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6 + 1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up
Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation. Look at good writing in any genre, and you'll find these traits. Think of them as the fuel that stokes the engine of writing. With this book, teachers will learn how to assess student work for these traits and plan instruction. And they'll be amazed at how the writing in their classroom improves. Includes scoring guides, focus lessons, and activities for teaching each trait.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
20 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Culham
103 books16 followersRuth Culham, aka The Trait Lady, is the president of The Culham Writing Company and former Unit Manager of the Assessment Program at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (recently renamed Education Northwest) in Portland, Oregon.
She is the recognized expert in the traits of writing assessment field and author of numerous professional resources published by Scholastic, including 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up; 6+1 Traits of Writing for the Primary Grades; Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for Middle School, and Using Picture Books to Teach Writing with the Traits.
As a pioneering researcher in this field, she creates and conducts teacher workshops and videos, designs national and international institutes for writing assessment and instruction, and provides professional development to teachers at local and district levels.
Ruth was named Teacher of the Year in Montana, the highlight of her 19-year teaching career. Ruth holds specialty degrees in Library Science and Elementary, Middle, and Secondary English Education. She has a Masters degree in Teaching English and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration.
from http://ruthculham.wordpress.com/about/
She is the recognized expert in the traits of writing assessment field and author of numerous professional resources published by Scholastic, including 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up; 6+1 Traits of Writing for the Primary Grades; Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for Middle School, and Using Picture Books to Teach Writing with the Traits.
As a pioneering researcher in this field, she creates and conducts teacher workshops and videos, designs national and international institutes for writing assessment and instruction, and provides professional development to teachers at local and district levels.
Ruth was named Teacher of the Year in Montana, the highlight of her 19-year teaching career. Ruth holds specialty degrees in Library Science and Elementary, Middle, and Secondary English Education. She has a Masters degree in Teaching English and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration.
from http://ruthculham.wordpress.com/about/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 13, 2019
In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I am not a teacher, but I am a writer, and I did teach an after-school writing class last year to students in grades 3-6. My co-teacher recommended this book, and although I'm no longer teaching, I figured that reading this book might pay dividends when it comes to my own writing. And in this supposition I was correct. (It's always useful to get back to basics from time to time, no matter how experienced one may be.)
The author emphasizes at numerous points that this book is not meant to be a teaching method, but, rather, a framework for assessing students' writing. From that point of view, it certainly has plenty to recommend it. By splitting the task of assessment into seven discrete areas, which can be focused on separately in the classroom depending on which of them any given student needs the most work on, Ms. Culham breaks down a potentially daunting task into manageable chunks. Nor does the author neglect to connect these seven areas to one another, the first five of which relate to revision, and the last two of which relate to editing.
Central to this text is the analysis of many authentic pieces of student writing which help to emphasize both strengths and weaknesses in various areas (i.e., the traits of the title). In addition, nearly a dozen more pieces are presented and carefully analyzed in a handy appendix.
Where this book falls short is in its formulaic structure, which results in a certain amount of redundancy between chapters. In addition -- and ironically! -- the final chapter, "Presentation: Rolling Out the Welcome Mat," breaks the conventions established in the previous six chapters, thus marring the book's overall presentation. Perhaps this is because presentation is given short shrift and defined as a "half trait" by the author. This feels like a misstep. It would have been better, in my opinion, to have given this trait the same status as the others and to treat its subject matter accordingly, thus creating a sense of a cohesive whole. As it stands, the final chapter feels like an afterthought (apparently it was) which has been grafted onto the main text. It is this writer's opinion that presentation is a substantive enough issue to warrant a more thorough treatment, and my hope is that subsequent editions of this generally useful book will address that particular shortcoming. All in all, however, this is a worthy resource to add to one's toolbox, whether you're a teacher or, as in my case, just a lowly writer.
