6 Traits of Writing

Like most schools in the nation, my school is currently working on explicitly teaching the 6 traits of writing.  I am providing several staff developments this school year  in which I show staff mini-lessons and activities that teach the 6 traits.  So far, we have discssed the Ideas trait, and I demonstrated through a flipchart how to get students to brainstorm ideas, make lists for ideas, narrow the idea, and elaborate on the idea. 

Some lists that help students generate ideas include:

•  People I'll never forget


• Animals I'll never forget


• Important places


• Favorite books/tv shows/movies


• My special skills/talents


• Biggest blunders


• Important beliefs


• Prized possessions


• Everyday topics (clean my room, wash the dishes, play with my sister)


• The basics of life (clothing, community, energy, exercise, faith, food, family, freedom, friends, health, laws, love, machines, plants, money, science/technology, work/play)

The next staff development on writing is going to be a distance learning in which participants will be able to create writing samples using items such as tangrams.  The professional development focuses on writing across the curriculum.  I am so excited to see how it goes!

Several colleagues approached me because the 6 traits is a foreign concept to them.  They needed a little instruction in what the 6 traits is.  I found these three one-pagers that help give the specifics of the 6 traits.  They are very good reference points.
6+1 Traits condensed
6 Trait One Pager
6 Trait resource