6-Traits: Lectures with Audio

Finding Their Voices

Ideas About Ideas

Getting Them Organized 

Show Me! Don't Tell Me!

Reading Aloud and Peer Review

Editing Every Day 

WritingFix Writing Traits for Primary Writers

By now I'm sure you're all familiar with the WritingFix website. It is a treasure trove.  I encourage you all to bookmark the site as your Primary Resource! 

Here is a link to WritingFix's  Writing Traits: Traits for Primary Writers.

This is a Nevada Print Guide and Teacher Workshops sharing materials from Northern Nevada's teacher inservices and print guide.

There are many lessons and resources for Primary Writers on this page.  I also want to direct your attention to: Six By Six: Traits Writing for Little Writers.   This inexpensive book offers thirty-six writing lessons (six lessons for each of the six traits...six by six).

Also consider joining the Primary Teacher's Group on the Writing Lesson of the Month Ning. (There are 12,000+ Teachers on this network!)

In our online class, Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits,  we quickly develop a community of practice dedicated to sharing ideas, resources and methods about the 6-Traits.  By the end of the course teachers know how powerful a like minded community can be.

WritingFix and their online groups will help any teacher seeking to improve their writing instruction find a supportive online community.

Join and online community of writing teachers! It's free and who knows where it will lead?  8-)

Effective Feedback: One trait at a time

In terms of effective feedback, offering advice ONE trait at a time is the way to go.
Feedback that is highly focused on a single trait is most effective.
Think of the 'praise sandwich' approach: specific traits based praise for a writing strength is the bread. A focus on ONE area for improvement with a writer's trick is the meat and garnish.
Also don't feel you have to assess for all the traits every time. Scoring many papers is the best way to learn the traits. Scoring one trait at a time is a way to lock in the concept.
Quick feedback on the accuracy is essential as well. That's why the NWREL database of sample papers is such a treasure: http://apps.educationnorthwest.org/traits/scoring_practice.php

In the real world where you have hundreds of papers to consider, assessing all of the traits isn't effective.
When I was teaching I had between 160 -180 7/8th graders. At first I tried to do three full 6-traits assessments a year. Then it was two, at the end, just one.

Why? Because I'd burn out on the assessment and the kids got very little from my efforts. Once something is 'assessed' at that level, it's done and young writers usually won't pay much attention to advice on a finished project.

I decided to put my time into direct coaching and started doing much smaller paragraph level assessments when I absolutely had to have a 'record' for the grade book. I used a modified portfolio system, but it wasn't a commonly accepted method in the very small rural district where I worked for most of my classroom career.




The larger global assessment was usually reserved for the 'publication' pieces. I think back on the huge work of preparing publications and look up on the book shelf at a dozen books created by my classes and just shake my head. It's fine to have something tangible.

Now I wish all of the work was online. The KMSoul project was done about 10 years ago, the last year I was in the classroom. That was back before it was so easy to publish online ( a far more effective way to motivate kids than a bound and printed book because on the net they have a much larger peer audience).
I hope this little personal narrative helps!
Dennis

Modeling Writing with 6-Traits + Podcast Sharing

I love to get email from graduates of my online 6-traits class. I get a glimpse of their classrooms and the fun and excitement of teaching writing with the six traits. Here's news from Karen's 5th grade class!

I've done 3 traits so far this term and have never received such overall great writing from a class. The three or four that really shine have become 17 and 18. I am truly impressed with the improvement and excitement about their writing (and honestly - I'd put a lot of energy into my writing program BEFORE 6 Traits!).

I really think the key changes for me in my teaching were including a lot of modeling of my own work with the students. When they see the time and effort I've put into my samples for sharing (of both good and bad writing!) they know I'm looking at specific features of their own writing very thoroughly. The very methodical coverage of key points for each trait helps students see, in a tangible way, what they need to address when they are writing.

Inspiration diagrams of each trait (simplified) help the children check their work for each of the significant points of the trait. I'm having them color in their own diagram, and I color one as I'm marking. We have a mini conference to compare and discuss our evaluations.

I came up with a rather neat plan. Using GarageBand ( a Mac program that allows one to create a podcast very easily), I had the children each rehearse and make an aural podcast of themselves reading their stories. They put them into our classroom public folder where anyone in the class can listen to them. Not only are they working on their reading fluency and expression, they have a whole class audience. I get to listen to everyone's aural reading at my leisure, and can choose samples of exceptional work to use as examples for the rest of the class.

