Six Trait Writing for assessment and instruction Jen Madison Educational Service Unit No. 6

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

What makes writing work? Record one specific characteristic of good writing. Musical Cards –Trade cards while the music plays. –When the music stops, partner with the person currently trading with you. –Read each card and together distribute 7 points between the two cards to represent the degree of importance and relevance toward the question: What makes good writing work?

THE 6+1 TRAITS Ideas Organization Voice Word Choice Sentence Fluency Conventions Presentation The heart of the message The internal structure of the piece The feeling and conviction of the writer The precise language chosen to convey meaning The rhythm and flow of the language The mechanical correctness How the writing looks on the page

Purpose of Traits “an answer to the question: What makes writing work?” consistent “writer’s language that opens the door to revision” (a how to for revision) a way to –organize and clarify good writing instruction –encourage consistent assessment –empower and motivate young writers –encourage thinking skills and self-monitoring NOT meant to replace instruction of writing process! (Spandel, Creating Writers, 2005, p. 1-2)

Trait-based Writing Form and language Vision of success “If we had called them the six keys to good writing, people likely would have made the instructional connection immediately. This is where the true power of trait-based instruction lies— showing students the keys to writing well.” Spandel, V. (2008). Creating Young Writers

“…the keys to writing well:” idea Have a strong, clear idea. –Use details and pictures to paint a picture in year reader’s mind. voice Write with authority and voice. Organize Organize your information so that a reader can follow it. words Use words that make sense—and that are lively as well. fluency Write with fluency and variety—the way good dancers dance. conventions Make your conventions as strong as you can so that readers can figure out your message. (Spandel, 2008, Creating Young Writers, p. 7)

What do you notice? I can just see it. I feel like I’m in that car. I love the line “her eyes were as big as her fists.” He’s having a good time [most readers assume the writer is male]. I know these people. Lively! I sympathize with Mom-- I hate mice too! I like the pickle jar-- I can even smell the pickles. Great images-- love Dad backing into the tree and mom in her nightgown. You get every point of view- even the mouse’s!

What do you notice? Boring-- it put me right to sleep. Flat, empty. Safe. She was writing just to get it done. Mechanics are pretty good. It doesn’t say anything. The organization isn’t too bad. What Redwoods? The title doesn’t go with the paper. She (he?) seems like a nice kid- I want to like it. It’s not that bad for fourth or fifth grade-- I assume that’s what it is right?

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

Holistic vs. Analytic Scoring Holistic One overall score Intended to generalize overall effect Cannot provide specific, needs- based feedback Used for Statewide Writing Assessment (4, 8, 11) –Provides a snapshot of district writing Analytic Each trait scored separately Provides more detailed feedback to guide instruction and monitor progress Used for ESU 6 Analytic Scoring Cooperative and most classroom writing assignments

Holistic Scoring: how well the writing meets the traits overall

Idea Development 5 The writing is clear, well-supported or developed, and enhanced by the kind of detail that keeps readers reading. The writer selectively chooses just the right information to make the paper understandable, enlightening and interesting - without bogging down in trivia. Details work together to expand the main topic or develop a story, giving the whole piece a strong sense of focus. The writer’s knowledge, experience, insight or unique perspective lends the writing a satisfying ring of authenticity. The amount of detail is just right - not skimpy, not overwhelming. 3 The writer has made a solid beginning in defining a topic or mapping out a story line. It is easy to see where the paper is headed, though more expansion is needed to complete the picture. General, global information provides the big picture - and makes the reader long for specifics. Well-focused information blends with repetitive points, trivia or meanderings. The writer draws on some personal experience - but too often settles for generalities or clichéd thinking. Unneeded information may eat up space that should have gone to important details. Where’s the balance? 1 Sketchy, loosely focused information forces the reader to make inferences. Readers will likely notice more than one of these problems: The main topic is still unclear, out of focus - or not yet known, even to the writer. Missing, limited or unrelated details require the reader to fill in many blanks. Lists of “factlets” may be substituted for true development. Everything seems as important as everything else. Analytical Scoring: Writing receives a score for each trait

