Understanding the Traits

In class we're beginning to put the pieces together, and understand how the Writing Process and the 6-Traits fit together, as we compose our stories. 

                                    Prewriting
                                         Ideas/Focus
                                   
                                    Drafting
                                         Organization
           
                                    Revising
                                         Word Choice
                                         Sentence Fluency
                                         Voice         
           
                                    Editing
                                         Conventions

                                    Publishing

This past week we looked at the definitions of each trait.  I asked the kids to take a few minutes each night to learn these definitions, in preparation for the 6-Traits quiz next week (Thur. 9/22).  Have your students study pages 13, 14, and 15 in their writing composition book, these activities will help to put the definitions to memory.  It is important that the kids be able to apply each of these traits to various scenarios.  For example, I might give a scenario similar to the one below, and the student will need to be able to apply their prior knowledge by telling me which trait is being corrected. 

Sample Quiz Question:

Toby had Lisa read his draft to help him with the Revising section of the Writing Process.  When Lisa was finished reading, she gave Toby some suggestions.  She told him that his paper had a lot of "babyish" words.  She thought he should go back, with a thesaurus, to come up with words that are more appropriate for a 4th grader.  Which trait will Toby be working in to correct his paper?

Answer:

Word Choice, we know this because Lisa referred to his story as having "babyish" words.  Words that are not clear, precise, and colorful.

Looking Ahead:


The coming week will find us diving into EXPANDERS!  This is one of my favorite concepts to teach, because I get to witness a lot of "Ah ha" moments.  "So... THAT's what you meant when you said to add details... OHHH, I get it!"  It’s so much fun to see them "figure it out"!  We will begin with the WHERE expander, and practice composing longer more detailed sentences that tell "where" something is taking place.  For a more detailed description of expanders, please go to the Parent Resource section to the right of this post, and click on the link that says, "What are Expanders?".

Just a reminder... we have now finished our 2nd week of nightly journaling, however there are still some students who think that this exercise is an option.  Please remember that your child should be writing in their nightly journal (or notebook paper, if they do not have a journal) four nights a week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  They can write about ANYTHING that is on their mind at the time.  The content of the journal entry will not be graded.  I will only be looking to see that each student has met the minimum requirements, of 5 - 10 complete sentences written in PARAGRAPH form.  Each week of journaling will be worth 20 pts. and 5 weeks of journaling, will give the student an easy 100 in the grade book, under the composition section.  I hope to see all students journaling this week, and I will be checking for completion this Friday, Sept. 23.  Thank you parents, for all of your support in this matter.