6+1 Trait Writing Model

The 6+1 Trait Writing Model

1. Ideas 
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions
7. Presentation 

A model for effective writing that isn't limiting or overly specific in terms of standards to be met, but rather a more passive, more personal set of qualities for a paper.

I love this because I think it is a perfect piece to give to students after writing a first draft. When revising I think students can look at this list and see if they have these in their writing. It is just enough to where it isn't overly powerful, but it can pull the writers best work out of them. It can also highlight the student's personality in their writing and allow the student to have power in their writing. It is important for students to feel like they have some power and and are able to express their individuality. Meanwhile, the student also has enough direction that they can learn and improve their writing skills.

English As Another Language

Pahl and Rowsell, Artifactual Literacies
This chapter focuses on the significance of personal objects and/or artifacts. Attached to the objects in someones life are experiences and memories. As stated by Pahl and Rowsell, "we have found that eliciting stories about objects from students opens up their home experience and enables teachers to access communities that may not be visible within schools" (1). I think this relates to many of the readings we have done in class regarding narrative writing.

It is important to have students write about what they are familiar with and enjoy so you can get to know them better as a person and a student. You may also get an insight as to what they experience at home, their cultural backgrounds and practices and you can then offer more personal assistance to help them meet their needs. As you get to know the student, it will be easier to understand what they are doing during class time and why.

The chapter then goes into discussing literacies, as we have discussed in class over the course of the semester. I think that Pahl and Rowsell explain literacies perfectly when he states, "The word literacies signals that literacy is multiple, diverse, and multilingual and spans domains of practice, from home to school to community, and in each domain there are different literacies"(4). Students can use their object and then tell their story in different ways. Poetry, music, videos, narratives, or drawings are all different types of texts that can be used in the classroom to tell the student's story.

It was also mentioned in class that objects can be used to learn something new. If an object is unknown, a students can use their imagination to write about what it may be or what it reminds them of. This may be challenging but can also improve writing and help the students learn about and unfamiliar object.

Fu, Chapters 2-4
Students who's native language is different than English, should be encouraged to speak their native language often, while learning the English language. Students are often told to speak English in class and at home, however taking away the native language may just set the student behind academically instead of moving them forward. Fu discusses the set backs students may face when trying to write only in English. They may get a serious form of writers block and their ideas may not translate over the same way. This could take away from how a student thinks, the topics they develop, organizing their thoughts and many of the important details that would contribute to the story. Fu states, "Letting them continue to write in their first language gives them the opportunity to further develop these skills"(29).

I think it is important to encourage the students to keep their native language and use it often at home. I loved reading and looking over all of the examples Fu provides of the student's work throughout the stages  of writing development. Despite how I fully believe in what I read this week and I understand how important and helpful it is to learn to be bilingual, I am concerned for myself going into teaching these students. I do not know how I will be able to help and assess the student when I do not fluently speak any other languages, most of which I do not have the slightest background in learning.

I'm sure we will discuss this in class, but if anyone has any feedback, I would love to hear it!

Quick Write 3/14

2. Of the many strategies that Gallagher introduces in chapters 2 and 3, they all are centered around the ideas of (a) giving plenty of time for students to practice writing and (b) modeling writing practices as a teacher. When do you think each can be used most effectively in your classroom? Can you think of a time where you found success after plenty of practice time? What about a time when you learned the best by watching someone model the activity?

"Good things come from hard work!" --Dad 
The one thing I love about classes is having a writer's notebook. Just like in many math classes, having a "warm-up" each day helps students get ready for each class. A writer's notebook also allows students to use their own creativity and get the grade for the effort they put in rather than what they write. I enjoy our quick writes in class where it isn't graded so much on what we write or how much we write, but the effort and participation. In our class, our awesome professor, also writes with us and shares her entries. This is a great example of modeling. 