Using Rubrics: One Way to Respond & Assess Many formats and varieties –Thoughtfully select traits for assessment  informational/technical writing  creative/personal writing –Have students help create indicators –Provide student friendly versions –Engage students in activities using rubrics –Be consistent

Using Rubrics One Way to Respond & Assess Always read the entire paper first Refer to the scoring guide often Stronger or weaker? Score each trait separately Remember: –1 indicates beginning performance, not failure –top score represents strengths and proficiency, not perfection Watch out for rater bias

Objectivity Issues and Sources of Bias Physical characteristics Personal reaction to particular tones, content, or students Length Positive-negative leniency –Tendency to be too hard or too easy on everyone Fatigue Skimming Sympathy “Self-scoring” –Score the writer’s work, not your skill of putting the puzzle pieces together.

Sources of rater bias –Pet peeves, such as…. –Big LOOpy writing (with stars and hearts) –Teeny, tiny writing –Writing in ALL CAPITALS –Tons! Of exclamation (!!!) points!!!! – –Mixing it’s and its –The End (like I couldn’t tell) –Total absence of paragraphs Objectivity Issues and Sources of Bias What’s one of your pet peeves?

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: IDEAS –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

: IDEAS: Look for the following… Clarity and Focus of the Content Rich and Vivid Details Clear Sense of Purpose Accuracy Fresh and Original Thinking Quality not Quantity

“Too many scoring systems reward students for including merely more arguments or examples; quantity is not quality, and we teach a bad lesson by such scoring practices.” -Grant Wiggins

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Ideas Zoom-In –“What happens if you zoom it on just this part? What does it look like?” –Essential Idea: Using specific details helps the reader create an image. (Showing vs. Telling) Graphic Organizers –Make expected content explicit –Model transfer from organizer to writing Snapshot –“I want to see it, like a photo in an album.” Lesson Ideas “Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.” -- Mark Twain

Teaching the trait of Ideas Talk about where ideas come from. Model differences between generalities and good details. Read aloud from books with striking detail or strong imagery. Use questions to expand and clarify a main idea.

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: ORGANIZATION –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

ORGANIZATION: What to look for … Enticing Lead Sentence –The first sentence and introduction should be engaging. Thoughtful Transitions –One paragraph should set the scene for the next paragraph. Logical Sequencing –There is a systematic approach to exploring topic. Controlled Pacing –Details are provided in the right amounts. Satisfying Conclusion – The piece should have meaningful ending.

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Organization Study Logical Order –Separate sentences/paragraphs from a writing –Ask student to put them in order and identify the key phrases Compare Leads or Endings –Find different examples in children’s books, content text, your own (not so great) examples, brainstorm examples with students. –Which do you like best? Why? Host a “Bad Leads Awards Ceremony.” Teach transition and signal words appropriate for the mode. Lesson Ideas

The shark’s jaw is located back beneath his long snout, but this does not prevent him from biting directly into the flesh. When he opens the jaw, the lower jawbone is thrust forward while the snout is drawn back and up, until it makes almost a right angle with the axis of his body. At this moment, the moth is located forward of the head and no longer beneath it. It resembles a large wolftrap, equipped with innumerable sharp and gleaming teeth. The shark plants this mechanism in the body of his victim and uses the weight of his own body in a series of frenzied convulsions, transforming the teeth of the jawbones into saws. The force of this sawing effect is such that it requires no more than an instant for the shark to tear off a splendid morsel of flesh. When the shark swims off, he has left a deep and perfectly outline hole in the body of his victim. It is terrifying and nauseating to watch. ( from Jacques-Yves Cousteu, The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea, p. 37)

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: VOICE –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

VOICE: Look for the following… Expression of individuality Reader wants to keep reading Commitment to the topic Suits the audience Fits the purpose

Voice Creative Writing –Feelings –Enthusiasm –Individuality –Passion Technical / Research Writing –Perspective –Level of Formality –Level of Objectivity Voice is often the reason I read!

