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Step by Step Teaching Traits

 

STEP-BY-STEP TRAITS

 

            1. Begin with..."What's a trait?"

  • Traits of a great taco
  • Traits of a good film
  • THEN - Traits of good writing

            2. Immerse kids in the language of writers

  • Posters
  • Your own written comments
  • Your own spoken comments
  • Quote the experts (Graves, Calkins, and Murray on voice, etc.)
  • Rubrics (Don't forget parents! Give them copies, too!)

            3. Ask students to keep a writing folder

  • Include many kinds of writing
  • Include unfinished drafts - to be revised later

            4. Train them to see and hear with critical eyes and ears

  • Share written samples
  • Read aloud
  • Refer to the traits - e.g., "What did you think of that lead?"

            5. Ask students to assess other's work

  • Books
  • Articles
  • Student writing
  • Your own writing
  • Business or tech samples
  • Defend your scores USING RUBRIC LANGUAGE

            6. Ask students to revise others' work

  • Encourage discussion
  • Encourage teamwork
  • Focus on ONE TRAIT AT A TIME
  • Work WITH A PARTNER

            7. Ask students to assess their own work

  • Use the rubrics
  • Build on strengths
  • Eliminate problems
  • Defend their assessments with a reflective essay

            8. Ask students to revise their own work

  • Working on their own
  • Working in teams
  • Being mentors to one another

 

Back to Getting to Know the Six Traits Page
Step by Step Teaching Traits