Free Writing & Research Curriculum from Intel

FREE GOLD:

• Intel® Education: Technology Literacy This is an online curriculum for writing and research using technology tools. It's about how to write research using the net. Aimed at middle school students, this work could be used for beginning research methods in graduate school. Superb instructional design. A hidden gem. Brilliant!
  (tags: e-learning curriculum writing writing-process)

6-Traits Video (Schools brew writing videos)

• traits Writing - Page 1 - Blinkx Video Results Blinkx video is a search engine dedicated to just video. They claim to have 18 million hours of video in the search index. A few minutes of all that video is dedicated to 6-traits writing. Fun and worth a look!
  
  (tags: 6-traits video)


• writing process - Page 1 - Blinkx Video Results Writing process video, these are student produced. your kids should get a kick out of them!
  
  (tags: writing writing-process video)

Crafting Writers, K–6 (Full text online)

Crafting Writers K-6
Elizabeth Hale
Year: 2008
Media: 272 pp/paper
ISBN: 978-157110-739-8
Grade Range: K-6

Here's another online full text preview from Stenhouse Publishing.

The book is available via PDF download, a chapter at a time.

Here is the table of contents:

Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Specific Craft
Chapter 3: Gathering Craft
Chapter 4: Categories of Specific Craft
Chapter 5: Crafting with Punctuation
Chapter 6: Primary Writing
Chapter 7: Teaching Craft Lessons
Chapter 8: Researching Strengths in a Conference
Chapter 9: Researching Next Steps in a Conference
Chapter 10: Teaching the Conference
Chapter 11: Group Conferring and Other Management Techniques
Chapter 12: Assessment
Final Thoughts
Appendix A: Additional Mini-Lessons on Craft
Appendix B: Mini-Lessons for Independence in Memoir Writing
Appendix C: Mini-Lessons for Independence in Nonfiction Writing
Appendix D: Mini-Lessons for Independence in Poetry Writing
Appendix E: Forms for Researching Craft
Appendix F: Guided Practice in Researching Craft
Appendix G: List of Specific Craft Presented in Chapters 4, 5, and 6
References
Index

If you use it, buy it! Reward a writer and teacher's hard work!

Free Tools for Thinking, Researching, Writing

Intel is creating great tools for educators. You'll find real treasures on their education website.

Here's a link to Intel's Thinking Tools:

http://www.intel.com/education/tools/index.htm?iid=teach+tools

Here is the Education Site Map that provides access to all of their resources:

http://www.intel.com/education/site_support/contents.htm

Bookmark these pages if nothing else. This is an amazing free resource.

I recently reviewed Intel's Technology Literacy Curriculum for alignment to ISTE NETS-S standards.

http://www.intel.com/education/technologyliteracy/

If you're looking for a carefully designed curriculum to teach research and writing skills, this is it. Again this is a free resource. In my opinion it is more than detailed enough to work at the college level. These could be the basis for a very strong semester of instruction.

The curriculum was written for kids 11 -15 years old. Don't let the Technology Literacy title throw you. This is about how to research and write using online and traditional sources.

Dennis

Melody's Real World Editing Lessons

Melody Brennan was my co-facilitator in the Spring 2008 edition of the 6-Traits online writing class. She did a terrific job! Here's bit of advice she offered during our module on conventions. ~ Dennis

Thinking in terms of modeling and practicing, technology spell checking, and just plain teaching how to edit.....

While in the classroom I used our weekly classroom newsletters rather than DOL.

Here's how:

Each week I would type our newsletter that would be sent home to update the parents about what happened that week and what was hopefully going to happen the next week (one can never be 100% sure...even though we plan!) I would add errors, especially ones that spell check would not change or highlight. Students would look it over (peer editing), work together after looking individually, and then we would all come together to create our "final" draft. I would make the revisions and hand-out the final draft for copying. I would then ask a co-worker to come in so that I could ask them in front of the class if they could find some time to edit my work. I know what I want my newsletter to say, but sometimes that is the biggest problem....my brain is thinking one thing and my paper or newsletter is really saying something different. The students saw me asking another peer to look it over one more time before submitting the newsletter as the final draft.

This worked great! Life lessons in the making! I had parents searching to see if they could still find an error with their students at home. Of course, they were not always perfect and I would sometimes be greeted on Monday morning with a big circle around something. However, they all appreciated the learning that went behind the weekly newsletter.

South Aftrican Poetry Slam

This just in from Jayne in Jo-berg!

We had a poetry slam last Friday. It was awesome.