Modeling is important when teaching a student how to do something for the first time, when giving directions that could be difficult to understand for one or more students, and for encouraging participation in class. It is also important to model imperfections. Students should feel comfortable sharing their work with you, even if it isn't perfect. Which leads to revising and editing. These two need to be taught and modeled. I remember one class I was in in Jr. High School we were asked to peer review. We had no idea what to do.. so the only editing we did for each other was look at spelling errors and missed capitalizations. Students need to be show examples of good revising so they are able to make their work better and help their classmates when peer reviewing. 

I learn best through my own practice after watching someone else complete the task. When playing sports my dad would always say "Good things come from hard work". And he was right. Without practice, you will never reach your full potential. It is important to encourage students to not only practice their hobbies, but also what they are learning in school. I also used to watch videos for softball of other teams. I learn best by writing things down to remember so I used to watch and write step-by-step what they did in the video. I did this mostly for pitching and hitting in softball. Over time after watching many videos on how to though different pitches, and practicing all year round, I became a much better pitcher. 

I love the similar relation between practicing hobbies and work in school. It is important to make these relations when explaining to students or else you may never connect. The student may think of the practice work as extra work that is just a time filler. It is also important to model both the imperfect and the revised work so your students can see what to do and how to do it better. 

No One Rises To Low Expectations

The Politics of the Paragraph, Michelle Kenney
I began to read this article and thought.. "I think I've read this before." Turns out I did... Sarah had posted it on twitter at the beginning of the semester using our hashtag .  I continued to read for a second time because it just hits home and is relevant to what we will be discussing in class.


I found the story about Erica and her writing experience extremely relatable. I also remember we briefly discussed the structuring of graphic organizers when discussing the different literacies. The graphic organizer is an example of functional literacy. Like discussed in this piece, it limits the writer to thinking they can only write a certain amount and in a certain way. The final writing piece should exceed this expectation and allow the student to express themselves and use their own creativity.

The structure of writing is often taught so intensely using different graphic organizers rather than teaching the writer or recognizing the amazing writing the student has in their work. Like Kenney says, some of the best writers get tied up in trying to fit the format they are expected to write in that they can't think creatively and write as best as they can.

I definitely think there needs to be a type of organizer as an introduction to writing, but throughout the year it should be used less and less. Like Kenney, I think that writing templates are like training wheels and they do help many students along the writing process. However, I also agree that sometimes students can write better and should be excused from writing according to a specific template. As a teacher, I am looking forward to recognizing when a student understands what should be in a paper and letting them go free to write their paper without a given direction.

Chapters 2-4, Kelly Gallagher
WOW! This reading holds a ton of information and resources as a future teacher.

To start, I love how Gallagher compares teaching writing in the classroom to coaching basketball. You cannot expect a player to go out on game day and win without plenty of practice. Students need to practice writing often and different variations in order to write well. One thing he also writes about is the writers notebook, which I full believe in. It is a place for students to practice writing, have an outlet to express themselves, and also see their own development as a writer.

I also enjoyed looking over the in class writing activities. He not only tells about them and the advantages for the students and the teacher, but also gave examples. I think it is important for students to view examples, just like I do.

This leads into the next chapter. Similar to Kenney using her own writing as a model for her students, Gallagher writes about the different ways to model for your students. Modeling can be done to show students that first drafts are just a draft. First drafts shouldn't be perfect and the best way to show this to student's is for them to see your imperfections. Modeling throughout the writing process is also important and I enjoyed this chapter.


The 4:1 Grading stuck out the most to me in this chapter. I often was graded in math on or science on the completion of my homework for effort. Then we would go over it in class to check our answers and go over any problems we had trouble with. I think this is also important in English classes. A student who has everything they write graded with notes all over it will potentially get discouraged. It is important to give credit for the effort they put into writing as well as some assignments that are assessed and gone over.

Finally, using other outlets for modeling was discussed by Gallagher. He discusses using restaurants, movies and magazines as pieces for reviews. These are important to use because students will be personally reviewing these on their own throughout their lives. I love bringing real world elements into the classroom, especially to help students become better writers and more familiar with literacy outside the classroom.