Focused Revision for

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Six Trait Writing

• Focused Revision for
• Student Success

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MPS Comprehensive Literacy Framework
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MPS Comprehensive Literacy Framework Area -
Writing Context - School Audience - Teachers
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MPS Comprehensive Literacy
Framework Area Writing / Context School
/Audience - Teachers
I. Curriculum Alignment (Carr Harris, 2001
Marzano, 2000) A. WI State Standards / MPS
Learning Targets 1. Create or produce writing
to communicate with different audiences for a
variety of purposes. 2. Plan, revise, edit and
publish clear and effective writing. 3.
Understand the function of various forms,
structures, and punctuation marks of standard
American English and use them appropriately
in written communication. B. Curriculum and
Instruction C. Assessment 1. Formative 2.
Summative II. Process (Graves, 2003 Murray,
1999 Elbow, 2000) A. Prewriting B.
Drafting C. Revising D. Editing E. Publishing
F. Reflecting III. Developmental Stages (Teale
Sulzby, 1986) A. Pre-emergent B. Emergent C.
Early D. Developing E. Established IV.
Components of Writing (Dietrich, 1974 Spandel,
2001) A. Ideas B. Organization C. Voice D.
Word Choice E. Sentence Fluency and Variety F.
Conventions V. Approaches (Hill, Mallow
Patterson, 1999) A. Shared Writing B. Modeled
Writing C. Interactive Writing D. Guided
Writing E. Writers Workshop F. Independent
Writing
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Six Trait Writing Enhances What Effective
Teachers, Schools and Districts are Already Doing

• Currently
• Students earn holistic scores (0-4) from the
  most writing assessments. These scores derive
  from summative rubrics and can provide teachers,
  parents, schools and members of the community
  with a snapshot of student performance. Holistic
  scoring provides an overall rating of student
  writing.

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Holistic (summative) scoring alone does not

• improve a student's ability
• to write.

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Students need more than an overall score to
improve.

• We must be able to analyze their writing and
  break it down into strengths and weaknesses (look
  at it analytically as well as holistically).
• Teachers must break down the components of traits
  such as organization into teachable elements
  (e.g. leads, sequencing, pacing, transitions and
  conclusions).
• Students must understand what makes good writing
  work, how to accurately assess it and how to
  employ purposeful revision and editing strategies
  to enhance their own work (life-long learning).

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Writing by nature is holistic. An analytic
approach simply makes revision manageable.

• (from Creating Writers
• by Vicki Spandel)

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I always did well on essay tests. Just put
everything you know on there, maybe youll hit
it. And then you get the paper back from the
teacher and shes written just one word across
the top of the page, vague. I thought vague
was kind of vague. Id write underneath it
unclear, and send it back. Shed return it to
me, ambiguous. Id send it back to her,
cloudy. Were still corresponding to this day
hazy muddy Jerry Seinfeld (Sein
Language Bantam Books 1993)
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To improve, students must

• Know what good work looks like
• Compare their work to the standard
• Understand how to close the gaps
• --Royce Sadler (Australian Researcher)

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Studies show that most teachers
spend a superhuman number of hours scoring
writing. To help students improve, it would help
to have a common vocabulary that everyone was
familiar with students, teachers,
parents--everyone.
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The research foundation of Six Trait Writing is
formative assessment.

• Formative Assessment FOR Learning
• Summative Assessment OF Learning

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According to Dr. Rick Stiggins of the Assessment
Training Institute, there are seven specific ways
to use Assessment FOR Learning
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Specific Ways to Use Assessment FOR Learning
STRATEGY 1 PROVIDE A CLEAR VISION OF THE
LEARNING TARGET TO THE LEARNER STRATEGY 2 USE
MODELS OF STRONG AND WEAK WORK
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Specific Ways to Use Assessment FOR Learning
STRATEGY 3 OFFER REGULAR EFFECTIVE
FEEDBACK (MEANINGFUL, ACCURATE, TIMELY,
SPECIFIC) STRATEGY 4 TEACH STUDENTS TO
SELF-ASSESS AND SET GOALS
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Specific Ways to Use Assessment FOR Learning
STRATEGY 5 DESIGN LESSONS TO FOCUS ON ONE
ASPECT OF QUALITY AT A TIME STRATEGY 6 TEACH
STUDENTS FOCUSED REVISION
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Specific Ways to Use Assessment FOR Learning
STRATEGY 7 ENGAGE STUDENTS IN SELF-REFLECTION,
KEEPING TRACK OF THEIR LEARNING, AND SHARING
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The Six Trait Model for Writing Instruction and
Assessment has an easy-to-understand, practical
vocabulary that can be adapted to fit
kindergarten through 12th grade (and beyond) in a
variety of modes and genres of writing.

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This model has the potential to improve teaching
and learning.