My next challenge is to figure out how I can get the students to email their file home. How wonderful for a parent to be able to listen to their child reading their own story!

Gotta love this technology!

Karen (Grade 5 teacher, 31 years experience)

Tired of Being a Red Ink Slave to Corrections?

I'm delighted to announce my latest article is now on The Writing Teacher: Tired of Being a Red Ink Slave to Corrections? This article is based on a lecture from my course, Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits.

As part of this publication, The Writing Teacher is sponsoring a Free Webinar on June 2, 2009 11:00 am PDT. I'll be online live talking about how editing fits in the writing process; thanks to Wimba and Learning Express e-folio.

Here's the teaser:

Are you burning yourself out offering comments that are ignored? Are you a red-ink slave spoon-feeding your students doses of correctness? The Editing Not Correcting Webinar will help you shift the burden of correcting conventions to where it belongs: on the student. Shift your thinking and help them learn to become editors and assessors of their own writing.

I hope to see and hear you online!

~ Dennis

How to Introduce the 6-Traits

"Writing taught once or twice a week is just frequently enough to remind children that they can't write and teachers that they can't teach. They are both like athletes who never get in condition, yet have to play the game before derisive spectators."

-- Donald Graves, Writing: Teachers and Children at Work


I'm happy to report that the The Writing Teacher has just published my article on How to Introduce the 6-Traits. I'll be using this article in my online 6-traits writing class.

Click on over and give it a read!

You'll also discover rich resources for all who love teaching writing.

From The Writing Teacher:

• How to Introduce the 6 Traits
• Teaching Writing by Creating a Website
• Teaching Beowulf to Vikings Fans by Liz O'Neill
• The Art of Teaching Writing by Alan Gibbons
• A Few Principles of Writing Instruction by Michael Hebert
• The Tips and Techniques Contest @ The Writing Teacher
• Teacher Shannon Snowball Discusses the Impact of Automated Essay Grading on her Students' Writing
• Writing Lessons that Made the Biggest Impact on Teachers
• Teaching Writing in the Diverse Classroom: An Interview with Barbara Friedlander
• Research-Based Best Practices for Teaching Writing: A Discussion with Steve Graham on How to Effectively Teach Writing
• Virtually all US Students Proficient in Writing

I hope this helps!

~ Dennis

30 New Ideas That Work (From the National Writing Project)

New 30 Ideas That Work

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Books for Teaching 6-Traits

Looking for just the right book to present a traits concept?

Checkout my Writer's Bookshelf!

6-Traits: Vickie Spandel

6-Traits: Ruth Culham

Great Writing Advice

Teaching Ideas & Content

Teaching Voice

Teaching Organization

Teaching Word Choice

Teaching Conventions

Pass the word? Help make it a 6-traits online summer!

Please forward this announcement to teachers in your district.

This summer teachers from around the nation and the world will join online to exchange ideas and share best practices. The conversations are rich. The community is real. If you've never taken an online class before... this is the one to start with!

Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6 Traits

EDUC 744 920 Elementary (Gr. K-4) - 3 gr. cr. begins June 16, 2008 EDUC 744 909 Middle/High School (Gr. 5-12) - 3 gr. cr. begins June 16, 2008

Learn to teach and assess writing with the 6-Traits of writing (voice, ideas, word choice, organization, sentence fluency and conventions). Learn to use the 6-Traits with the writing process to teach revision strategies. Help learners meet higher standards and improve test
scores.

Earn graduate credits via online courses that support your professional development goals for licensure renewal, salary advancement and advanced certification.

Sign up soon to reserve your spot! Registration closes this week! to allow time for assigning user names, passwords and ordering/shipping the textbook.Classes are TOTALLY ONLINE. You may participate from your home or school computer. Registration is limited to 20 participants per section.

Syllabus and other details: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/traits.shtml REGISTER ONLINE or REGISTER BY FAX Fax: (715) 232-3385

For more details e-mail Dennis O'Connor: oconnord@uwstout.edu

Six Traits Search Engine

Try this Six Traits Search Engine I built using a social search system called Swicky. You can vote for your favorite materials and suggest sites you'd like included in the search results. Go to the site and click on the keywords in the tag cloud. See what you think! ~ Dennis

National Writing Project Rolls out New Website

If you haven't signed up for the free resources and online access to National Writing Project Resources .... DO IT! This is THE COMMUNITY for writing teachers. You won't be sorry you joined.

