The trait model is more than an approach to assessing and teaching writing. As Ruth Culham explains in her book/DVD guide Inside the Writing Traits Classroom, the traits are also a vocabulary teachers use to describe their vision of what good writing - any kind of writing - looks like.
To incorporate this common vision into your lesson plans, it helps to see how other teachers effectively teach with the traits - Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation. Use the following resources to peek inside classrooms where teachers are using the traits model to pinpoint students' strengths and weaknesses to help them master specific writing skills.
Video Demonstration: A Lesson on Organization
Included Here:
- Articles (4)
- Collateral
- Unit Plans (1)
Articles
6+1 Traits for Revision
Covers the 6+1 traits of writing including ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation.
Inside the Writing Traits Classroom K-2
See an excerpt of a writing lesson plan and a video demonstration of how master teachers have successfully implemented the writing traits model in their primary classrooms
Mentor Texts for the Traits of Writing
Model the traits of writing for your students using the books and suggested teaching ideas in these lists.
Activities for Demonstrating the Traits of Writing
Learn how to adapt the Six-Traits writing model for use in your classroom. Kechia Williams, a middle school teacher in South Carolina uses the book, The Hickory Chair, in her mini-lesson to teach about ideas, organization, voice and conventions traits used in writing.
Collateral
Unit Plans
Writing Traits Instruction
Presents a unit that focus on writing assessment with the goal of teaching students to become more independent writer who are committed to the revision process.
- Subjects:Traits of Writing, Teacher Tips and Strategies
- Skills:Writing