My class and I had invited parents, the librarian, the elementary
principal, and the school counselor. There were about 30 people for this
event. I moved all the tables and desks out of my classroom, and we put
the chairs, the couch, and a few pillows in a big circle. I called it
"Poetry in the Round." In the middle of our circle I setup a small table
with candles, flowers, and a big hat for names. In our invitation we
encouraged our guests to bring poems they would like to share.

Round One: Memorized Poems

Anyone who had memorized a poem could put their name in the hat.
I had all of my students and one parent participate in round one. To
start I picked the first name out of the hat. When I read the name out
loud, everyone had to say "YES" enthusiastically. The reader would
stand up and say their poem. Instead of applause, one girl had suggested
we snap our fingers a bunch of times. It worked great. Then person who
had just said their poem would pick the next name out of a hat, and we'd
all say "YES" enthusiastically and so on till all the names were picked
and poems said. I would make a big deal out of finishing each round and
we'd have a minute or two break and then dive into the next round.

Round Two: Poems You Wrote

Anyone who had written a poem they wanted to share could put
their name in the hat. My students had recently put all their poems
into a book so they had lots to choose from. It was fun to have a few
parents join in this round too as well as all of my students and my
student teacher.

Round Three: Anything Goes

Besides all the students, I had lots of parents and
administrators participate in round three. The kids loved it when their
parent's name was chosen. Many of the parents put their heart and soul
into reading their poems. A highlight for my class was my student
teacher's contributions. He not only shared a number of his creations,
but as a farewell to the class, he shared a beautiful poem he wrote
called "Recipe for a Great Class." The piece included every student's
name and a bit of their personality. It was beautiful. This was his
last day with our class and so the poetry slam was also his farewell
party. After beginning teaching the poetry unit 6 weeks before, I had
asked him if he wanted to teach some of the poetry classes. He said
writing was not his thing especially poetry. I decided that every poem
the kids worked on, he would do as well. After a hesitant start, he
really got into it. He began sharing more and more of his work with the
class every day and it gave them confidence to share too. His honesty
about his feeling that he wasn't a good writer made the students
encourage him and each other more and more. It was one of those magical units that everyone can't help but grow, learn and feel good about their writing and themselves.

Jayne from Jo-burg

Where writing and music connect...

I wanted to share some ideas about the relationship between writing music and writing prose. This was written by Michael McHugh, a muscian, composer and educator currently working in Japan. Mike is also currently taking my online 6-traits class. (Thank you Mike for letting me post this for everyone!) ~ Dennis

***

It continues to amaze me, as we progress through this course, how many techniques for crafting a great paper can be related to similar techniques for writing interesting pieces of music. The lead, or even the title, of a narrative or essay can make a reader hungry for the story or message that will follow, just as a beginning melody will "hook" a listener within the first few measures of a piece. What follows, of course, will determine whether or not the reader or listener STAYS engaged.

I always tell my IB students not to attempt to title their music compositions--even if they already have a pretty comprehensive idea of where it's going to go--until the piece is at least near completion. They sometimes surprise themselves with where they actually end up in their impressions, and how they finally choose to encapsulate the piece with those few words at the top. And when their peers go to listen to the pieces, there seems to be a sense of intense curiosity about how the title applies--what's going to happen here?

What kills me is that I have never asked any of my students writing their experiential papers on their outside musical activities to attempt to do the same. There is a huge amount of character--"voice"--in much of their work, yet there in the top corner of all of the papers is the same stale "name, due date, assignment name" that I told them to put there, absent any kind of focus or hook to give the reader (which is only me at this stage) that initial jolt of anticipation. I dare say that some students might actually produce more engaging works if they believed they had the choice of giving their papers a more narrative flare (another revelation that I need to make sure to employ this semester).

Roundaboutedly related to the above, I do have a question about leads. Can they be like titles, in that sometimes a student really can't come up with a good one until they have a clearer idea about the direction of their paper? Or should a lead be a part of the student's organizational process from the beginning, as a focusing tool? Is there necessarily a right or a wrong?

Thanks much,

Mike@Kobe, Japan

A quick shot of resources!

• Writing Information Articles Listing Perfect Your Writing Skills, Get Published, Write More Powerful Business Letters index of writing tips. Lot's of info!

  (tags: writing tips)

• Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - lifehack.org tips from poynter.com on writing

  (tags: writing writing-process 6-traits)

• Produits dans la collection 6-traits materials in French?

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

Last Call: Enroll now for 6-Traits Online!