Here's an announcement I just got in their newsletter that I want to pass along:

NWP Launches New Website

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website, www.nwp.org. The new site beautifully showcases the depth and breadth of the work of the writing project, including resources that writing project colleagues have written and developed over many years.

Among the changes you’ll notice are

• a new NWP Sites section devoted to site development
• a Results section featuring research on NWP's effectiveness
• an expanded Resources section showcasing hundreds of articles
• a new Calendar with an assortment of views according to types of events
• an improved Search function that delivers more extensive results.

Use the online form at “Contact Us” to comment on the new website.

6-Traits Writing Online: Enroll Now!

Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6 Traits: Classes are are Filling Fast!

WRITING COURSE:
EDUC 744 909F Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits - Middle/High School (Gr. 5-12) 3 gr. cr. begins October 1, 2007

Learn to teach and assess writing with the 6-Traits of writing (voice, ideas, word choice, organization, sentence fluency and conventions). Learn to use the 6-Traits with the writing process to teach revision strategies. Help learners meet higher standards and improve test scores.

Please forward this announcement to teachers in your district.

Earn graduate credits via online courses that support your professional development goals for licensure renewal, salary advancement and advanced certification.

Sign up soon to reserve your spot! Registration closes ten days before the class begins

to allow time for assigning user names, passwords and ordering/shipping the textbook.

Classes are TOTALLY ONLINE. You may participate from your home or school computer. Registration is limited to 20 participants per section.

Syllabus and other details:

http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/traits.shtml

REGISTER ONLINE
or
REGISTER BY FAX
Fax: (715) 232-3385

How to introduce the 6-Traits?

Peter, a thoughtful Middle School reflects...

As I dig into the course, I keep asking myself how I can efficiently and smoothly introduce the six trait framework to my students in a meaningful and engaging manner?

• One trait at a time?
• Teachable moments?
• Gradually introduce the lingo and zoom in through lessons and activities over time?

I suppose that I have more questions than answers! Currently, I frame my writing instruction in terms of genres more than traits, although I'm being strategic about introducing traits now that I'm in this course. So far, I'm having a blast and it's gratifying having new material and instructional practices to bring to class.

Relating what I do (or have done) to the ideas trait that we explored in module 3, I began the year by using Nancie Atwell's "writing territories" activity. The students attach the list to their writing folders and add to it once every couple of weeks. Clearly, recording the ideas is critical because they are so easy to lose! In class, we write about three days a week minimally, using quick-writes: question prompts, integrating weekly vocab. terms into a story or response, etc. Students also work building the genre pieces that I mentioned above (this is driven by the Vermont Writing Portfolio requirement).

Generally, we create a finished piece every six weeks or so with breaks here and there. The instruction is very process oriented and gives ample time to each stage, idea generating, research, prewriting, organization, writing, revision, editing, yada yada yada....

In addition to Atwell's idea generating process, I also picked up a couple of tricks from visiting author, Jack Gantos, who generates his content by making the memory maps as described this week's reading. These materials also go in student folders. The only addition or modification would be to make them as visual as possible, using small icons/sketches to truly illustrate the event and/or main characters. It's a fun, personally meaningful way to brainstorm and the kids discovered how many ideas they actually had at their disposal (this is, of course, after they complained painfully that they had nothing to put on their idea maps!).

The trick with the maps is to make them as focused or specific as possible. Jack Gantos, for example, showed us one that he created for his childhood years in Barbados, and one for his house. Each map could contain at least 20 stories! I also had the kids create a "life line" where they brainstormed and plotted a 20 events--highs and lows--over the course of their lives (that they could remember).

This activity also provided food for thought and stimulated the development of several very creative writing topics.The main reason that I like beginning with these types of activities is that they are conducive to sharing, they are visual, and the kids' ideas tend to build upon one other.

A last thought on ideas: throughout the writing process, I use a variety of graphic organizers to help students collect and select relevant details that support focus statements. This is one area, however that i'm looking to enhance. I have a couple of good resources on writing by Jim Burke (who seems to be making quite a name for himself recently). He's published through Heinemann Press--an excellent publisher.

Ultimately, my goal is to develop a growing resource of lessons and activities to help students practice idea development to in a variety of ways that they find engaging and fun, rather than tedious and arduous. Rather than make them groan and develop a rash when we discuss writing, my goal is to foster genuine enthusiasm and interest. Can pigs truly fly? Ideas?

