The 6 Traits of Writing: Overview and Practice

1. The 6 Traits of Writing:Overview and Practice Go ahead and get started on the GREEN SURVEY. . .

2. Introductions THINK: about yourself as a writer WRITE: what teacher or experience helped you to learn to write PAIR up to determine the top three concerns you have about teaching writing SHARE your name, content/grade level, and a topic/concern you would like addressed or outcome you’d like to leave with today.

3. Essential Vocabulary Writing Process Audience Content Organization Style Conventions Assessment Rubric

4. 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”

5. Say-Mean-Matter This is a great strategy for checking for understanding, and helping students connect learning to standards and essential questions . . . • Read the quote in the “SAY” column. • Paraphrase the quote (rewrite it in your own words as if you were the author) in the “MEAN” column. • Explain how you think the meaning of the quote relates to our WAC topic today.

6. Traits of Good Writing

7. 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.

8. “If the amount kids write is limited by what teachers have time to grade, there’s no way they’ll write enough to learn curriculum content.” -William Strong

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10. Best Practice Recommendations

11. Research • Writing Next Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). • Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education. • Best Practice Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., and Hyde, A. (1998). • Best Practice: New Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Books. • Classroom Instruction that Works Marzano, R. J., Gaddy, B. B., & Dean, C. (2000). • What works in classroom instruction. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

12. LTW vs. WTL Learning to Write a continual process that begins before kindergarten. Foundational skills are taught in English class, but each discipline also has its own conventions, and every teacher is a teacher of writing. Writing to Learn (WTL):writing as a tool for thinking; a way of empowering students to construct meaning, understand complicated arguments, connect the dots in their knowledge, and develop insights.

13. Writing to Learn • Effects • Cognitive Effect • Writing allows students to reflect on their learning. • Teaching Effect • Writing provides teachers with valuable formative and summative assessment information. • Expressive of learning • Exposes gaps in the writer’s reasoning

15. “Good assessment always begins with a vision of success.” ~Richard Stiggins, Student-Centered Classroom Assessment

16. 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)

17. “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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. Sequencing: Mix It Up Choose a short piece of text—a 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?

21. Word Choice • Your specific words • Precise vocabulary • Active, precise verbs “I do not choose the right word, I get rid of the wrong one.” A.E. Housman

22. 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

23. Voice 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, too—have students remove the voice from a strong piece of writing.

24. “The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~Mark Twain

25. Sentence Fluency • The rhythm of the language • Sentence clarity and patterns • Eliminating unnecessary words, vary sentence openings, and sentence lengths • Read writing aloud “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

26. 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.

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Presentation (the + 1) • Presentation zeros in on the form and layout—how 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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31. “The writing process is a means to an end and not an end in itself.” ~Ruth Culham

32. Principles of Quality Assessment • Has clear criteria • Demands self-assessment • Allows opportunities for revision and assessment • Sensitive to student developmental needs

33. Quality Writing Assessment • Clear criteria shared with students before writing • Models of writing that exemplify criteria • Process and product oriented • Authenticity • Formative tasks before summative tasks

34. Principles of Effective Feedback • Timely • Specific • Corrective • Consistent • Accurate

35. 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!

36. What do we value? Read your sample: • What do you notice about this student’s 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?

37. The grading dilemma: if I assign more writing, don’t I have to do more (ugh) grading? • Philosophical response: • View writing as not only a way to assess, but as an aid to learning – as part of the path from the assign to the assess. • We shouldn’t be graded for taking the time to flesh something out, to experiment, to conjecture. Mistakes are an essential part of learning! (think: learning to ride a bike, to knit, to parent, to teach) • Ask how you can hold accountable without grading extensively. • Do athletic coaches or music teachers grade the practice efforts?

38. The grading dilemma: if I assign more writing, don’t I have to do more (ugh) grading? • Practical response: • Grade one paragraph of a rough draft • Sample 10 learning logs one week, 10 the next, etc. • Ask students to choose their three best entries (without warning) for spot-grading • Give a + for a thoughtful response in a blog, a – for an apathetic response, a 0 for no response

39. For discussion at your tables: What is our current practice? What can we STOP doing? What should we do MORE of? Who needs to do what? (responsibilities) By when (timelines and deadlines) What resources are needed?

40. Writing in the Content Areas What happens when students receive consistent messages on the importance of expressing their reasoning and thinking in appropriate written form? Math, Science, Social Studies Standardized Test Scores “As time devoted to writing increases, test scores increase.” Writing Time + Assessment Using a Common Rubric Source: NASSP Bulletin 2000: “Standards are Not Enough”

41. Backwards Design • Identify desired results • Determine acceptable evidence • Plan experiences and instruction

42. Closing the Implementation Gap • Important Element of Assessment • Conferencing – the challenge is . . . The goal is . . . • Proficient: Five minute conferences with each student once per month AND I record needs for class mini-lessons • Progressing: Five minute conferences with each student once per month AND I keep track of needs in a systematic way • Does Not Meet Standards: Conference with students once per quarter, conferences are informal and do not address specific needs • Exemplary: Regular cycle of conferences (2x/month) with needs tracked by both me and student. Feedback/corrective teaching connects directly to specific student work. We also communicate in between F2F conferences digitally.

43. Setting Goals for Assessment Material studied during unit, but unlikely to be emphasized beyond this unit Material related to what student know and should be able to do as a result of unit (facts, concepts, principles, skills) Big ideas and abstract concepts within key curricular areas that students will revisit again and again

44. Identify Desired Results When we understand we: Can EXPLAIN Can INTERPRET Can APPLY Have PERSPECTIVE Can EMPATHIZE Have SELF-KNOWLEDGE

45. Academic Vocabulary • Analyze • Classify • Compare • Contrast • Define • Describe • Discuss • Evaluate • Examine • Explain • Identify • Illustrate • Interpret • Justify • List • Outline • Reflect • Refute • Review • State • Summarize • Support • Trace

46. Determine Acceptable Evidence Think like an ASSESSOR • What would be sufficient and revealing evidence of understanding? • How will I be able to distinguish between those who really understand and those who don’t (though they may seem to)? • Against what criteria will I distinguish work? • What misunderstandings are likely? How will I check for these?

47. Monitoring and Assessment •  Informal •  Formal •  Formative •  Summative •  Conferencing •  Rubrics

48. Prediction Paragraph Example: My teacher has asked me to make predictions/form hypotheses about ______________. The things I see in the photographs include _______________. (Add a few sentences of description and/or tell what you think it is.) I think we are going to study this because __________________. I would also like to learn about _______________________. These are my initial predictions/hypotheses.

49. Almost There . . .