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

WRITING COURSE:

EDUC 744 920F Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-TraitsElementary (Gr. K-4) - 3 gr. cr. begins January 28, 2008.

EDUC 744 909F Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits - Middle/High School (Gr. 5-12) 3 gr. cr. begins January 28, 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.

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 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

Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary

Inside Words

Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary Grades 4-12

Janet Allen
Year: 2007
Media: 128 pp/paper + CD ROM
ISBN: 978-157110-399-4
Grade Range: 4-12

Full text online!

Contents
Instructional Strategies and the Tools That Support Them
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Concept Circles
Concept Ladder
Concepts and Vocabulary: Categories and Labels
Contextual Redefinition
Dictoglos
Focused Cloze
Frayer Model
Frequent Contact
"I'm Thinking of a Word..."
I Spy: A Word Scavenger Hunt
Lead
List-Group-Label
Possible Questions
Possible Sentences
Previewing Content Vocabulary
Semantic Feature Analysis
Semantic Mapping
Survival of the Fittest
Think-Pair-Share: Collaborate for Understanding
Vocab-O-Gram
Word Sort
Word Walls
Appendix

Methods of Teaching Sentence Fluency

Methods of Teaching Sentence Fluency Summary  (Ideas from the active classrooms of teachers from around the world!

• Decide on a topic with the students. Roll a die. The number it lands on shows how many words must be in the opening sentence. Keep rolling the die to have students create sentences to match the number rolled - without using the same first word used to begin the initial sentence. Continue for 8 to 10 sentences.
  

• "Lots of Color"
  
  Use a well-written paragraph from a favorite novel; type it on the computer, highlighting the first word of every sentence in a different color if the word is different. A great visual to demonstrate how many different ways an author begins a sentence. Then have students use crayon to do the same with their writing. ~ KA
• N2SSA rule: No 2 Sentences Start Alike. The rule meant that no 2 sentences could start with the same phrases on the same page or paragraph, depending on the age.
• I also LOVE reader's theater. I think the more children can read aloud, whether it is their own work or someone else’s is so beneficial.

• Read into a tape recorder. That way he can practice, or even erase sections. He could play the tape for a small group or the class when he's ready. It may be an issue of shyness rather than confidence in his reading. You might even begin by having him just tell his story rather than read word for word. Those strategies helped by learning disabled students start to develop confidence in themselves. ~ Pat

• Vicki Spandel offers the following suggestions:
1. First, as teachers we must not be shy or hesitant ourselves but actively model reading aloud.
2. Second, encourage students to read aloud as often as possible and appropriate.
3. Third, have young writer's read aloud into a makeshift PVC pipe type telephone to amplify their unique individual voices
4. Lastly, consider having them perform an age appropriate scene from a famous drama or read aloud from one of their favorite poems...(193). ~ TJ
• Have your shy student read to another adult in your school. It my school it is not uncommon to see a student reading to the principal, nurse, secretary, custodian, etc. ~Jeanette
• I wanted to let you all know that the PVC phones mentioned in CYW on p. 123 are fantastic!! The child just whispers into the phone and can easily hear the words said. We actually call them whisper phones. I'm definitely going to have the students use them as they write. ~ Karen A

• The most important lesson I will take away from our module on Fluency is: READ ALOUD. Children need to hear their own work read aloud. They need to learn to identify places that make them say, "I have to fix that." or 'I like the way that sounds." ~Jeanette
  

• Have students listen to audio recordings performed by authors that they are acquainted with and discussing their reactions.~ JA

• The books by Chris Van Allsburg have several options on how to use this book to enhance writing fluency at www.writing.fix. Just scroll down until you see Sentence Fluency. ~ Nita

• Spandel's quote from Mem Fox on p. 58 was interesting: "...vocabulary and a sense of rhythm are almost impossible to 'teach' in the narrow sense of the word. So they learn by being read to ... a lot!". Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky are my favorites. ~ Karen A
• I really appreciated your post recalling Presidents John F. Kennedy's inauguration and Robert Frost reading one of his poems. I too watched the inauguration ceremonies on TV and heard one of America's preeminent poets voice and the powerful effect of his sentence fluency. Wasn't that a great way to be introduced to poetry! To see poetry have a place of honor at the table when the transfer of power was being celebrated by the worlds most powerful nation.; I Have a Dream speech  ~Tom

• After reading the "extra readings" such as "Poetic Sense: Sound &; Imagery" and listening to the lecture where it states, "Poetry readings, choral reading and verbal performances of any kind are Sentence Fluency exercises," hearing the masters read their own work.
• How wonderful that you remember Robert Frost reading Apple Picking Time! I love Robert Frost's poetry and remember my high school English teacher reciting The Road Not Taken. I don't think I would remember that poem if it was not for the rhythm and fluency. Poetry's fluency allows us to remember the verses as a song and I think that's important. Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Day is another favorite and a memorable verse: But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep. I'm sure we all remember this one. ~Diane

• I find that imitation is one of the best ways to get anyone, of any age started in writing - period. Not many students will end up pirating someone else's style. ~Meg

• The text states, "Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of language." It also states, "Skillful writers find ways to hook sentences together. They also read their own writing aloud to get the sound and rhythm. Fluency is readily measured by how easy it is to read text aloud and to weave in plenty of expression as you do so." (Spandel, pg 10)

• I also have used song lyrics in my poetry units. This is a GREAT motivator for middle school students, especially 8th graders. I have found that this age (approximately 14 years old) is the beginning of self-discovery and that they are really getting into the "lyrics" of songs, not just the artist. Lyrics are poetry put to music, and even if you read the lyrics without the music, the fluency really comes through. There is a resource called "Hip Hop Poetry and the Classics ~ Meredith

• Get your hands on some Reader's Theaters ~Meg

• Having students read their own work aloud is a fine tactic. Combine this with reading anonymous strong and weak examples and you reinforce the lesson even more. This is a good way to help those who don't have the 'ear' to hear problems in their own writing! ~Den

Concerns about reading aloud:

• Do other teachers find that imitation takes over for personal style when oral works are shared in the context of teaching style/voice/sentence fluency? How is this addressed? Some resources I have seen encourage teachers to have students model their work on a great writer...but can't students get stuck in doing this? ~Tiffany
  
• Students might begin with imitation of authors because they are unsure of how to write fluent sentences. By giving our students many opportunities to hear and write fluent sentences as well as to identify sentences lacking fluency we can help them recognize that fluency comes in many forms. This also gives them a number of ways to create fluency in their own writing. Most kids are storytellers if we give them the tools and the space to make mistakes along the way. ~Pat

• I think Spandel's title for sentence fluency, "Variety and Rhythm" is right on and it is exactly what I plan on emphasizing when I do teach this trait. So often, I see the predictable subject/predicate, subject/predicate sentence structure that I can clearly see how this is one trait that needs attention in my students' writing. We happen to be reading "The Monkey's Paw" right now and the climax of this story, when read aloud, provides a really powerful opportunity for teaching sentence fluency and how the pacing and placement of fragments add to the suspense of the plot. Reading aloud is a biggy with this one.
  
  
• I think for me your description of fluency singing is just right. However, I have to remind myself that fluency or the type of flow in a piece of writing is different if the writing is a story or if it is expository. In my ear, they can both have wonderful fluency but the way that is achieved is definitely not the same. ~ Pat

Can you teach fluency with any other trait?

• I had a hard time distinguishing between voice and fluency for a bit, so I thought maybe I could teach them together. Now, the more I read and the more I read aloud and notice good sentence fluency, I see the distinct differences and I think I need to make sure my students see them too. The voice of a piece reflect who the author is and fluency is more of a skillful art of writing good sentence that add a rhythm to the piece. ~ Meredith
  

• I find interesting the idea of bundling word choice and voice into a trait called style, and I highly disagree with that concept. Why take the clearly defined, relatively easily identifiable traits of word choice and voice and combine them into an ambiguous, relatively meaningless category called style? In the business world, the concept of "style" is used to promote conformity to company or departmental standards. In some of the writing departments where I've worked, the motto has been "many writers, one voice," and that is achieved by strict adherence and strict editing to detailed standards of "style," which include predefined word choices, terminology, formatting, page layout, punctuation, capitalization, organization, etc. In short, "style" includes all the traits and is used to strip individual characteristics from writing.

