Six Traits of Writing

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Posted October 10th, 2007 by admin
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Writing for REAL audiences is key to success!
This list was created by Buhler, KS teachers.

  • Class newspaper or newsletter
  • Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, a company president, principal, or another authority (hot topics)
  • Blog about novels with another classroom
  • Showcase writing in businesses (decorated place mats with the artwork and writing displayed)
  • Santa letters (lower grades wrote a letter to Santa...upper grades responded as Santa)
  • Write sections of a grant
  • Packet for new families (could include a cd, brochures, information about the school written and produced by kids)
  • Open house brochure for parents
  • Recipe book or another technical piece for someone else to follow (http://www.monsterexchange.org)
  • Utilize pictures to communicate thoughts (http://www.voicethread.com)
  • Classroom to classroom letters comparing your environment, culture, etc. (Kansas to California, etc.)
  • Write a Reader's Theatre for a book.
  • Welcome letter (to a new student, another classroom, a new person in the neighborhood, or leader in your community)
  • Procedures for classroom, lunchroom, recess, literacy centers, independent reading, daily jobs, and hallway
  • School alphabet book
  • Vistor’s guide (to the school, classroom, community)
  • “All About” books (all about a science experiment, unit of study, book, special person, etc.)
  • Class journal (daily happenings, major things learned)
  • Letter to the principal requesting something or inviting her to a learning celebration
  • Advice (to parents of new babies, next year’s students, to teachers, new students)
  • What to do if (spider bite, when you are bored, when you’ve done something hurtful)
  • Recipes
  • Favorite foods (hobbies, places, people)
  • Book reviews for the library (school or community library)
  • Thank you notes (volunteers, visitors, crossing guards, custodians, previous teachers, school secretaries, librarians, parents)
  • Letters of encouragement (to students taking tests, soldiers, Seniors)
  • A book about the teachers at our school
  • Short plays
  • After reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, write a letter to a favorite candy company (some will send great treats back!).

The ideas below were generated by participants of the 6 Trait Workshop in 2005 and 2007.

IDEAS AND CONTENT:

  • Write about a hero in your life.
  • Use inspiration software, brainstorm lists and classify into paragraphs.
  • Utilize graphic organizers.
  • Write a story about a haircut you've had.
  • Use pictures from calendars for story prompts.
  • Utilize a Writer's Notebook.
  • Play a tape of sounds and have students brainstorm ideas of what is happening.
  • Choose a story starter.
  • Read The Pain and the Great One. What makes your pain a pain? Proof!
  • Provide a picture of an animal they are not familiar with. They have to describe the physical description and how it applies to their life (the animal's life).
  • Write about the best thing that ever happened to you.
  • Brainstorm a list on a theme for - Setting, Characters, Problems. Then the students choose 1 from each category to write their story.
  • Listing - places (been or like to go), people (met or like to meet), things (done or would like to do).
  • Read Mrs. Rumphius and talk about the heart of the message and then have students write a paragraph about how to make the world a better place.
  • Brainstorm about things a card makes you think of and then write about it.
  • Write a story about a key that each student receives (different shape, sizes, etc..)
  • Beginning of school year write a paragraph.
  • Choose a social studies unit ex: American Revolution/Ben Franklin - write a historical fiction story.
  • Choose a topic and then talk about how to focus on a "slice of the pie." Divide the topic into smaller pieces.
  • Use your read aloud book to piggyback an idea off of. (That way the students are already familiar with background knowledge).
  • Use journal starters that then can go back and edit.
  • Write text for a wordless book.
  • Write about something that bothers you, something you want to change, something you hate to do.
  • Use pictures and have students write about that picture.
  • Have students keep a list of ideas that interest them, so when they have time to write they can refer back to that list.
  • I remember vividly...
  • Use a very narrow topic.
  • Brainstorming web together as class.
  • Personal experiences.
  • Write about someone you admire.

ORGANIZATION:

  • Use Kidspiration or Inspiration Software.
  • For research papers, have students put related ideas on a specific colored index card. Later, they group cards by color. Finally, each color is assigned a Roman numeral to transfer to an outline.
  • Rewrite scrambled paragraphs in the correct order. Focus on transition words.
  • Give demonstration on "How To" Kids can make index cards for Intro, step by step, and conclusion.
  • Power Writing (color-coded sentence strips).
  • Rainbowing - A method of learning to organize your writing using color.
  • Create something. Write the steps of the process.
  • Research papers: Highlight different points in different colors.
  • Use a Venn Diagram.
  • Sequencing activities: put sentences in order to make a paragraphs, put comics in order, etc.
  • Draw a picture using geometric shapes. Write a description of it. Have someone else try to draw it from the description.
  • Analyze a children's boo. Compare to own writing of a story.
  • Persuade someone to change lives with you.
  • Sequence - How to carve a pumpkin.
  • Model using organizers, webs, etc...
  • Using Zoom and Rezoom. Cut apart the book and have students try to place the book back in order by looking at the details. These books have no words.
  • Brainstorm about words that help with organization then apply to a story.
  • Read a picture book and discuss the beginning, middle and the end of a narrative.
  • Group books into picture book - true/nonfiction.
  • Thinking maps
  • Compare/contrast yourself with another classmate. Then move to interview questions.
  • Make an outline, prewrite of a historic event.
  • Add time order words to events that happened in reading to build the vocabulary for sequencing.
  • Graphic organizers to help keep on track.
  • Write two introductions for topics - one poor and one weak (it makes them think about the difference).
  • Pretend you are baking a cake. Use all the right ingredients but go step by step from getting out a mixing bowl to getting it out of the oven.
  • Structured writing from ISTE.
  • Write steps for something as a class that they all know the order of.
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich writing. Have students write how to make. Teacher then makes sandwich by reading and only following directions written - no inference.
  • Put sequence sentences in order.

SENTENCE FLUENCY:

  • Read your piece to the class as if you were reading it on the 6:00 news.
  • Highlight subject (yellow) and verb (orange) in each sentence. Observe where it's located in the sentence. Is it usually at the beginning? Are they always side by side?
  • Multi-sensory grammar game-line up-move prepositional phrases around.
  • Highlight every other sentence to emphasize length and varied structure.
  • Share books to give examples of good sentence fluency.
  • Read aloud a paragraph and change any that have the same beginnings.
  • Read writing to a partner. Give feedback. One-on-one conferences or peer conferences.
  • Read examples of other student's writing.
  • Students write a thematic paper (three paragraphs) using propositions and time order thinking.
  • Look at writing and point out different types of sentences.
  • View wordless picture books. Use figurative language to describe the action taking place.
  • Write a 12 sentence story. No two sentences may start with the same word. Three sentences must be inverted, etc.
  • Read their writing orally for smoothness.
  • Write a paragraph about your best friend. Count number of words in each sentence. Circle first word in each sentence. They must revise (rainbow colors) so each sentence starts with a different part of speech.
  • Look at paragraph. Highlight sentences that contain more than 20 words and less than 10 words. None - then make some changes.
  • Read out loud in small groups. Ask yourself if you varied your sentences by varying the length and using different words.
  • Tape record a student reading a book. Put in a listening center.
  • Go over compound subjects or predicates. Have students write several sentences with this then write more from one.
  • Have students write about one subject, changing sentences and parts of speech several times.
  • Students circle the first word in each sentence. If a word is repeated, the student must change the sentence by adding a phrase or a new word.
  • Read aloud after writing to see how well it flows.
  • Give sentence patterns - students create sentences that follow the pattern.
  • Read sentences out loud to each other for five minutes then switch partners.
  • Record their stories and have them listen to them, paying attention to how well their sentences flow.
  • During oral reading, stop and ask students if sentence makes sense or how could it be better.
  • Take a narrative and rewrite to expository and vice versa.
  • Show examples of writing that have very short, choppy sentences.
  • Have them reread their own writing.
  • Read your paragraph to the class. Is it easy to read?

VOICE:

  • Share lots of examples of voice in rich text.
  • Tell me the story (if they are having a problem writing it) like we're having a normal conversation.
  • Give them a picture and with a group, write a story about it.
  • Write a story containing conversation between you and a sibling/cousin/friend when you disagreed with them.
  • Write a letter to a pet, a person, or a situation explaining how you felt about it.
  • Read Brave Irene to the class.
  • I had students write directions from our classroom to another place in the school or playground, using direction words and prepositions.
  • Point of view activities.
  • Reading team/pairs. Inflections.
  • Watch a movie clip of an emotion (fear, joy) and brainstorm how it was expressed.
  • Write about the worst thing you've ever experienced.
  • Rewrite the story of Cinderella as the nasty step-sister.
  • They draw an object from a hat - then they have to write from that objects point of view without telling what the object is. (Example: toothpaste - how you feel, what you see, hear) etc.
  • Write a letter in the voice of a character that was just read about.
  • Have several students read the same passage showing emotion.
  • Share short writing piece and see if can guess who wrote it.
  • Add dialogue to the writing. See if you are able to read it with expression.
  • Write a conversation/dialogue between you and a good friend about winning a football game.
  • Tell a story. Point out the "voice" in the telling. Write that part.
  • Bring in examples and discuss if it has good/bad voice, and what makes it good/bad.
  • Write chili contest judges' comments - each judge has a different personality.
  • Scrooge in the Christmas Carol is a real good play to use the voice concept.
  • Read various examples of writing; allow students to write on a topic that means a lot to them.
  • Model during oral reading.
  • Picture books.
  • Because of Winn Dixie book and Love, Ruby Lavender.
  • Write a story about a picture.

