6 + 1 Traits of Writing

I attended a workshop this summer called Writing to Learn presented by the Northwest Regional Education Service District. Of all the things I did this summer, I think it was one of the most useful experiences I had. The workshop indicated the significance of using writing as a tool to learn, emphasizing the importance of writing during subjects such as science, social studies, and math as a way to better understand the concepts being learned.

Previously, writing for my first graders was simply writing in their journals. They were provided time to write about any topic they wished. Typical entries included stories about families, pets, and friends with some video game and super hero themes from the boys. Although this kind of writing is very important for young students, I realized during the workshop that writing can be about so much more than that! This year my class will learn through writing about amphibians, weather, states of matter, math story problems and much more!

We received a booklet containing images of many great graphic organizers and templates to utilize during writing to learn experiences. For anyone who teaches in Clatsop County, Columbia County, Tillamook County, of Washington County in Oregon, I highly recommend looking into when this course is available for teachers in your district! Not only is the class itself great, but you get a lot of great ideas and materials to bring back to your classroom.

During the class, there was discussion of the writing traits that are used to assess writing pieces for state assessments. I realized I was not at all familiar with these traits. I decided to take a peek at the new borders.com website to see if I could find a book describing these traits.

I found a great one!

6 + 1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades by Ruth Culham is a terrific resource for teachers who are newer to writing instruction. There is also another version available for teachers of grades three and up.

Culham thoroughly discusses the traits: ideas, sentence fluency, organization, word choice, voice, conventions, and presentation. She not only clearly explains each trait, but also includes a rubric for each trait ranging from "Ready to Begin" to "Established" and provides examples of student work at each level for each trait. She walks the reader through the process of assessing and explains her reasoning for the level she assigns. She also provides a list of picture books that correspond with each trait that can be used for helping students to better understand the traits. Additionally, the book contains kid friendly rubrics that can be presented to students so they know what is expected of them.

I highly recommend this book. I read it in one day and am very glad I did. It is a resource I will keep close by when assessing my students this year.