Voice in Informational writing Confident Knowledge-driven Inspiring “The Cosmos is a very big place.” “If we were randomly inserted into the Cosmos, the chance that we would find ourselves on or near a planet would be les than one in a billion trillion trillion (10 33, a one followed by 33 zeroes). In everyday life such odds are called compelling. Worlds are precious [1980, p. 5].”

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Voice Write voice IN or OUT –Take the voice out of a passage and have students put their own in. Bored vs. Excited? –What do these look like? (Students demonstrate kinesthetically.) –“I want to see an ‘excited’ face in my mind when I read your writing.” –Show them two sample paragraphs using the same facts. Which was written by an “excited” writer? How can you tell? Read aloud from works that have strong voice. Help students identify an audience. Lesson Ideas

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: WORD CHOICE –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

Word Choice: What to look for memorable words and phrases accurate use of words appropriate choices for the purpose and audience not inflated or overused

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Word Choice Study connotation (subtleties of word variation) –Put related words on a continuum –said, whispered, barked, exclaimed, shouted, screamed, commented murmured, declared, mentioned, hollered –Apply movement to variations of verbs & discuss differences Trash overused words & display interesting, lively, or content appropriate words –Use wall displays, bulletin boards, etc. Show students examples of writing in your content and together analyze words. –Identify specific nouns and strong, active verbs –Identify powerful, meaningful words –Rate level of formality and objectivity Lesson Ideas

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: SENTENCE FLUENCY –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

Sentence Fluency: What to look for Rhythm and flow Varied sentence structure –Length –Beginnings Reading ease…not just punctuation

Sentence Fluency Chart Analyze the mode, genre, author’s style: How long are sentences? How do sentences begin? What kind of verbs are prevalent? What kind of sentences are used? What is the purpose of each sentence? # of wordsfirst 3 words

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Sentence Fluency Read fluent passages out loud –“Do you like the way this sounds? –“How many different ways does this writer begin sentences?” –“Describe the lengths of the sentences. What effect does this create?” Mentor Sentences –Collect powerful sentences to use as models of specific techniques –(prepositional phrases…a strong way to add detail) “Over bushes, under trees, between fence posts, through the tangled hedge she swoops untouched” (Davies, 2004, p. 12). Chart expert and student writing fluency –Analyze a passage for sentence lengths, beginning variety, and other characteristics. Lesson Ideas

They weren’t always so desperately insularized. Ursus arctos horibilis, the subspecies of brown bear know familiarly as the grizzly, one inhabited most of western North America. From Alaska down into the highlands of central Mexico, from the beaches of California eastward across the Great Plains, it was the commanding presence. Indians of the western tribes feared it, revered it, mythologized it, sometimes hunted it ceremonially; most other predators stayed the hell out of its reach. It fattened itself on bison in the Dakotas, on caribou in Canada, on cattle offal left to rot by the early ranchers in California, and on salmon in the rivers of Oregon. It relished meat, but it was an omnivore, flexible and resourceful in its feeding behavior. It fed opportunistically on vegetable foods; berries and pine nuts when they were available, nutritious tubers, forbs, even grasses. It also ate ants, termites, rodents, moths, and God knows what else. Eventually, in some locations, it would develop a taste for human garbage. ( from David Quamenn, “Island of the Bears”)

Agenda Welcome! Introducing the Traits –What Makes Writing Work? –Qualities of Writing Using Rubrics and Student Papers Trait by Trait: CONVENTIONS –Language of the trait –Scoring student work –Teaching and learning activity Statewide Writing Assessment

Your students should ask… (beginning writers) Did I leave spaces between words? Does my writing go from left to right? Did I use a title? Did I leave margins on the sides? At the bottom? Did I use capital letters? Why? Did I use periods? How about question marks? Did I do my best on spelling? Could another person read this?