• I think that a writer's style evolves from application and evaluation of all the traits -- it is the end result, the high quality, holistic synthesis we hope our students will achieve. ~ Tricia
  

• I agree with all of you - I wouldn't bundle this trait with anything else either. For my younger students, it's important for them to learn about and focus on one aspect at a time. I think that helps them better understand what to look for in good writing. It's also easier for them to understand as we conference and talk about voice or their organization, etc. I've seen that same blank look where Pat, It is so interesting how different "worlds" bring their own perspective and objective to the work place. ~KA

• I am thinking that the sentence fluency trait, with its emphasis on reading aloud, is the cumulative trait in that reading aloud improves and reinforces all other writing (and reading) traits and skills.. ~Tom
  
• I would not bundle sentence fluency with another trait either as Trisha stated. I think if the organization and punctuation are not correct then the story won't flow. Both Culham and Spandel state that sentence fluency is an auditory trait. ~Diane
• I honestly would not bundle sentence fluency with any other trait. I think how sentences flow should be in a category all by itself. If it would go with any other trait, I would put it with conventions. I would only suggest this because if you are missing period, commas, or other mechanics, or if there are too many the sentences do not flow together properly. ~Trisha K

• You raised precisely the important question, of how fluency is more than just varying sentences, using transitions, and varying sentence lengths. Fluency really is the music of the piece and we've got to examine the whole to hear it. The context, purpose, and audience all play some role in determining fluency.

• I'm glad you raised the issue of different types of writing. In technical, "how to," or business writing, the characteristics of sentence fluency can be quite different than in creative writing. For example, starting each step in a procedure with an action verb is considered very good form in technical writing, as is consistent use of terminology, rather than the variety of word choice that might be more pleasing in fiction or poetry. Coming from a career in technical writing, I can definitely say that sentence fluency is a major issue -- I wouldn't call it singing, but cadence, consistency, and concision are probably the watchwords for procedural and business writing. ~Tricia

• You pointed out precisely what makes strong technical writing. The action verbs at the beginning of sentences and the repetitive use of the same sentence structure can really emphasize a point when not overdone. I think we need to examine the effectiveness of the writing techniques our students use without condemning any one element for what is generally a weakness i.e. starting all sentences with the same word or using only short simple sentences can also be used to wonderful effect in the right hands.

Questions for further thought:

• I would love some suggestions to help a child who struggles with the confidence to read out loud, but writes very well. He always wants someone else to read his original work. How do I help him come out of his shell? How long do I let him have others read his own writings? ~Kerry

• Do other teachers find that imitation takes over for personal style when oral works are shared in the context of teaching style/voice/sentence fluency? How is this addressed?

• As writing teachers, how can we create safe environments for our students to risk expressing those strong voices? All children have that sense of passionate voice but are often unwilling to let us see it for fear of criticism or rejection, the lessons of the editor's red pen. How can we encourage that joy of writing? ~Pat

Resources:

• Silverstein's website if terrific with a variety of activities - one is listening to and identifying poems. http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html
• Prelutsky has similar activities: http://www.jackprelutsky.com/
• Scholastic has a lesson on writing poetry: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_home.htm
• I did a quick search for resources to use in teaching fluency and came across some very interesting sites. If you would like some practical suggestions just check these out. Pat
• Strategies for teaching fluency http://tusdstats.tusd.k12.az.us/planning/resources/getting_to_know_the_six_traits/Sentence_Fluency_TbyT.htm
• Nice checklist for students http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/sixtrait/sentencefluency/read.html
• PowerPoint on sentence fluency http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/pdffiles/7_6Traits_SentFluency.pdf
• Suggested stories for teaching fluency http://www.cyberspaces.net/6traits/book7.html
• A lesson plan for middle school http://www.geocities.com/jdljdljdl/SentenceFluency_LessonPlan.htm
• Links to a variety of 6 Traits materials
• http://www.cms.edu.do/Teachers%20Folders/willian%20farren/Pages/express/expindx.htm
• The Z was Zapped" that was geared toward sentence fluency. The web address for this activity is http://www.writingfix.com/Traits.htm
• Chris Van Allsburg books with suggestions on sentence fluency www.writing.fix

Writing Craft Lessons: Full Text E-Book

Now available! The revised and expanded edition of the best-selling Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi features 17 brand-new writing craft lessons, revisions to other lessons, expanded resources, and more—a total of 95 lessons grouped into sections for K-2, 3-4, and 5-8. Click here to browse the entire book online!

Ruth Culham's Writing Company

Workshop & training schedules with a comprehensive listing of books and other materials make this site worth a visit.

Also listed are recommended books to support the traits.

Word Choice Wrap Up: A Weekly Summary

A special thanks to my Co-Facilator Patricia Hutton for compiling this summary of ideas and questions from this week's online edition of Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits.

Subject: discussion summary module 5

This week’s discussion highlighted quite a variety of strategies to try to teach word choice. Thanks to all of you who graciously shared resources including numerous books to read to kids across all levels that illustrate wonderfully creative word choices. The level and quality of your contributions remains high. Keep up your phenomenal work!

Main Ideas:

• A word bank is essential for students to have, especially kids that are learning impaired.
• Word choice and voice are the same.
• As teachers we are quick to write a negative comment if there is one to be made on the writing, but are a lot less verbal with our praise
• Praise the student's strengths, and encourage and praise their efforts where they are not as strong or confident and reinforce both messages with frequent writing practice.
• We need to teach students to pick just the right phrases to boost their main idea, not overwhelm it.

Strategies:

• Depending on the grade level, what do you think about short "observation walks", with the goal to just walk slowly, observe their surroundings and come up with similes/metaphors on their own?
• A skit-The librarian was the queen who loved new words. The teacher did not want her students to use any new words. So they had a "battle" in which the queen won and killed the blah words (they focused on said, big, and small). The dead words were buried; they made a tombstone for each. After the skit, the students used a thesaurus to find synonyms for the words, then wrote them on die cut flowers. Throughout the year, more dead words were added to the graveyard and new flowers were grown with the powerful words written on them.
• Try the PPC format for comments -- pluses, potential, and concerns.
• Listen to audio novels rather than always requiring reading.
• O'Henry short stories are full of descriptive words that leave you wanting more.
• Try a writing activity called "Spring Day" using a sensory web - something that can be created in Inspiration or freehand. Each branch off the web is a sense. The students had to sit outside on a spring day and write what they heard, saw etc. Then, they had to transfer that into a paragraph. the key here was to NOT use "I hear...I see”
• Create a bulletin board of vivid verbs and alive adjectives. As a class, we brainstorm "Instead of walk, use _______"
• 100 Trait-Specific Comments: A Quick Guide for Giving Constructive Feedback on Student Writing by Ruth Culham. On one side of a page is the rubric for each trait and across from that are several examples of comment for a 5, 3, or 1 paper.
• With the bulletin board,create a list of "banished words" such as good, nice, beautiful etc. They can not use these "boring" words but must come up with something more specific or colorful.
• Here is an assignment called "The Cut." The idea is that almost every student has an incident as a child when they received a bad cut or scrape, and that the sensory impressions remain vividly in their minds. Ask students to write a couple of paragraphs using vivid imagery and word choice to describe the situation.
• Bury dead words.
• Since we couldn't always write in our library books or borrowed books, we would use highlighter tape to highlight the word/section we wanted to remember or add to our inspiration journal.
• Each student brings an apple from home. First brainstorm words that could be used to describe apples using our senses and students write these on a chart. Next they wrote a description of the apple (had to be very detailed). Then collect the apples, read the papers, and the each student picks out his/her apple. After that, the class writes a paragraph from the apple's point of view, trying to convince a person to eat it. As they wrote this part, they were eating their apples to savor the taste and be better able to describe it in the paragraph.

Questions:

• Is having the kids copy similes and metaphors out of literature and using them in their writing plagiarism? Any suggestions?
Yes, the right words are used to convey a voice, but how can you separate them?
• Is Spandel just breaking down voice into another piece?
• What do we do when we disagree with how other teachers are teaching (or not teaching) the 6 traits?
When students start using better word choices and more descriptive words, how do you get them to not overdo it?
• Would these books, Harry Potter, be so popular if she had used ordinary words for the characters and their actions?
• Will a child just start adding adjectives or 'vivid' verbs that really don't make sense because he/she thinks that what we want?
• So, how can I teach them when enough is enough?

Full Text Online Books about Writing

When teachers write books about writing they have a lot of time tested wisdom to share. Stenhouse publishers provide a fine selection of professional books you may want to consider. If you find any of the following books useful, buy it! (Or at least ask your school librarian to purchase a copy.)

Talking, Drawing, Writing
Lessons for Our Youngest Writers

Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe
Year: 2007
Media: 276pp/paper
ISBN: 978-157110-456-4
Grade Range: K-3

"This is a book about responding to children. A book about listening and noticing children. The first move is not the teacher's. Rather, the starting place is the child's practice through language, drawing, and storytelling. This requires great patience, and I was struck by the time markers that breathed through the text. How long does a teacher wait? It could be ten seconds, twenty, thirty—long enough to tell the child you have all the time in the world to listen. This is a book that teachers have been waiting for but didn't know they needed."
—Donald Graves

Boy Writers
Reclaiming Their Voices

Ralph Fletcher
Year: 2006
Media: 176 pp/paper
ISBN: 978-157110-425-0
Grade Range: K-12

Writing test scores indicate that boys have fallen far behind girls across the grades. In general, boys don't enjoy writing as much as girls. What's wrong? How can we do a better of job of creating “boy-friendly” classrooms so their voices can be heard?

Inside Words
Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary, Grades 4-12

Janet Allen
Year: 2007
Media: 128 pp/paper + CD ROM
ISBN: 978-157110-399-4
Grade Range: 4-12

We've learned a lot in recent years about the important role vocabulary plays in making meaning, yet many teachers still struggle with vocabulary instruction that goes beyond weekly word lists. Effective vocabulary instruction is particularly vital in the content areas, where the specialized language used by “insiders” often creates a barrier to understanding for those new to the subjects. In Inside Words, Janet Allen merges recent research and key content-area teaching strategies to show teachers how to help students understand the academic vocabulary found in textbooks, tests, articles, and other informational texts.

Everyday Editing
Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer's Workshop

Jeff Anderson
Year: 2007
Media: 176 pp/paper
ISBN: 978-157110-709-1
Grade Range: 4-8

Editing is often seen as one item on a list of steps in the writing process—usually put somewhere near the end, and often completely crowded out of writer's workshop. Too many times daily editing lessons happen in a vacuum, with no relationship to what students are writing.

Recommended books for Organization

During the Organization Module in the Fall 07 online 6-Traits class, we discussed the importance of leads, titles. One of the best ways to build traits concepts is with examples from great books.

Jeanette, a primary teacher from Alaska posted the following.

On page 8 of Creating Young Writers (Spandel, 2004) it states "A good lead (beginning) is vital." On page 9, Spandel goes on to say, "Skilled writers know that the way you wrap up a piece of writing determines the final impression you make on a reader and often determines whether the piece as a whole has believability." I decided to look at the recommended books for organization on 180 and see how the authors decided to begin and end their stories. If you haven't read some of the recommended books I really suggest you do. They are great. After reading some of them I understood better what makes a great beginning and end. And middle, too.

Brown, Margaret Wise. 1949. The important book. New York: Harper Trophy.

Every year in the halls of the school I taught at there would be "The Most Important Thing" poem display. I always read the poems written by the students, but I never read the book until yesterday. The book is a collection of poems that begin and end with the same statement, "The important thing about a _________ is _________________."


Fleming, Denise. (1997). Time to sleep. New York. Henry Holt and Company.

The story begins with "Bear sniffed once. She sniffed twice. "I smell winter in the air," said bear." What a great statement. I can't wait to ask my students what winter smells like. I'm sure the answers I get from my students in Alaska will be way different than the answers from students in Florida. The ending reminded my of the old tv series The Waltons with all the animals saying "good night" to each other.


French, Vivian. (2003) Growing Frogs. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

What a lovely book! The first sentence is definitely an eye catcher, "Once, when I was little, my mom read me a story about a frog that grew bigger, and bigger and bigger. The story ends with a similar sentence, "I like having frogs jumping around getting bigger, and bigger and bigger!"

St. George, Judith. (2002). So you want to be an inventor? New York: Philomel Books.

This story begins with a question. The story goes on to tell about different people and what they invented. The story is both entertaining and educational.

Wallace, Karen. (1993) Think of an eel. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

The story begins with "Think of an eel. He swims like a fish. He slides like a snake." I like the way the author engages the reader with the first sentence.

After reading these books I decided I am definitely going to use them in my classroom. The suggested writing activities are very good.

I am now very aware of the beginning and ending of a story. I know organization is all about the middle too. But what really struck was how you can engage a reader with just one or two lines. Here are a few more books that I particularly liked the opening sentence.


Knowlton, Laurie. (2006). A young man's dance. Pennsylvania: Boyd Mills Press.

This book begins with "Grandma Ronnie isn't home anymore." That is the only sentence on the page. The next page goes on to say, "There's no smell of baked cookies, no music jitterbugging through the rooms. " The story is about a young boy that is having a difficult time adjusting to his grandmother living in a nursing home. My eyes were watering by the time I finished this book – guess that's a sign of good Voice.

Brown, Margaret Wise. (1938). On Christmas Eve. Harper Collins.

How someone would be able to put down a book and not finish it when it begins, " It was the middle of the night. And night of all nights it was Christmas." is beyond me.


Sendak, Marice. (1970) In the night kitchen. USA: Harper and Row.

Okay. This was one of my favorite books when I was little. It begins, "Did you ever her of Mickey, how he heard a racket in the night and shouted QUIET DOWN THERE!"