• Paul Diederichs 1974 article (Measuring Growth
  in English. Urbana, IL NCTE.) reported English
  teachers averaged 130 papers and 8 minutes spent
  on each for a total of 18 hours per assignment.
• Teachers who use the Six Trait Model have
  acknowledged improvement in
• their own confidence in the accuracy of their
  scoring
• their tools for explaining grades to student
  writers
• their ability to make revision suggestions

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Five very clear categories (which have come
be known as traits) emerged

• 1. Ideas
• This was the biggest one with sub-points of
  richness, soundness, clarity, development and
  relevance to the writers purpose and topic.
• 2. Mechanics
• This was the second biggest usage, sentence
  structure, punctuation, and spelling.
• 3. Organization
• The third biggest the internal structure,
  sequencing/pattern of ideas
• 4. Wording/ phrasing
• The fourth biggest rich, colorful precise
  language graceful flow of language.
• 5. Flavor
• The smallest significant category style,
  individuality, originality, interest, and
  sincerity.

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Based on Diederich's research and the work of
teachers across the country, Vicki Spandel, NWREL
and others created the rubrics most often used
today with these six traits.

• Ideas and Content
• Organization
• Voice
• Word Choice
• Sentence Fluency
• Conventions

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In the Six Trait Model each trait has a number of
descriptors for good writing. These
descriptors came out of Diederichs study
with modifications from classroom teachers.

• Ideas
• clear
• controlling idea
• focused/ narrowed
• sufficient information
• insightful
• original
• interesting details
• complete

• Organization
• inviting opening/lead
• obvious direction/ logical progression
• effective sequencing
• connected-ness
• smooth transitions
• good pacing
• strong sense of conclusion

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• Word Choice
• appropriate to audience purpose
• active, energetic verbs
• precise, concrete nouns
• new twists on everyday words
• minimal redundancy
• accuracy of expression
• paints vivid pictures
• creative, memorable word
• combinations

• Voice
• obvious person
• behind the words
• writer is committed/
• involved with topic
• reaches out/ connects
• to audience
• energetic, lively
• consistent tone
• definite point of view

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• Conventions
• correct spelling
• correct/effective punctuation
• appropriate grammar/ usage
• correct capitalization
• designed to make reading easy

• Sentence Fluency
• graceful, easy to read aloud
• natural, pleasant rhythm
• structure enhances meaning
• effective, smooth phrasing
• effective use of conjunctions transitions
• variety in length, type structure of sentences

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There are clear connections between these
traits and our MPS Writing Rubric

• 4 ADVANCED / EXCEEDING
• Ideas clearly communicated
• Ideas well organized and elaborated
• Authors personality imprinted on the writing
  task (voice)
• Effective word choice enriched vocabulary
• Sentence fluency and variety
• Minimal errors in capitalization, punctuation,
  grammar, usage, and spelling conventions do not
  interfere with fluency or comprehension

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The Six Trait approach to teaching and
assessing writing can help the teacher
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Professional development in the form of
workshops, courses, books, videotapes, etc. is
available from a variety of sources.

• Barry Lane The Revisers Toolbox
• Vicki Spandel Creating Writers and Creating
  Young Writers
• Ruth Culham 6 1 Traits of Writing The
  Complete Guide
• Houghton Mifflin Write Traits Kits
• Plus dozens of websites, resource and support
  materials and a variety of training opportunities
  across the country

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Teachers who use the traits often use one,
all, or any combination of the following steps

• 1. Introduce a trait by talking about the
  concept.
• 2. Provide an example through interesting
  literature.
• 3. Engage in hands-on activities to help students
  understand what the trait is and how to improve
  it, using targeted revision and editing
  strategies.
• 4. Guide them through the analysis of anonymous
  sample papers.
• 5. Provide plenty of modeling and practice.

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Teachers can choose examples of writing according
to what trait students are learning and what
subject they are learning.

• IDEAS Bud, Not Buddy by
• Christopher Paul Curtis, Where the Wild Things
  Are by Maurice Sendak and In a Sunburned Country
  by Bill Bryson
• ORGANIZATION What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman,
  Amos and Boris by William Steig and The Five
  People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• VOICE The House on Mango Street by Sandra
  Cisneros, Cosmos by Carl Sagan and The Best
  Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

• WORD CHOICE Avas Man by Rick Bragg, Come On
  Rain! By Jon J. Muth and The Twits by Roald Dahl
• SENTENCE FLUENCY Slam! by Walter Dean Myers,
  Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks and Koala Lou
  by Mem Fox
• CONVENTIONS Math Appeal by Gregg Tang, Miss
  Alanieus by Debra Frasier and Speak by Laurie
  Anderson

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To Summarize. . .
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Six Trait Writing
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Six Trait Writing
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What you can do now
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1. Empower students with the knowledge,
reasoning, and skills needed to help them improve
their own writing 2. Learn the elements of each
trait 3. Learn how to help students use
strategies to revise each element (not work on
your organization but how might you enhance the
conclusion and bring your writing to a satisfying
end?
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When you teach me, teach me one thing at a
time. -Albert Einstein