6-Trait Writing Instruction and Assessment

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6-Trait Writing Instruction and Assessment
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How Did You Learn to Write?

• I always did well on essay tests. Just put
  everything you know on there, maybe youll hit
  it. And then you get the paper back from the
  teacher and shes written just one word across
  the top of the page, vague. I thought vague
  was kind of vague. Id write underneath it
  unclear, and send it back. Shed return it to
  me, ambiguous. Id send it back to her,
  cloudy. Were still corresponding to this day
  . . . hazy . . . muddy . . .
• Jerry Seinfeld, SeinLanguage

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• Nothing frustrates a young writer or an older
  writer more than looking at a finished piece
  and knowing it isnt very good, but not knowing
  what to do about it.
• Tommy Thomason

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Questions to Consider

• How do we teach studentsand how do students
  learnto write well?
• What do we look for when grading students
  writing, and how do we explain those grades to
  students?
• How do we teach students to revise their own
  writing? How do we show them specific ways to
  improve?

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What do we value in writing?

• Read Redwoods
• What do you notice about this students writing?
• Identify its major strengths and weaknesses.
• Share your observations with a partner.
• Discuss what advice you would give this writer.
• What grade level is this writer? What was the
  prompt?
• 11th grade
• Write about a memorable place.

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What do we value in writing?

• Read Mouse Alert
• What do you notice about this students writing?
• Identify its major strengths and weaknesses.
• Share your observations with a partner.
• Discuss what advice you would give this writer.
• What grade level is this writer? What was the
  prompt?
• 7th grade
• Write about your summer vacation.

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Objectives In the next 60 minutes . . .

• Learn the language of the six traits
• Learn how focus lessons can be used to help
  students improve their writing trait by trait
• Understand how the six traits relate to the
  writing process
• Understand how the six traits create an important
  link between assessment and instruction

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The Six Traits A Brief History

• Originated in Oregon in the 1980s
• Vicki Spandel, NWREL researchers, and 17 teachers
• Purpose to develop a consistent vocabulary for
  defining good writing/writing instruction to
  create an assessment rubric to be used across all
  grade levels
• Evaluated thousands of papers (all grade levels)
  and identified common characteristics of good
  writing
• Those qualities became the six traits

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The Six Traits of Good Writing

• Ideas
• Organization
• Voice
• Word Choice
• Sentence Fluency
• Conventions
• (1) Presentation

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Defining Ideas

• Ideas make up the content of the piece of
  writingthe heart of the message. (Culham)
• The ideas are the heart of the message, the
  content of the piece, the main theme, together
  with the details that enrich and develop that
  theme. (NWREL)

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• When I was in school I thought details were
  just extra words to add in a story to make it
  better. I thought detail was decoration or
  wallpaper . . . Details are not wallpaper they
  are walls.
• Barry Lane

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Teaching Ideas

• For students to arrive at good content, we must
  help them
• Select an idea (the topic)
• Narrow the idea (focus)
• Elaborate on the idea (development)
• Discover the best information to convey the idea
  (details)

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Narrowing the Idea R.A.F.T.

• R.A.F.T. stands for . . .
• Role of the writer
• Audience for the piece of writing
• Format of the material
• Topic or subject of the piece of writing
• Example You are Jerry Spinelli, author of the
  delightful novel, Stargirl. Design a three-part
  advertising campaign that will assist you and
  your publisher to convince one of the major movie
  studios to buy the movie rights and make a
  feature film based on the book.

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Elaborating on Ideas

• Ask Me a Question
• In groups of three, students take turns reading
  their writing aloud to the group.
• The listeners do not comment. Instead, they
  write down three questions they have (things they
  want to know more about) and give them to the
  writer.
• This helps the writer become more aware of
  details he or she might want to add during
  revision.