Writing Strategies Web Site

I'd like to recommend the Writing Strategies Web Site. Jim Collins of the University at Buffalo has created a website worth your attention. This is a rich resource for information about 6-traits, the writing process, and writing across the curriculum. If you need classroom poster materials, teaching ideas, or advice on how to teach the traits as part of the writing process, this site will be a treasure chest of goodies for you.

You'll be able to download a series of fourteen traits specific PDF files. These files are richly illustrated and would make a great writing center display, or presentation set for an in-service.

Here's a clever presentation of the traits and the writing process:

This diagram shows how you might roll out a traits based writing process in your classroom:


Take the time to visit this site! You'll be glad you did.

How to Introduce the 6-Traits to your students.

One recurring question about teaching with the 6 traits is: “How do I go about introducing traits to my class?” This is a first draft of a lecture I'm developing for my online class: Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits.

Establishing the writing process as the basis for instruction. It’s always (IMHO) Writing Process first, then the traits. You will find this assertion in Spandel & Culham’s works as well.

It does make sense to teach the traits in conjunction with the writing process. The pre-writing phase of the traits is the perfect place to hammer home the importance of Ideas in writing. Pre-writing is when a writer finds the ideas that light them up. For this reason, voice is another important concept to teach as part of pre-writing. We know that voice flows when writers are passionate about their topics. A good topic springs from sound pre-writing activities mated with the understanding of the trait of voice.

Yeah, but what do I do on Monday Morning?

When starting at the beginning of the year I introduced traits to my middle-schoolers sequentially: ideas, voice, word choice, organization, sentence fluency I gave about 3 weeks to a trait.

We'd practice each new trait's core concepts in many small chunks. Writing examples, working with contrasting examples, all of the methods I discuss in the 6-traits online class, plus all of the methods shared by the world wide group of dedicated teachers in the class.

After introduction and practice of a trait, we move on to the next trait.

Seize Teachable Moments

If a chance to talk about another trait presents itself while you are ‘in deep’ with the current trait, go ahead: do it. Don't be afraid to quickly introduce another trait. If you’re introducing ideas, it’s a good idea to talk about voice etc. You don’t have to do a mini lesson or go into depth, but say enough to be appropriate for the moment. This creates a foundation for the concepts to come.

Use 6-Traits Posters

I had traits concepts up around the room in poster format to refer to as needed. Sometimes just walking over to the poster and touching it as you talk is enough to set the pattern for kids. You'll notice kids glancing at the posters and explanations. They know where to look to get the bullet points of the concept. Constant coaching on the concepts is the way to go.

Teach & Re-Teach
Like we do in our online class, each time I started teaching the concepts of a new trait, I would refer back to the previous traits, while foreshadowing those to come. It's recursive practice, teach and reteach throughout the year.

Traits and the Writing Process Work Together

This recursive loop of presenting the traits is similar to the way the writing process works. Pre-writing leads to drafting; drafting reveals the first rush of ideas and voice.

It's at this point that revision should enter the process, working a first draft up to a second draft is more than fixing the spelling and making things neat, yet it's often at this point that the writing process breaks down.

Revision!

• Kids don't know what to do.
• Teachers lack the vocabulary to provide specific and focused feedback.

Understanding how to spot and improve traits in writing provides a way to revise the writing and keep the process evolving. Understanding the traits powers up the writing process by providing entry points for revision.

Revision!

So often, kids (and teachers) think revision is just fix the spelling and punctuation and write it over neatly.

Save intense focus on conventions and presentation to the publishing stage of the writing process and dive into the meat of the process by learning to revise using word choice, organization, and sentence fluency. This will blow the embers of first draft ideas and voice into full flame.

Waiting for Eureka Moments

When you first start teaching with the traits you wonder if all this work is really worth it. You have to go at it (initially at first) on pure faith. Over the course of the first year it will come together. It will take faith and patience.

I'll admit it felt miraculous when I could see that my kids really were understanding things at a depth! This ability to apply traits concepts to their writing usually showed up around Christmas!

I recall a true eureka moment as I listened to previously inarticulate kids from my toughest class (you know the class that won’t jell and you have before or after lunch) speak eloquently about the ideas and voice they heard in the stories being read aloud. Their comments were on point, supportive, and insightful. They were writers helping each other.

At that moment I felt like crying.

At that moment I knew why I’d hung in all these years as a teacher.

It is moments like that I hope I can help you all find!

Dennis

PreK - 1st Grade Traits: Using "Wee Can Write" Workshop

Folks, I'm not affiliated in any way with NWREL. I just admire the great materials and training they offer. Wee Can Write is available online from NWREL.

If you're going to be in the North West, don't miss this training:

Carolyn McMahon, co-author of the bestselling book, Wee Can Write: Using
6+1 Trait® Writing Strategies With Renowned Children's Literature, will be
in Portland, Oregon, on April 5–6, 2007, to facilitate this "learn it
today…use it tomorrow" hands-on workshop. Participants will explore a
variety of activities for teaching and assessing the traits of effective
writing using familiar classic literature titles that young students love.

Teachers, instructional assistants, special education staff, and
administrators of "wee" (beginning) writers—preschool, pre-kindergarten,
kindergarten, Head Start, and first grade students—are encouraged to
attend.

Attendance is limited to maximize the focused, interactive nature of this
workshop so register soon. As an added incentive, register by March 15 and
save $20 on the already low registration rate.

Visit http://www.nwrel.org/events/see/85 for complete information or call
(800) 547-6339, ext. 187.

Learn about other NWREL workshops at http://www.nwrel.org/events/ .

See the new http://www.thetraits.org ...your one-stop resource for all
your 6+1 Trait® Writing needs, including information on trainings,
instruction assistance, and products.

Primary Ideas: Teach 'em to pick their own topics!

Jennifer shares these great ideas from her 1st Grade Classroom:

I believe that "Good writing" begins with meaningful topic selection. Writers take more ownership when they are in control of their writing topic. It is my responsibility to encourage, model and teach my first graders how to do this. In my classroom, we learn very early what good writers do.

What Good Writers Do:

• Good Writers write about Small Moments from our everyday lives (losing a tooth, dropping our lunch tray, losing a gym shoe, etc.)


• Good writers write about Memories (weddings, injuries, getting a new pet, etc.).


• Good Writers write about things that we are an Expert on (fishing, jumping rope, walking a dog, etc.).


• Good Writers write about things that they have a big feeling about.


• Good Writers write about things that they know a lot of specific information about.


• Good Writers write about things that are real in their lives.


• Good Writers write about things that are important to them.


• Good Writers write about things that they think others will be interested in.
  
  We also learn that: Good Writers are inspired by other writers: An old piece of writing might inspire a new piece of writing. Someone else's writing might inspire a new piece of writing. A good book might inspire a new piece of writing.
  
  My students and I create charts with this type of writing language. These becomes my focus lessons during our Writer's Workshop.
  

Status of the Class

Another great tip to help kids select their writing topic before they actually have the paper & pencil and begin to write about the first random thing that comes to mind, is "Status of the Class."

This means, I pass out the writing journals at the carpet. The students "warm up their brains" by rereading old pieces. They decide if they will be revisiting a piece of writing to write & write or make changes or they decide if they will be moving into a new piece of writing. They have about 3 minutes to do this.

Then, I begin calling out names. As a student hears their name, they share their writing topic. ---Yes, they truly use this language. It's fantastic!

• "I'm revisiting my story about learning to trot on my horse."


• "I'm making changes to my story about my b-day party."


• "I'm writing about a Memory when I twisted my ankle ice skating."

Once a student gives me their topic, they head right to their writing space and begin writing. The entire Status of the Class experience should be quick (5 minutes max!). It feels a bit chaotic at first, but if you stick to it & train your students, it's extremely beneficial.

My first graders have truly made a connection to the importance of meaningful topic selection which directly connects to Ideas, Ideas, Ideas.

The Power of Modeling the Writing Process

Sheryl shared this insightful piece on modeling the writing process...

When I was first told to "model" for students, I was terrified! I didn't want them to see that their teacher wasn't perfect at everything she does! :-) BUT, I soon realized how great it really is for students, and now I actually enjoy doing it.

This year, I got the most effort/product out of my students' writing AFTER they saw me struggle and "mess up" in front of them. When they realized that this is something that can only improve with practice and that even your TEACHER has a hard time thinking of things, they respond so well.

I find that they often try to help me come up with things to write--they want to help write my paper. When it comes to writing their own, they think about the help they gave me, and try to apply it to their own work.

I also think students have to see that writing does not start out perfect--they need to see the cross outs, the rewrites, the spelling mistakes, all of that. When they realize that it's OK to make mistakes intially, they have an easier time getting their thoughts down.

It doesn't always work, obviously, but it does more good than bad.

Motivating Grade Obsessed Students to Write with Passion

I want to share a long excerpt of a discussion that took place during my Spring 2007 6-Traits writing class. We were discussing the difficulty some were having in motivating young writers to find their own ideas about writing. ~ Dennis

Question posted in class:

"My students have great difficulties generating ideas. My students have passion to get A+ but no passion to express their feelings. I really have to argue with some of my students trying to convince them that they must have some issues to write about, but they insist there are none! Perhaps the technology discussed in the lecture [Mind Mapping Tools] can help me to motivate them to become a bit more passionate about some topic for their writing."

Response from Mark:

"They are telling you what they are passionate about - their grades. So use it.

I teach to the same mentality in my district. And had a similar problem in reading last year. I struggled for a solution for the longest time until I was looking in a math binder for a mini lesson; of all places to find a reading solution.

My math professor got all of the math phobic students in the teaching program. He began the year by informing us that we were beginning with an "F" but that can change as long as we were willing to show, effort, willingness, and passion for this subject. Otherwise, he promised that we would wash out of the teaching program. I never had so much fun in math before, and you never saw a more passionate group about math in any class.

I used the same approach with my reading group... It took some setting up. I had to have a clear plan to insure most if not all of my students would do well, I had to convince my principal to let me do it and even with her approval, she was looking over my shoulder constantly; and I had a lot of heat from parents at first. But in the end the kids had a great time while Exceeding expectations, and the parents and district were happy with the results. I was too.

I tend to go with my instincts, my instincts say, if they do not meet your expectations then their grade should reflect their unwillingness to try.

I know that sounds harsh but, if you conference with them and tell them this is your grade unless you can use what I am teaching you, and passionately convince me you deserve a higher self selected grade this is what you will receive.

Then let the bidding begin through self-collected portfolios with letters that explain why these samples should be considered for a higher grade. Then give them your take on the samples along with suggestions for improvement. The more they have to haggle the more passionate their writing will become and the more they will pay attention to what you are teaching.

I can't say where but somewhere along the line the grade, or the need for a better grade tends to slip out of the mix, as the challenge that subject offers takes over. It happened to me as a student in the math class and I saw it happen to my students in my reading class. Their just comes a point where you know what your grade will be and who's responsible for that. At any rate writing is now connected to something important to them and becomes relevant; just a thought.

Melissa Replied:

Mark, I LOVE this idea. I teach "rough" kids with little to no motivation to go to school, let alone put in any effort to be there. However, I have noticed in recent months that a good amount of them have suddenly woken up and realize that they DO want an education and they DO want to make good grades.

Like many of the other people have said, they THINK that by merely turning in the assignment, it deserves an A. I like the fact that this is a "contract" with them--they still are empowered as they have the choice to do what is required to make the grade, or accept the low one; there are no surprises at the end of the grading period.

I wonder if I could implement something like this in my current job. We are starting a new novel in a couple of weeks, your project ideas sound great and could work. Hmmm....you've got me very excited about trying this. The only ones I would have to convince are my Principal and students (most of my kids don't have parents). I'll let you know if it works out. Thanks for the great info!

Mark replies:

Melissa, It would have to be brain stormed and changed for the subject and environment. When I went through it in math at each semester the professor would have us submit our three ah..ha moments in the class along with a reflection on each moment.

Since we were allowed to redo any paper as often as we wanted and he would re-grade as often as we redid the assignment all papers had to be without any mathematical errors. In addition he had us read autobiographies of mathematicians, books about numbers, and had guest speakers come in and talk with us about how numbers are used in the work place. We had to do a reflection on at least two of these events.

So each semester we turned in three assignments with rationale, two reflections on guest speakers, and our daily math journal, along with the grade we felt we deserved and how these papers supported our belief. That's how we were graded.

In my reading class, we read trade books - one of them from a past semester was a book called the Landry News. Each week they had vocabulary work they needed to do and a choice of activates that they would work on over the week and submit with what grade they felt it deserved. If it did deserve the grade I would enter the grade in my book and that was it. If it did not, I entered the low grade, returned the assignment with feedback and they were expected to re-do it over the weekend for re-submission on Monday.

If the paper was not resubmitted I sent a letter home explaining to the parent the grade their child chose to accept and remind them a new project was due on Friday. (That's where the heat came from). But they never missed more than one assignment.

Sample Assignments

• Some examples were things like making a board game that represents the book.
  
• Or retell the story from another characters point of view, anything that reached into comprehension.
  
• At the end of the book we had a debate with the principal and the school councilor as the mediators. Each person in my class sat around a table with a sheet of paper that would be used for a self-evaluation.
  
• At the top of that paper was a note reminding them that they had to make a compelling and (book) relevant contribution to the discussion.

At the end of the debate they were asked to complete this reflection on their performance in the debate and tell me what grade they felt they deserved. As long as they turned in all assignments, stayed on topic, in character, and contributed they got the grade they asked for. And believe me they were far harder on themselves than I would have been.

This is just one book and one example. For Letters from Rifika by Karen Hesse, they needed to make a CIA information slide show of the Tebrot family and their trip to America so that Rifika could be cleared to enter America. The list goes on...

Now, with my writing class I have never had to mention grades this year... They know my expectation. For my part, keeping what I want focused helps me target the specific missed assignments from each student very early on. This is how I do it. In writing I give them a week at the end of each trimester to put together a trimester portfolio with three things in it.

• All assignments called "Perfeckt" usually about ten of them.
• One of the three teacher directed essays for that grading period. Their choice.
• Three samples out of their portfolio along with a sheet that explains the grade they feel they deserve and how these samples support their grading.

They know they need to be consistently working on these pieces. As soon as they select a portfolio piece they know they can redo (in their own time) as often as is necessary and I will re-grade it as often as they submit it. They are accustomed to thinking of the other assignments as targeted lessons that teach them things they can use to improve their portfolio. Because, I will re-grade portfolio pieces as often as they like they know all samples have to be strong in conventions. I give one-on-one help with the other traits in their sample, and they know they have to show improvement in some way. By the time they submit their trimester portfolio they already have a good idea what their grade will be.

And that's it. Is it a lot of work? yes… Is it worth it? YOU BET!!!"

Ideas for teaching Ideas in primary grades

Kathy shared the following in my current 6-traits online class. Her ideas about ideas should spark some ideas for all of us! ~ Dennis

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"This is one area that I have done a lot of exploring with my classes over the last two years. I agree with Spandel* that writer's need the skill of finding and defining their own topics. If you provide the topic routinely, you will encourage students to depend on you for this.

We are working on learning to "spot the moments or ideas within their experience that are worthy of writing time." I agree that we must tap into their personal experience, expertise, and interests. I think students can learn to become good observers. As I have mentioned before, we make lots of lists and we record them in our writer's notebooks.

One book that I have used the last two years to introduce the concept of personal experiences and using a writer's notebook is I'm In Charge of Celebrations (by Byrd Baylor). This is a book about a woman that celebrates unique and wonderful occurrences in her life as she lives in the desert: seeing a triple rainbow, seeing dust tunnels(?) swirl all around her, a coyote, etc.

After reading the book, I send home a note asking parents to help students make a list of things that they celebrate in their life, other than holidays. Parents list 6 or 7 experiences( holding an alligator, saving two kittens, riding my first roller coaster, loosing my first tooth). This was our first entry into our writer's notebooks under the heading of celebrations.

Then students chose 1 celebration to use as our first piece of writing. We started by making a class list through interactive writing. Then they each wrote individually about the experience. Spandel states that students need modeling and practice in order to learn how to list everyday events and random thoughts in their notebooks. This is why we started with a class writer's notebook. We recorded ideas together on chart paper.

Another point that Spandel makes is that students need to talk to one another before they write - to suggest ideas for writing. I also previously mentioned that we have Lightbulb Lab almost everyday in my class. This is time to write ideas in the writer's notebooks. During this time students can chose to have idea talk time. They can sit with one or two classmates and talk.

I have talk time cards they can use to guide their conversation. For ex. Did anything different or unusual happen last night? or Did you notice anything on your way to school today?

I also have a bin of pictures I pulled from magazines that they can look at to try to come up with ideas.I found two ideas that I would like to try in my classroom. I liked the idea chart "Picturing Writing" on pg. 24. I thought it was a great way to get kids to plan out descriptions and details for their story. I also like the Snapshots idea, "Show, don't tell", in which students turn vague sentences into snapshots by piling on adjectives and creating pictures in the reader's mind. "

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*The text we use in the k-4 course is Vick Spandel's Creating Young Writers. If you've read it you know it is extraordinary. If you haven't read it... do!

~ Dennis