Six Traits Activities 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

1) Conventions

•  Have a daily editing time.  Choose asentence a paragraph or a section of astudent written work (ask the student’spermission before using).  Use this as a timewhen the group's job is to make this piece asperfect as they can.  Have students reflect onhow editing as a group is different thanediting individually.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

1) Conventions

• Introduce proofreading marks to students.  Have them use these marks on a sample paragraph in pen or marker. Post these editingmarks in the classroom for all to see and use. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

1) Conventions

• Individual conferencing is an excellent wayto teach one on one editing.  Have a focus ofone or two concepts for students to focus onand once those are mastered other conceptscan be added.  Partner editing can be verypowerful if handled in a constructive manner. Have students take what they learned aboutediting and apply that to peer editing.  Giving achecklist can give students added direction.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

2) Fluency

• Choose two different reading basal stories...  one story at the pre primer level and at the comprehension level of your students.  Read a portion of both to aloud and ask students what differences they heard, what they enjoyed listening to more.  Highlight the variety of sentence lengths and beginnings.  Use this example as a guideline to use for their writing.  Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

2) Fluency

• Reading poetry aloud is something that students find they truly enjoy.  It will also help them tune their ear to good sentence fluency.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

2) Fluency

• Have students brainstorm some catchy sentence beginnings.  Write them on the board and have students choose four to six to finish in the form of a paragraph.  At the same time the teacher uses only one beginning and writes a paragraph. Once everyone is finished writing share the teachers versus some of the other students.  Question the students on what they noticed and can learn.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

2) Fluency

• Use poetry to give students practice reading aloud and break it up into parts for a choral reading.  Have the small group present their choral reading  to the class.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

3) Ideas and Content

• Use graphic organizers to brainstormwriting topics.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

3) Ideas and Content

• Use unusual pictures from magazines,calendars, cards, or from your own album that will help jumpstart detailed writing.  Have students describe the picture in great detail.  Post the pictures and read the writing and challenge students to match the description with the cards.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

3) Ideas and Content

• Rewrite a familiar tale or story using onlythe main events and characters leave out thedetails.  Read the rewritten story to students.Challenge students to decide what is missing.Brainstorm ways to improve on the story.  Toend this mini lesson read the original full lengthversion of the story.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

3) Ideas and Content

• Find a busy scene with lots of action andpeople (beach, shopping mall, farm, etc.) Showthe picture to students and have them write things they see on sticky notes.  Post thepicture and the sticky notes on a bulletin board.Discuss what students thought this activityshowed about writing.  Details are importantbut sometimes too many details can overwhelmand bog down writing. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

3) Ideas and Content

• Have students write about some excitingevent that happened to them recently.Concentrate on a narrow topic and freshexciting details. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization

• Once a topic is chosen, use a variety ofgraphic organizers to help students clarifyand organize their thoughts.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization

• Read one of the organization picture booksaloud to the class.  Stop periodically and askstudents: "Why do you think the author beganthe book this way?"  "Where do you think theauthor will take us next?"  "How will the bookend?"  After the book is finished break thestudents up into groups and have them createa story board mapping out the organization ofthe book.  Once each group is finished, have them present their story board.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization

• Use five or six sequence cards with pictures.Place them out of order and ask for a volunteer to try to tell the story of the cards withoutchanging the order.  Discuss the difficulty of thetask and how it pertains to writing.  Put thecards in the correct order and have thestudents write their own version of the story.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization

• Read the story Alexander and the Terrible,Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by JudithViorst.  Discuss the book in terms oforganization.  (Why did she organize the bookthe way she did?, Why is organizationimportant to this book?, Would you changethe organization?) Map out the organization onthe board or using a technological graphicorganizer.  (continued next slide)

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization

• Use the organization of the book to create abook all their own.  Have student brainstorma time when they had an Awesome, Fabulous,Just Fine, Very Good Day and write andillustrate a book accordingly.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

4) Organization• Use some of the organizational trade books or other books from your library with good beginnings.  Read the beginnings to the class.  Have them discuss the attributes of a goodbeginning versus a poor beginning. Define agood story beginning.  (the same can be donefor endings/conclusions)  Have the studentschoose one of the beginnings and finish writingthe story from there. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

• Use two contrasting artistic pieces havestudents use a Venn diagram to describe thesimilarities and differences.  Write a fewsentences about the voice of the pieces. Discuss as a class. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

•  Read two pieces of writing, one containinglots of voice the other having weak voice. Have the students identify the strong voicepiece and the weak voice piece.  Havestudents talk about the two pieces in terms oflikeability and voice.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

• Have students write a persuasive piece using voice.  Have them chose a topic that is nearand dear to their hearts.  Put these pieces intoa class book entitled, Let us Persuade You.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice• Have students sit in a circle on the groundstart the game by having students close theireyes.  Have one student be 'it' and choose oneperson to touch gently on the head.  This willgive the signal to that student to share their'I love/hate statement'.  Have others guesswho is talking.  Continue this game untileveryone has had a turn. 

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

• After the game, talk about how voices wereeasy or hard to recognize. Discuss how thevoice was one clue to the person but thestatement was another big clue.  Many timesthe student would have been recognized bystatement alone.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

•   After reading one of the voice picture bookshave the students form some opinions of theauthor.  Ask the students to describe the authorand draw a picture of him/her.  Use sections ofthe book to back up students' opinions.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

5) Voice

• After reading many voice picture books havestudents make a list of other words thatdescribe voice.  (angry, passionate, loving,hateful, charming, thoughtful, kind)  Post thisas a wall poster for students to reference,Voice is...

6) Word Choice

• Create a class book that will aid students inboosting their word choice skills.  On one pagewrite a word like, good in boring grey print.On the following page have students writesubstitutes for the words good.  Use otherboring words to find substitutes for like cool,bad, sad, mad, happy, fun, etc.  Students willsurprise you with their list of tired boringwords. Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

6) Word Choice

Have a tired word funeral.  Put one tired wordper slip of paper.  Invite each student to placeone tired word in a small cardboard box. Have a small tired word funeral by banning these words from ever being used again.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

6) Word Choice

• Use simple tired word in short sentences.Have students replace words or rewrite thesentence using specific nouns, colorful verbsand snappy adjectives and adverbs.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

6) Word Choice

• Use a big book full of excellent word choices. Cover up some of the colorful words with sticky notes and as you read the book to the class have them guess what the covered word may be.  Often times they will guess words that would go well in that place write them down and talk about how many words can be substituted in its place.  (continued next slide)

6) Word Choice

• If they are unfamiliar with the covered word direct them to the list of optional words to findtheir own meaning. This is an excellent skillthat can help students during test taking time.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

6) Word Choice

•  Create a class alphabet book using fresh,exciting, colorful words.  Put this book in thelibrary for students to reference when havingtrouble finding just the right word.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm

6) Word Choice

• Challenge students to write a description ofsomething simple like the smell of spaghetti,feel of their bed, or the sunset.  Have themreview their writing once they have finishedand concentrate on using word choice to shownot tell.

Source: http://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20Traits.htm