompany each piece of student writing with a copy of the rubric. This approach helps teachers transition from simply fixing writing to focus on building writers. Use a Six-Traits writing rubric to assign grades This same kid-friendly analytic Six-Traits rubric can be used to generate grades as well.

Students earn a failing grade if they do not attempt the assignment i. However, submitting a product must qualify them for at least a D-. If a weak attempt is valued the same as no attempt i. Therefore, the lowest score on the rubric, a Level 1, needs to be within a passing range e.

Include at least one level that describes a product that knocks your socks off. Depending on the piece, different traits are emphasized. If students are only writing a first draft, then conventions would likely weigh less than the traits of ideas and organization. However, in poetry, word choice and sentence fluency might be valued more. Identify the traits you want to score and the point value that coincides with where you spent your instructional time.

Remember, they are trying to shoot at a target, so clearly define what it is. When it comes time to convert a rubric score to a grade, avoid the temptation to simply add up the levels as if they are points. Grundy, T. Graves, D. An examination of the writing processes of seven-year-old children.

Research in the Teaching of English, Vol 9, Jarmer, D. Journal of School Improvement, Vol 1, 2. Spandel, V. Boston: Pearson. Tompkins, G. Teaching Writing: Balancing process and product. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.