The author emphasizes at numerous points that this book is not meant to be a teaching method, but, rather, a framework for assessing students' writing. From that point of view, it certainly has plenty to recommend it. By splitting the task of assessment into seven discrete areas, which can be focused on separately in the classroom depending on which of them any given student needs the most work on, Ms. Culham breaks down a potentially daunting task into manageable chunks. Nor does the author neglect to connect these seven areas to one another, the first five of which relate to revision, and the last two of which relate to editing.
Central to this text is the analysis of many authentic pieces of student writing which help to emphasize both strengths and weaknesses in various areas (i.e., the traits of the title). In addition, nearly a dozen more pieces are presented and carefully analyzed in a handy appendix.
Where this book falls short is in its formulaic structure, which results in a certain amount of redundancy between chapters. In addition -- and ironically! -- the final chapter, "Presentation: Rolling Out the Welcome Mat," breaks the conventions established in the previous six chapters, thus marring the book's overall presentation. Perhaps this is because presentation is given short shrift and defined as a "half trait" by the author. This feels like a misstep. It would have been better, in my opinion, to have given this trait the same status as the others and to treat its subject matter accordingly, thus creating a sense of a cohesive whole. As it stands, the final chapter feels like an afterthought (apparently it was) which has been grafted onto the main text. It is this writer's opinion that presentation is a substantive enough issue to warrant a more thorough treatment, and my hope is that subsequent editions of this generally useful book will address that particular shortcoming. All in all, however, this is a worthy resource to add to one's toolbox, whether you're a teacher or, as in my case, just a lowly writer.
December 6, 2007
What a stimulating read. Note the sarcasm. In actuality, this is a decent writing program to help students organize papers and the content within the paper.
January 20, 2019
I picked this up to help my homeschool kid learn how to write a story. I'm so glad I did - the book is packed full of great ideas for teaching many different facets of storytelling beyond grammar and punctuation.
August 7, 2021
This book was required for an education class I took. It was helpful for me to understand how to objectively look at aspects of essays. The traits covered in the book are Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation.
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October 6, 2016I love this new definition of teaching writing. It is so much better than the old 5 paragraph essay! Ruth Culham does an excellent job of explaining how to teach it, along with samples on how to evaluate student writing. She has other books about how to teach the traits from children's books and teaching for younger children which I have also read, also excellent.
May 4, 2010
This is a great book for teaching writing to kids, especially if you agree with the basic premise that children should learn to come up with their own topics and ideas for writing and learn to self-assess. By breaking down writing into 6-7 "traits," the author makes teaching and assessment more meaningful to children. Although the assessment aspect (which I realize comprises the bulk of the book) was not MY main focus, I found it extremely useful in learning how to provide helpful, constructive comments to my children in their writing--and also in what to reasonably expect my children to accomplish in the primary grades.
Culham begins the book by discussing the theory behind teaching kids to write and uses research to back up her ideas (I'm sure there are opposing theories out there with their own research . . . there always are). She gives assessment charts for teachers, as well as for students (K-2). Best of all, she includes discussions of HOW to teach each writing trait, ideas for activities (many of which we've successfully used), and lists of children's books that exemplify each trait. I've already purchased my own copy of the book.
Culham begins the book by discussing the theory behind teaching kids to write and uses research to back up her ideas (I'm sure there are opposing theories out there with their own research . . . there always are). She gives assessment charts for teachers, as well as for students (K-2). Best of all, she includes discussions of HOW to teach each writing trait, ideas for activities (many of which we've successfully used), and lists of children's books that exemplify each trait. I've already purchased my own copy of the book.
March 10, 2012
I've read through this a few times as it is the textbook for my grad class in teaching writing. I use it as a reference and I've found it to be a helpful resource. It is, of course, just the latest incarnation of the "sure fire way to teach writing!!" fad, and certainly in a few years (or next month) another "sure fire way to teach writing!!" system will crop up and replace it. Such is the state of educational philosophy in our test obsessed culture. So, I take what seems relevant, implement what I must in order to satisfy the requirements of my class, and overall take everything with a grain of salt.