WORD CHOICE:

  • Act out different meanings of words.
  • List synonyms for "go". Then have students act them out.
  • Circle boring words in your work and replace them using a friend or thesaurus.
  • Read Brave Irene aloud and have kids brainstorm words. Make an overhead of the words for kids to keep in their writing folder.
  • Have students substitute a word on each sentence in the paragraph using a Thesaurus.
  • Holiday topic writing-brainstorm a list of words for that holiday...Example: Halloween-spooky, ghost, witch, etc. Then write a story about the topic and you can't use any words from the list you generate.
  • As you edit, mark out any words you've used more than once and change them.
  • Brainstorm different words to use instead of fun, good, bad, etc.
  • Pick synonyms for a verse (or stanza) of a song, poem, etc. without changing the theme or message.
  • 5 senses: poetry
  • Use a thesaurus - Write a poem that rhymes to broaden vocabulary.
  • Give a sheet with "synonyms for SAID." Students can't use "SAID" more tha twice in a story.
  • Bury blah words so they have to be more creative in their word choice.
  • Write The Three Pigs: Add adjectives, change main characters, add adverbs.
  • Write a "how to" paragraph: roast a hot dog without using hot dog, fire, stick.
  • Use five of the words from your list of vocabulary words in a paragraph.
  • Use a thesaurus to change our some common words.
  • Give students a basic sentence such as The dog ran. Then have them change words and add to it to make it better. For example: The dog sprinted., The dog sprinted across the yard., The bid, brown dog sprinted across the yard.
  • Write a descriptive essay about your room.
  • Students identify similes in their reading and then we write our own. Later, we add them to our stories.
  • Have a "banned" word list.
  • Use words out of the current book your reading.
  • Put over used words "to bed" so they can rest. Use round robin to share words.
  • Wacky words - give new words and they write.
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.
  • Looking at different words in different text types.

CONVENTIONS:

  • Walk through each thing independently. Example: look at all the ending punctuation, then commas, then spelling...and so on.
  • Edit your partner's work.
  • Use student dictionaries for frequently misspelled words.
  • Peer edit.
  • Show how punctuation, alone, can change the meaning. Example: Don't do anything stupid! Don't do anything, stupid.
  • Read and critique a newspaper story. Then have them write their own newspaper article.
  • Highlight conventions.
  • Read aloud.
  • Model on the overhead and have kids make corrections from the teacher's writing.
  • Listen to a song. Give each student a hard copy of the song to put the punctuation where it belongs.
  • DOLs
  • Correct spelling in all subjects.
  • Punctuation takes a Vacation book.
  • Just typing a story without conventions and seeing how to edit, revise together.
  • Write a dialogue between 2 basically unlike things - can't see each other. Must explain purpose in life, physical description, etc.
  • Daily oral language.
  • DOL rewrites with riddles, poems, letters, etc.
  • Team teach with literature teacher.
  • Use edit sheet to mark classmates papers.
  • Switch with a partner and have them highlight words or make punctuation corrections.
  • Read your story out loud. Listen to when you take a breath, you probably need a period or a comma there.
  • Type on Word to check for spelling and grammar - visually see formatting errors easier.
  • Daily oral grammar.
  • Daily grammar practice booklet.

A-Z Ways to Publish Students’ Writing and Research

  • A: ABC books, Accordion books, Advertisements, Advice columns, Almanacs, Anecdotes, Applications, Articles
  • B: Banners, Bingo game, Biographies, Biographical sketches, Book jackets or blurbs, Booklets, Books, Book reviews
  • C: Calendars, Cartoons, Collages, Comic strips, Contracts
  • D: Data Disks, Debates, Demonstrations, Descriptions, Dialogues, Diaries, Diorama, Dictionaries, Directions, Directories
  • E: Editorials/Op-Eds, Epitaphs
  • F: Fantasies, Flap books, Flip charts, Folktales
  • G: Ghost stories, Graphic Organizer, Greeting cards, Guides
  • H: Handbooks, Headlines, Historical timelines, Historical sketches, Horoscopes
  • I: Interviews
  • J: Jingles, Jokes (riddles/puzzles/etc.)
  • L: Legends, Lesson Plans, Letters (formal/personal/etc.), Limericks, Logs
  • M: Manuals, Memos, Menus, Monologues. Murals, Musicals, Myths
  • N: Newscast, Newspaper article, Notebook
  • P: Plays, Poems, Pop-up books, Postcards, Posters, Proposals
  • Q: Quilts, Quote Book
  • R: Radio report, Rebuttals, Requests, Responses, Resumes, Reviews
  • S: Sales presentation, Schedules, Science fiction, Scrapbooks, Scripts Songs, Speeches, Stories, Story Cube, Story wheels, Summaries
  • T: Table of Contents, Tall tales, Technical manuals, Telegrams, Templates, Tongue twisters, Travel brochures, Travelogues, Triaromas, Tributes
  • V: Videos
  • W: Wanted posters, Webpages
  • Y: Yearbooks

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