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.

Top 20 6-Trait Resources

These resources come from my del.icio.us social bookmarks. (Network name wiredinstructor)

1. Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - lifehack.org

   tips from poynter.com on writing

   to writing writing-process 6-traits ... saved by 4729 other people ... 2 days ago

2. Techlearning > > Poetry Out Loud > September 7, 2007

   Hear British poets read 21 of their own poems, including, incredibly, Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1890 reading of "The Charge of the Light Brigade," as recorded by agents of Thomas Alva Edison

   to writing 6-traits poetry ... on sept 11

3. ReadingLady.com :: ReadingLady.com Teaching Resources

   Posters for the six traits in word document form

   to 6-traits writing writing-process ... saved by 1 other person ... on sept 05

4. 6+1 Traits for Revison | Scholastic.com

   edit / delete

   Ruth Culham provides overview of traits. Links to other support materials.

   to 6-traits writing writing-process ... saved by 1 other person ... on sept 05

5. Essay Punch: An Interactive Writing Tutorial

   The web site provides questions that help to guide users step by step through pre-writing, writing, organizing, editing, rewriting, and publishing.

   to writing 6-traits writing-process writers ... saved by 38 other people ... on aug 26

6. Storybase.net - writing prompts for fiction writers

   web 2.0 oriented writing prompts

   to writing writing-process writers 6-traits ... saved by 2 other people ... on aug 26

7. Journalists Writing Style guide

   English (UK) Detailed style guide from the other side of the pond.

   to 6-traits ... saved by 289 other people ... on aug 08

8. Research on the 6+1 Trait Writing Model for Improving Student Writing

   65 page pdf of research on effectiveness of 6 traits in writing achievement. also ppt slides from ASCD presentation

   to 6-traits ... on aug 08

9. Hartman Reader Page

   Web 1.0 page dedicated to words, their meanings, and various bits of literate trivia.

   to wordchoice 6-traits ... saved by 4 other people ... on aug 07

10. The Write Weblog: Six Traits of Writing Brainstorming

    Classroom blogging project, good example of how to use a blog in a writing class.

    to 6-traits blog ... on july 29

11. Quotable Quotes on Writers and Writing

    to writing writers writing-process 6-traits ... saved by 99 other people ... on june 03

12. Advice to writers by Vonnegut

    How to Write With Style by Kurt Vonnegut

    to writing 6-traits ... saved by 363 other people ... on june 02

13. UWC @ TAMU - Writing Process

    webliography of writing process resources
    

    to writing 6-traits e-learning ... on may 11

14. In digital age, more t's are crossed poorly - The Boston Globe

    impact of technology and nclb on handwriting.

    to 6-traits writing ... saved by 6 other people ... on may 08

15. ESL 6-Traits

    Forms for scoring 6-traits elements with an ESL orientation

    to 6-traits esl ... on may 05

16. Six Trait Writing Ideas

    Fun page of links to various 6-traits links!

    to 6-traits writing ... on may 05

17. Lesson Plan:"All About Me" Paragraph - Grade 5 Writing

    This is an introductory lesson for students in the beginning of the school year, based on a collection of ideas from "The 6-Traits in Writing" (rubrics adapted to be kid-friendly), and also the "10-Point Writing Checklist." This collection of organizers i

    to 6-traits writing ... saved by 2 other people ... on may 05

18. 6+1 Trait Writing @Web English Teacher

    Web English Teacher presents the best of K-12 English / Language Arts teaching resources: lesson plans, WebQuests, videos, biography, e-texts, criticism, jokes, puzzles, and classroom activities. Permission to link is granted to any educational site.

    to writing 6-traits ... saved by 32 other people ... on may 03

19. The Neverending Tale

    The Neverending Tale is for kids and kids-at-heart. It is a choose-your-own-path adventure story- like you might read in a book. But you can add to the tale where ever you like. Whatever you add will become part of the tale, anything you can think of.

    to writing writing-process 6-traits ... on may 03

20. The Opportunity of Voice (Techlearning blog)

    David Jakes on Digital Story Telling. Meat for thought here. How does medium is the message reality of web 2.0 tech interact with traditional ways of teaching writing (6-traits)? Hint: It's all about audience, and to find an audience you have to underst

    to writing 6-traits digital_storytelling ... saved by 2 other people ... on april 24

6-Traits PowerPoint Resources

This is worth looking at! There are many power point projects on this site that you can download and use for class or parent presentations. Take a look!

http://languagearts.pppst.com/6traits.html