The 6+1 Writing Traits

The 6 + 1 Writing Traits

This week was a bit relaxing. Nevertheless, it was very informative. We learned about the 6+1 Writing Traits. The traits are used as a guide to assist students with their writing. It is hoped that with these traits, the students produce the best versions of their writing.

The traits are as follows:

                              Figure 1. Pinterest

Advantages of the 6 + 1 WRITING TRAITS

There are several advantages of employing the writing traits in composition lessons.

*Before we proceed to further elaborate on each trait, it is important to note that the traits can be reflected in the writing process. A proficient and skillful writer has some of these traits in every step of the writing process.

1.  The six plus one traits can be used as a guide for teachers to assess students writing.
2. It can help teachers to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in writing.
3. It can help teachers to set goals for writing.
4. It can assist teachers in giving feedback to students on their writing.

6 + 1 Trait	Description	Location in the writing process
Content and Ideas	It is the heart of the piece – as it focuses on the topic     All of the other traits are linked to this trait It involves choosing, developing and clarifying the topic	Pre-writing, drafting , editing, revising
Organization	It is a map for the writing        Hooks are used to grab readers’ attention, for example, an opinion, personal experience or a bold statement         It ensures the composition is structured in a logical way Transitions are used for further understanding of a text	Pre-writing, revising
Voice	Brings the writing to life and is referred to the writer’s style      If personal meaningful topics are chosen, the voice would be heard clearly      This allows you to hear someone speaking from the piece     The voice can be related to the writer writing short sentences and having tame writing i.e without graphic language	Pre-writing, drafting, revising *However, it must be recognized that the voice can occur throughout the entire writing process.
Word Choice	Students select words that carefully show the meaning       Imagery is created though colourful language and expressions        Students are encouraged to use strong verbs	Drafting, revising
Sentence Fluency	This involves the flow of language and sentences         This is the expression of ideas in writing (through phrases and words)           The writer’s ability of sentence structures	Revising
Conventions	This involves the mechanical correction in writing          Writing has to be proofread and edited      Students should be able to enhance the readability of their pieces.	Editing, publishing

Figure 2. Table describing the 6+1 Writing Traits

Do   you   want   to   know   why   it’s   called “6+1” ?

Presentation

The presentation is how the piece is laid out. Hopefully, you remember last week’s post with transcriptional writing. In our opinion the presentation trait of writing links best and entails those features of transcriptional writing.

Presentation is found in Publishing in the writing process.

Figure 3. Google Images 

Recommended Link

The following is a recommended link for activities teachers can incorporate into their lessons to develop the writing traits in students:

·  This link provides activities on the 6+1 Writing traits.

• https://www.k5chalkbox.com/6-trait-writing.html

References

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The Complete Caribbean Teacher Literacy. Pheonix: Pearson Education.

 Spandel, Vicki (2012) Creating Writers in the Primary Classroom: 6 Traits, Process,
        Workshop & Literature (6th edition). New York: Pearson

Thanks for reading! Until next Sunday… Goodbye!

A Teacher’s Guide - Classroom Writing Skills

A Teacher’s Guide - Classroom Writing Skills

Picture it… A Grade 5 Language Arts classroom…2016. Frustration is settling in with the class in relation to writing. Though it is understood that students need guidance when it comes to writing, it was thought by now, that these students would have mastered the skills to write narrative, exposition, process and letter writing with at least 75% accuracy. Luckily, thanks to the expert training in education, the teacher knows the skills that the students need in order to assist them to become better writers.

What is one way to define writing?

            

This week’s session opened with two views about writing, however, this one resonated with us best. It explained that writing begins with thought. Additionally, it highlighted the fact that overtime (due to reading material), thoughts can change and be refined. Therefore, students must be placed in an environment where they are free to think, refine and reject their own thoughts to improve their writing. The following are some questions that can be posed to students to help them with their writing:

Who am I writing for?

Why am I writing?

What will I write?

How will I organize it so it makes sense?

What is the most effect way to express my ideas?

The Two Aspects of Writing

            This week’s class focused on the two types of writing skills namely compositional writing skills and transcriptional writing skills. This topic was very useful and could have been appreciated by any teacher in training. It could not have come at a better time. It was informative, interesting and insightful. 

Compositional Writing Skills

Compositional Writing Skills deals with the general idea of what the piece is about. This may include and is not limited to:

• Planning and organizing thoughts
• Researching information on the topic
• Deciding on the audience
• Developing an interesting opening or closing
• Developing paragraphs with main ideas
• Drafting
• Asking for help

Transcriptional Writing Skills

Transcriptional Writing Skills on the other hand are deal with the finishing touches of the piece written. In our opinion, it focuses on how the reader would understand the piece written. In more elaborate terms, this includes:

·         Grammar

·         Spacing between words

·         Sentence structure

·         Spelling

·         Word usage

·         Handwriting

It was important for us to reflect on this week’s class and think about some of the issues we faced in the classroom before entering teachers’ college. We then thought and noted that sometime students, (especially our young and/or struggling students) may have trouble with managing and mastering the two skills simultaneously. Therefore, it is important for teachers to keep that in mind. If students are forced to focus on, for example, selecting a topic and generating ideas for a topic; and still spelling, sentence structure and their handwriting at the same time it may:

1.      Discourage students from writing

2.      Make students lose interest in writing

3.      Students may not be as creative with their writing as they should because

a.       Their brains are trying to process too many things at once

b.      They may not think that the writing is fun, but, too strict

So what are our suggestions you may ask?

1. Teachers should be patient with students’ when it comes to writing.
2. Teachers should employ the writing process in all forms of writing. (narrative, expository, etc.)
3. Teachers should understand that it is okay for students to make mistakes – just scaffold, model and assist where necessary.
4. Teachers should take time out to teach writing and incorporate writing strategies, (for example, journals, brainstorming, free writing, what's in the picture and focus sentences) and give students feedback to improve their writing.

Thanks for reading! Until next Sunday… Goodbye!

Trends and Challenges in the Teaching of Writing

The Trends and Challenges in the Teaching of Writing

5-minute read

Our world is constantly changing. Therefore, there is no surprise that our educational realm is changing as well. Our classrooms are faced with many changes from technological advances to diverse students to a curriculum that incorporates a skill-based education and lessons that are student-oriented. With these changes, both the trends and challenges in our language arts classroom, as it relates to writing, have emerged. In week one of the Promoting Writing in the Primary Schools course, the class was presented with the trends and challenges that both teachers and students face in regards to writing in the primary schools. The topic was most interesting and informative. We looked at the trends and challenges in writing and how it impacted teaching and learning locally.

Trends

We understood trends to mean items that are common and presently practiced within the classroom in regards to writing. Were we surprised! There were so many! Luckily, we narrowed the list to our top five:

1.  The different modes and subject areas are integrated - Teachers are trying to link subjects so the transfer of knowledge and information is smooth for students.

     2. There is the increased utilization of technology- Teachers are presenting students with videos and songs, along with PowerPoint presentations to make the language arts classroom more interactive and engaging.

    3. More teachers are incorporating writing strategies- From journal writing to exit slips, students have varied options in how they want to present the information they have learnt.

     4. There is the use of the writing process- More teachers are realizing that writing takes time and are allowing students to follow the sequence of the writing process so that they produce error-free pieces. 

     5. Students are writing for fun- No longer is writing just to answer items on a test, but, students are writing as a form of expression and enjoyment.

Challenges

We understood challenges, in this sense, to mean anything that may cause a problem or difficulty in teaching writing within the classroom. There was a lively discussion conducted within the session, and the challenges that were presented are, but not limited to:

  1. Students are limited to write on clichéd topics- “How was your summer vacation?” and “How to make lemonade” are two examples of clichéd topics students write about year after year that make students uninterested in writing.

  2. Inadequate feedback from teachers- Just as there is a process in writing, putting a grade to writing that students produce takes time for a teacher to go through thoroughly that most teachers do not enjoy and do not do.

 3. Teachers are only focused on the product, not the process- Teachers do not appreciate taking the necessary steps with their students to produce error-free writing, but, want the published piece to be as close to perfect.

 4. There is a reluctance to incorporate technology- Some teachers themselves are not versed with using technology; and, as a result, they refrain from taking technology to the classroom.

5. Students are spoon-fed- Instead of modelling, teachers tell students explicitly what to write, which stifles their creativity and desire to express themselves.

So what do we recommend?  Teachers should incorporate Writing Workshop so that time in the language arts classroom is spent on mastering one aspect at a time. Additionally, teachers should use graphic organizers to keep their students' interest with the topics presented.

Until next week Sunday, good-bye.

Links with recommendations:

1. What is the Writing Workshop?
https://www.weareteachers.com/what-is-writing-workshop/

2. YouTube video on with a Writing Workshop lesson

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uI2LBpCwyOE 

3. Article about graphic organizers

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/graphic-organizers-help-kids-writing

References

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The Complete Caribbean Teacher Literacy. Pheonix: Pearson Education.

 Spandel, Vicki (2012) Creating Writers in the Primary Classroom: 6 Traits, Process,

        Workshop & Literature (6th edition). New York: Pearson

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The Writing Room comprises of three upcoming teachers who partake in weekly creative, reflective and interesting writing about topics from our "Promoting Writing in the Primary Grades" course.



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