Six Traits of Writing

Poems, wacky vacations, personal narratives, class newspaper, parts of a flower, word problems--these are some examples of what your child has written in the fourth grade this year. Within each day there is a time when your child must share their voice through writing. They compose, organize, and select just the right words. Students use complete sentences, and when they are done, they proofread their work to make sure words are spelled correctly, and the mechanics and grammar are correct. In each assignment there are components of the Six Traits of Writing

The six traits of writing include content, organization, voice, sentence fluency, conventions. These words give teachers and students common language when discussing writing. They give teaching points to help students navigate the writing process. When assessing your child's writing, these are the traits I look for in their writing.

Content is basically the theme of the paper. I look to see if the student expresses the theme clearly.

For organization I look to see if the student's work has a strong beginning, middle and end. Also, I look to see if the student use smooth transitions from one paragraph to the next.

Voice is the easy one for me in that when reading the writing does it sound like the author? If I'm reading Nicoletta's work, for example, does the writing sound like something Nicoletta would say?

Strong word choice is important in making the story exciting to read. Strong, energetic verbs make a story exciting. Descriptive, exacting adjectives help a reader form a picture in their minds. We spend quite a few mini lessons moving from words like good, bad, sad, mad to more expressive words like livid or downcast.

Sentence fluency is knowing how to create a rhythm with the sentences, giving the writing a cadence for the reader. A writer does this by sometimes using long sentences combined with shorter sentences and even fragments.

Lastly, By following common rules of grammar, spelling and mechanics of writing helps readers understand a writer's piece. Students are taught the rules, as well as how to edit and proofread their piece. Often peer editors and teacher edits are involved at the end of writing a piece. Then students prepare their final draft for publishing. Many of the students' published works are posted in our classroom.

Writing is a complicated process. Using the Six Traits of Writing helps students navigate that process.