Strategies for teaching with the 6 Traits of Writing
IDEAS | ORGANIZATION | VOICE | WORD CHOICE | SENTENCE FLUENCY | CONVENTIONS
Trait of Ideas
Motivate with colorful sentences.
Encourage students to add more development—not just more topics.
Compare a paragraph to a table top and its supporting legs.
This same concept can be taught at any grade level—just use different anchor papers.
Steps 1 & 2: Know the topic & capture details
Choose topics students know well and write everything down.
Trait of Organization
Step 3: Sort related information.
Capture details on paper and in a “container.”
Identify ways that details could be the same or similar
PDF
Kindergartners learn three ways to organize information
Smartboard | PDF
Eighth graders sort the pros/cons of genetic engineering
Anchor Chart | List of Research | Sort Activity
Bring together steps 1 -3.
1. Identify a topic you know a lot about.
2. List many specific details/examples about that topic.
3. Physically sort the details into logical groupings.
Step 4: Label the sorted groupings.
The reason that you put the details together becomes the label for the grouping.
Step 5: Utilize organizers.
Introduce consistent and flexible graphic organizers to use in all grade levels and all content areas.
Step 6: Organize throughout the writing process.
Wean students off of blackline master organizers.
In lieu of teacher-provided tools, students create their own graphic organizers
Trait of Voice
Add voice to writing.
Remember that voice is not the personality of the writer—it’s his attitude about his topic.
Choose Voice
Food Fight Examples
Choose Voice
Example & Template
Trait of Word Choice
Start good word choice with labels.
Start out with single words, then advance to two-word labels that include adjectives and nouns.
Emphasize good word choice with Sensory Details lists.
Energize writing with action verbs.
Mentor Text
Informational Excerpts
Mentor Text
Literature Excerpts
Describe secret settings.
Consider word connotations.
Trait of Sentence Fluency
Focus on the basics of sentence writing.
Help students consider the necessary ingredients of every sentence.
Passing the Tower Test | Mini-Lesson Resources
Play Smackdown.
A sentence has a subject and a verb and is a complete thought. Teach students to strip any sentence down to its core— the subject & verb. Then play Jeff Anderson’s (Mechanically Inclined) “Sentence Smackdown.”
Set out on a 2-Sentence Search.
As a follow-up to Smackdown, collect two-word sentences from reading—a subject and a verb. Here are some examples found in various literature. NOTE: Exclude dialogue from the hunt, but don’t limit your search to literature/fiction.
- Look for two-word sentences in opinion/argumentative writing and all genres of informative text.
- Encourage students to look for examples in authentic text they come across in their everyday world (e.g., CD covers, restaurant placemats, greeting cards, etc.).
Help students stretch out their sentences.
Trait of Conventions
Make editing more concrete with Xray Editing.
Punctuation has a purpose—and can be fun.
Point out the purpose behind grammar and mechanic rules.
Create conventions characters.
Once students know of the end marks (and/or other inner-sentence punctuation), you could review each mark’s function and purpose in a sentence. More than simply the “rule,” students need to understand the different applications of the mark and how it impacts the sentence’s meaning and reading fluency. After assigning a punctuation mark to each first grader in her class, Melody Wolff (Homan Elementary in Schererville, IN) had students turn the marks into super heroes. Here is Period Girl.