Your students should ask… (more mature writers) Have I used fragments or run-ons only for a conscious effect? Do I have agreement (subject-verb, pronoun- antecedent, etc.) Does my punctuation accurately guide the reader? Have I used the correct spellings for homophones? –Their/there/they’re Is the format appropriate? (Does it meet the expectations of the audience?) Have I cited sources appropriately?

Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait –Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics of proficient –Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification Read the writing thoroughly: –Look for strengths –Score each trait –Prepare to discuss reasons for your score

Conventions Teach (I do it. We do it. You do it.) editing marks Model instead of correcting Demystify Students: display, explain, and provide alternatives to your pet peeves Focused Peer Editing –“Circle all of the second-person words (i.e. you, your). Help your partner find two alternatives for each.” Lesson Ideas

What do you know about the traits? A. Ideas / Content B. Organization C. Voice D. Word Choice E. Sentence Fluency F. Conventions A. Ideas / Content B. Organization C. Voice D. Word Choice E. Sentence Fluency F. Conventions

Modeling and Examples Write with your students! –Live writing –Think-aloud –Allow students to contribute to revision decisions –Exaggerated writing Use appropriate literature –Passages from known literature –Make the text visual Use student writing –Stress strengths, specific skills/craft techniques

Strategies for Better Instruction TEACH the language to speak and think like writers. MODEL specific craft techniques. –Name it. Describe it. Explain why it’s good. READ, SCORE, and JUSTIFY scores on anonymous sample papers. Provide focused PRACTICE for REVISION. WRITE. (Yes, you.) READ and DISCUSS strengths and weaknesses in all kinds of writing. DEMYSTIFY writing in your class. Provide thoughtful, effective PROMPTS

Recognizing Craft Techniques: One Way to Respond Be a collector of the recognizable, replicable, small things that effective writers do. Example or Description Specific CraftWhy is it good? I was sad.inside sentencesreader can understand how the author feels boats, trains, airplanes, and cars using commas in a series reader understands that items are separate Band-Aid boxbrand namegives an extremely details image in only a few words; can also evoke familiarity or nostalgia Hale, Crafting Writers K-6, 2008

R.A.F.T.S: a way to prompt Role of the writer –helps writer decide on point of view and voice. Audience –reminds writer he/she must communicate ideas to someone else: helps determine content and style Format of the material –helps writer organize ideas and employ format conventions for letters, interviews, story problems, and other kinds of writing Topic or subject –helps writer zero in on main idea and narrow the focus Strong verb –directs writer to the writing purpose, e.g. create, defend, analyze, persuade, evaluate, etc.

Building R.A.F.T.S. Decide on each component. For example: –Role:Kidney –Audience: Your body/host –Format: Letter –Topic:What you need to stay healthy/why your host would be better off –Strong verb:Explaining Write out the assignment in paragraph form, underlining the key components. Most rafts begin with “You are…” –You are a kidney in the human body. Write a letter to your host to explain what you need to stay healthy and why the host will be better off if you ARE and STAY in tip-top condition.

Building R.A.F.T.S. Use writing to help students explore a concept from different perspectives and through different formats. –Role –Audience –Format –Topic Differentiate: –Let students choose one or more components. –Raise Complexity – choose items farther from natural fit –Moderate/Lower Complexity – choose items closer to natural fit (Wormelli, R.) Example: Role: conservative republican Audience: high school students Format: satirical essay Topic: Obama’s economic plan Example: Role: conservative republican Audience: high school students Format: satirical essay Topic: Obama’s economic plan

A Few Resources Northwest Regional Laboratory (NWREL). (2007). 6+1 Trait Writing. Retrieved October 2008 from Spandel, V. (2008). Creating young writers: Using the six traits to enrich writing process in primary classrooms. Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon. Spandel, V. (2005). Creating writers: Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction. Fourth Edition. Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon.

Two Stars & a Wish Please record two of the most important or relevant ideas you heard. Please record something you wish about this session