I’m really interested in how to teach writing—analyzing literature is fine, but the composition component of language arts classes is what really excites me. I’ve heard a little bit about the “6 Traits” approach to teaching writing before, so it was super interesting to me to read about it in detail and get concrete examples about how to incorporate the method into the classroom and into assessment. I was a little concerned that it would be too formulaic, but Ruth Culham quickly reassured me this isn’t the case by pointing out that nothing is ever a “quick-fix” or perfect tool to use to teach writing. I appreciated the upfront honesty. Plus, I think she gave a lot of good support for why 6+1 Traits of Writing makes sense and can be really useful. Maybe my favorite thing about using this method is that it clearly names distinct elements of writing, but it doesn’t take any creativity out of the actual writing process. In fact, it actually encourages the individualized part of writing by emphasizing voice as one of its traits. There is so much going on when someone writes—I even like writing, and it’s still overwhelming when someone asks me to develop a good piece of writing. Having specific traits to focus on is a really nice way of breaking the process into more palatable steps, I think. The only thing I’m wondering about is how effective it would be if it were used in just one class for one semester. Just understanding the six different traits and becoming comfortable with what they refer to might take some getting used to for some students. I suppose ideally, this method would be put in place at the district level, so there would be consistency across grade levels and among teachers. It would be great if it could even be referred to in non-language arts classrooms too. If used in that way, I do think this could really be a way to help students’ writing improve.
Awhile ago my mom gave me a book that lists a bunch of children’s books that are good examples of each of the six different traits—she was a Title I Reading Teacher for several years, so she was using children’s books mostly anyway, but I think children’s books would be a great introduction to the traits at the secondary level too (and wouldn’t Eva be proud?). I can get the title and author of that book if anyone’s interested, but I also found a website that had the same idea: http://cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/baarg/picture_books_for_teaching_six_t.htm. There’s quite a few books listed in each category, so I think it makes for a pretty good resource. Plus, it gets bonus points from me, because under several different categories it lists one of my favorite books of all time: “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” (Although, in the interest of full disclosure, a big part of why that’s one of my favorite stories is because it was also made into an amazing 30-minute cartoon musical.)