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Defining Organization

• Organization is the internal structure of the
  piece, the thread of meaning, the logical pattern
  of the ideas. (Culham)
• Organization is the internal structure of a piece
  of writing, the thread of central meaning, the
  logical and sometimes intriguing pattern of the
  ideas. (NWREL)

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• Good prose is architecture.
• Ernest Hemingway

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Teaching Organization

• Strategies for effective organization include
• Beginning with an inviting and focusing
  introduction
• Providing thoughtful links between key points and
  ideas
• Employing a logical, purposeful, and effective
  sequence
• Controlling the pacing
• Closing with a satisfying conclusion

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Sequencing Mix It Up

• Choose a short piece of texta poem, a magazine
  article, a short story, etc.
• Cut the text into pieces so students can move
  them around like a puzzle.
• Ask students, in groups, to put the parts in
  order. Which comes first, second, third, last?
  How do you know?
• If students disagree, discuss the different ways
  students have organized the parts. Are they
  logical and effective?

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Introductions Share Examples

• Use mentor texts to show students a variety of
  ways to begin, and post a list on the wall.
• A thought-provoking question
• A hint of the conclusion
• An anecdote
• An indication of main points
• A dramatic or eye-opening statement
• A quotation
• Encourage students to add to the list as they
  discover additional models in their independent
  reading.
• Variations Sorting Leads, Matching Openers and
  Closers

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Defining Voice

• Voice is the soul of the piece. Its what makes
  the writers style singular, as his or her
  feelings and convictions come out through the
  words. (Culham)
• The voice is the heart and soul, the magic, the
  wit, along with the feeling and conviction of the
  individual writer coming out through the words.
  (NWREL)

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• We must teach ourselves to recognize our own
  voice. We want to write in a way that is natural
  for us, that grows out of the way we think, the
  way we see, the way we care. But to make that
  voice effective we must develop it, extending our
  natural voice through the experience of writing
  on different subjects for different audiences, of
  using our voice as we perform many writing
  tasks.
• Donald Murray, Write to Learn

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Teaching Voice

• Voice emerges when the writer
• Allows the writing to sound like him/herself
• Shows that he/she really cares about the idea
• Writes with energy and enthusiasm
• Writes with the reader in mind
• Takes risks to make the writing memorable
• Matches the writing to its audience and purpose

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Learning to Hear Voice in Literature

• Collect short passages that exemplify strong or
  distinctive voice, put them on overheads, and
  read them aloud.
• Have students discuss what they think they know
  about the writer (or narrator)
• Is the writer young or old? male or female?
• What feeling does the writer want to communicate?
• Does the writer care about this piece of writing?
• What kind of audience is the writer addressing?
• How do you know these things? What aspects of
  the text led you to these conclusions?

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More Ideas for Teaching Voice

• Greeting Cards Collect a variety of birthday
  cards, and have students sort them romantic,
  sarcastic, sincere, cute, sentimental, etc.
• Voice In, Voice Out Give students a piece of
  text that lacks voice (instruction manual,
  textbook, memo, etc.) and invite them to add as
  much voice as possible. Read the two versions
  aloud and discuss the differences. Try it the
  other way, toohave students remove the voice
  from a strong piece of writing.
• New Voices, New Choices Have students write the
  first sentence of a letter (on the same topic)
  for five different audiences.

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Defining Word Choice

• Word choice is at its best when it includes the
  use of rich, colorful, precise language that
  moves and enlightens the reader. (Culham)
• Word choice is the use of rich, colorful, precise
  language that moves and enlightens the reader.
  (NWREL)

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• The difference between the almost-right word
  and the right word is really a large matterits
  the difference between the lightning bug and the
  lightning.
• Dont say the old lady screamed. Bring her on
  and let her scream!
• Mark Twain

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Teaching Word Choice

• Teaching word choice involves
• Striking Language Sharpening students
  descriptive powers
• Exact Language Using lively verbs, precise
  nouns, and accurate modifiers
• Natural Language Making it sound authentic
• Beautiful Language Choosing colorful words and
  phrases
• Ruth Culham, 61 Traits of Writing

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Descriptive Limits

• Put this prompt on the board Write about a
  moment when you were unbelievably scared.
• As a class, discuss possible ways to approach the
  topic.
• When everyone seems ready to begin writing, tell
  them that the words scare, frighten, fright,
  fear, fearful, afraid, spook, startle, terror,
  terrorize, terrify, panic, cold sweat, shock,
  surprise, dread, turn pale, hair stand on end,
  blood run cold, and teeth chatter are all off
  limits.
• After students have time to write, debrief the
  experience. What did they discover? How did
  this activity make them more (or less) creative
  in their word choice?

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The Game of Connotations

• I am selective.
• You are choosy.
• She is fussy.
• I am energetic.
• You are jumpy.
• He is unable to sit still.

• I am confident.
• Your are self-assured.
• He is conceited.
• Challenge students to come up with their own
  examples.

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Expanding Small Phrases into Bigger Ones

• You cant support an elephant on a step ladder.
• Notice the difference between these two
  sentences
• The wind was strong.
• The wind fumed and shrieked about the house,
  yanking at the loose shingles.
• Have students use vivid verbs, colorful
  adjectives, and precise nouns to rewrite
  sentences such as
• The dog was hungry.
• The house was empty.
• My sister got mad.
• The rain came down.
• My shoes were tight.

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Words, Words, Words Everywhere

• Use Word Walls and more to create a
  print-rich classroom environment
• Keep strips of colored paper handy so students
  can record cool words they discover during
  reading and writing activities.
• Color code them according to parts of speech
  precise nouns, descriptive adjectives, energetic
  verbs.
• Post them on the walls, windows, ceiling, etc.

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Defining Sentence Fluency

• Sentence fluency is the flow of the language, the
  sound of word patternsthe way the writing plays
  to the ear, not just to the eye. (Culham)
• Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of the
  language, the sound of word patterns, the way in
  which the writing plays to the earnot just to
  the eye. (NWREL)
• Fluent writing is graceful, varied, rhythmic, and
  powerful.

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• Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no
  accident. Very few sentences come out right the
  first time, or even the third time.
• William Zinsser, On Writing Well

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Teaching Sentence Fluency

• Helping students improve their sentence fluency
  means teaching them to
• Use a variety of sentence lengths
• Use a variety of sentence beginnings
• Use a variety of sentence structures
• Use repetition of sounds, words, and phrases to
  create patterns
• Create writing that can be read aloud with ease

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Sentence Stretching

• Ask each student to write a simple sentence of
  4-5 words at the top of a sheet of paper.
• (Example Matthew ate a pizza.)
• Students pass the paper to the next student who
  must add or change one element to make the
  sentence more specific and interesting.
• After the paper has been passed to 10-12 people,
  it is returned to the original owner.
• Students write their revised sentences on the
  board for all to see.

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End With a Noun

• Experiment with one of your sentences.
• Try ending it with different parts of speech.
• Decide which is the most effective.
• A rolling stone gathers no moss. (noun)
• If a stone rolls, hardly any moss with be
  gathered. (verb)
• If you are concerned about moss gathering on a
  stone, roll it. (pronoun)
• When trying to rid yourself of moss, roll the
  stone quickly. (adverb)
• If you roll the stone, the moss will become
  smooth. (adjective)

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Defining Conventions

• Conventions represent the pieces level of
  correctnessthe extent to which the writer uses
  grammar and mechanics with precision. (Culham)
• Conventions are the mechanical correctness of the
  piecespelling, grammar and usage, paragraphing,
  use of capitals, and punctuation. (NWREL)
• Conventions include anything a copy editor might
  deal with.
• The whole purpose of this trait is to enhance
  readabilityto make the writing enticing and
  accessible to the reader.

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• Editing is easy, all you have to do is cross
  out the wrong words.
• Mark Twain

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Teaching Conventions

• Teaching students the correct use of conventions
  includes lessons that focus on
• Spelling correctly when publishing work
• Applying basic capitalization rules with
  consistency
• Using appropriate punctuation marks to guide the
  reader
• Using appropriate grammatical structures to
  communicate ideas clearly and convincingly

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Tips for Teaching Conventions

• Get a good sense of what students know and what
  they still need to learn.
• Teach the skills that are developmentally
  appropriate for students to add to their
  repertoire of conventions.
• Allow for plenty of practice, time to experiment,
  and opportunities to apply the new skills in
  their writing.
• Hold students accountable for the specific skills
  for which they have an understanding.
• Use wall charts and mentor texts.

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Presentation (the 1)

• Presentation zeros in on the form and layouthow
  pleasing the piece is to the eye. (Culham)
• Presentation makes the piece easy to read
• Margins are even layout is effective.
• Handwriting or font is legible and clear.
• Illustrations are appropriate and well-placed.
• Everything contributes to the effectiveness of
  the writing.

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Why Use the Six Traits?

• It provides a common language for teachers and
  students to use in teaching and learning about
  the craft of writing.
• It provides consistency in writing assessment and
  a shared vocabulary for giving feedback to
  students.
• It provides a guiding focus for writing
  instruction and the tools students need to revise
  their own writing.

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Why is the 61Trait Model an Effective Teaching
Tool for Writing Instruction?

• Defines good writing in a specific way for the
  teacher and the student
• Provides a way to delineate areas of individual
  strengths and areas of challenge
• Allows for greater consistency and accuracy in
  assessment
• Provides a common vocabulary for vertical and
  horizontal alignment of instruction
• Develops all of the traits evaluated in state
  assessment
• Provides a clear link between reading and writing
• Enables students to become self-assessors

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• The writing process is a means to an end and
  not an end in itself.
• Ruth Culham

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The Traits and the Writing Process

• Prewriting Ideas, Organization, Voice
• Drafting Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word
  Choice, Sentence Fluency
• Revising All traits except conventions
• Editing Conventions
• Publishing Presentation

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Two Groups of Traits

• Revision Traits
• Individual, creative, complex, and messy
• Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence
  Fluency
• Editing Traits
• Predetermined, correct, and exacting
• Conventions, Presentation
• Coach students to keep conscious editing out of
  the prewriting and drafting process most editing
  should occur after revision of ideas occurs.

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• Good assessment always begins with a vision of
  success.
• Richard Stiggins,
• Student-Centered Classroom Assessment

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• We must constantly remind ourselves that the
  ultimate purpose of evaluation is to enable
  students to evaluate themselves.
• Arthur Costa

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The Traits and Assessment

• The 6-Trait rubrics can be used by
• Self, peer, teacher
• To assess
• A single trait, a group of traits, all the traits
• The 6-Trait rubrics can also be used as
• A tool for vertical and horizontal curriculum
  alignment
• An instrument for grade-level, school, or
  district measurement
• Assessment is not the end of the writing process.
• It is the bridge to revision.
• 6-Trait Writing is all about revision!

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• Assessment is not the private property of
  teachers. Kids can learn to evaluate their own
  writing. They must take part in this . . . it is
  central to the growth of writing. Even before
  they write, they need to know about what makes
  writing strong or effective. And they need to
  know the criteria by which their own writing will
  be judged.
• Marjorie Frank

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Where do I begin?

• Establish a writing community in your classroom
  based on the whole writing process.
• Focus your mini-lessons, assessment, and revision
  on the traits, preferably one at a time.
• Use the vocabulary of the traits when reading and
  discussing texts.
• Were teaching our students to write, not to
  trait. (Ruth Culham, 61 Traits of Writing)

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The Traits and Instruction

• Introduce the concept of the writing traits
• Immerse students in writers language
• Teach students to be assessors of their own and
  others work guide them through analysis of
  anonymous sample papers use self-assessment in
  revising and goal setting
• Share strong and weak examples from many
  different sources (including literature and
  student writing) to illustrate each trait
• Use focused lessons that target each trait
  include hands-on activities to help students
  develop skills and deepen their understanding
• Provide numerous opportunities for students to
  practice focused revision and editing of their
  own work as well as the work of others model
  writing and let students coach you

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• Think of how many teachers you had who actually
  helped you with your writing. Most people can
  name one or two. I say to teachers, Be that one
  teacher for a child.
• Donald Graves

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Resources

• Culham, Ruth. 61 Traits of Writing The
  Complete Guide. New York Scholastic, 2003.
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
  http//www.nwrel.org/assessment/
• Spandel, Vicki. Creating Writers Through 6-Trait
  Writing Assessment and Instruction. 3rd ed. New
  York Addison Wesley Longman, 2001.
• Spandel, Vicki. Write Traits 6-Trait
  Instruction and Assessment. San Antonio. 24-26
  Oct. 2005.