October 5, 2013
This is a required textbook in my college elementary education course called Language Method Management/Assessment. I found this book very readable; it is not dry, wordy, or boring like some of these informational "textbook" style texts usually are. It was very friendly language, and style of writing and I found this book very enjoyable to read. I also found it very informational and helpful with beginning to learn how to grade student papers. Many of the sample student papers they give to practice grading made me smile. :)
September 30, 2008
The whole common assessment and familiar rubric for grading writing is essential--is absolutely necessary, and I'm glad that schools are adopting it. I know in time, students will have better-trained eyes when it comes to spotting "good" and "bad" writing, and in turn, improve their own, of course. I'm having a hard time coming up with enough concrete stuff for my 50/50 concrete/abstract thinkers and writers, though.
April 17, 2010
This book contained an elegant and flexible rubric for good writing, designed by people at the Northwest Regional Educational Lab. I used excerpts from the book in a professional development course I wrote for PBS Teacherline. I like the emphasis on sharing the rubric with students before they write. I think fair assessment always offers clear criteria before the assignment or test is given; knowing about these traits helps students create good writing from the start.
April 14, 2015
What a great, comprehensive book for teachers. I found lots of good ideas I can use in my classroom of 7th & 8th graders! Especially the "My First Scoring Guide" pages at the end of each section. There are some neat activities here that would work with writers of all ages. Definitely adding this to my collection, and sharing with my colleagues.
May 31, 2016
This was left in my classroom and I finally got around to reading it. More of an assessment guide then actually lesson plans, but it was also inspiring to read. I don't want to kill writing for my students, I don't want to be formulaic, and I think this approach offers a place to grow from. Look forward to trying this out next year.
May 27, 2010
This is a great book on how-to teach the writing process. There are some wonderful activities that teachers can do with students in order to give them different writing strategies. It is very engaging, something that I find can be difficult when teaching writing.
December 8, 2014
Great explanations for each trait, easy to follow lesson plan ideas, awesome samples of student work. Recommended for any Upper Elementary teacher to keep on their shelves for reference or a quick lesson to focus on one of the traits.
March 5, 2016
As a method for teaching writing, you can't go wrong with learning this style. It's flexible enough for the creative and structured enough for the clueless. I've been using it since 2002 and I've gotten great results across the boards. Better yet, read the book and then go to a training.
September 5, 2016
Packed with many different writing ideas! This guide details different approaches educators can take when incorporating writing into all the subjects. Glad this book was a required text, it's worth hanging on to!
September 17, 2007
Some good ideas that I am looking forward to trying, but still overwhlemed with how you would mark everything, just seems like soooooooooo much work! Am going to try though.
April 16, 2008
Of indispensable value to me. Because the school district I work in focuses on the 6 traits of writing almost everything in this book was of use in the classroom.
December 26, 2009
Has great examples of lessons to use with each trait.
May 16, 2010
Cute book. I think I'll read this to my class next year. The story is told from the perspective of a girl and a boy. Each chapter "flips" so that the girl tells one chapter, then the boy, and so on.
January 29, 2010
Awesome ideas for teaching writing to students
August 28, 2010
The book gives a clear explanation of what children need to do to write good papers. It breaks it down to six areas and provides rubrics for scoring students writings as well as examples.
July 2, 2010
A great resource for anyone learning how to write or who wants to teach writing.
August 8, 2011
I've read this once before, but it was a nice refresher. I have some more ideas on incorporating these strategies with Step Up to Writing.
July 26, 2012
A great resource to put in your toolbox of tricks, but definitely not for use as a "writing program." It totally leaves out the writing process.
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August 2, 2012Punctuation Walkabout- stop and stomp feet for period etc.
July 1, 2014
Very informative and great ideas easily translated to the classroom, use it to structure my writing program
December 18, 2012
Good ideas for class work.
May 10, 2013
Required reading. Always makes it less enjoyable.
June 29, 2015
Really helpful book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews