New

Picture Books

Features More Titles, Activities

One of Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's most eagerly awaited publications is just about ready to roll off the press. It's the latest version of Picture Books, an annotated bibliography with links to NWREL's acclaimed 6+1 Trait® Writing model.

The sixth edition, due out this summer, is the first revision of the popular Picture Books since 1998. It contains almost 150 new titles as well as a section on the newest writing trait, presentation. Another innovation is a coding for Young Adult books suitable for use with older listeners.

Editor Peter Bellamy believes that the book is so useful because it's a guide to an incredible teaching tool. "By their nature, picture books are a resource that a teacher can use in one class, yet they contain all the features you'd find in a longer novel. A teacher can read a book aloud and then develop a lesson tying it to one of the traits—all within the same period," Bellamy observes.

Picture Books is brimming with entertaining and inspiring titles, orga-nized around qualities that have been linked to effective writing through more than 20 years of research and analysis. The works of favorite authors such as Maya Angelou, Joanna Cole, David Macaulay, Langston Hughes, and Gary Paulsen are used to illustrate traits such as ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation.

A section with suggested classroom activities, also arranged by trait, follows the collection of titles. An easy-to-use format breaks down the time required for the activity, materials needed, what to do, and how the activity connects to the particular trait. "The lessons all come from practicing teachers and have been proven in the classroom," says Bellamy.

The new Picture Books isn't the only improvement in the 6+1 Trait® program. NWREL has restructured the 6+1 training sessions so there are now three levels of instruction: introductory courses for teachers of K–2 and grades 3–6; a more advanced, indepth look at the traits; and an institute for trainers. Michael Kozlow, NWREL's director of assessment, says the revisions grew out of school districts' need for ongoing professional development for teachers. "The advanced session allows trainers to focus on expository and persuasive writing and show how it can be accomplished in content areas like social studies or science," says Kozlow.

The training sessions continue to be popular around the country, keeping Bellamy on a travel schedule that's as hectic as an NBA player's. Why the huge demand? "The trait system brings together assessment and instruction in a way no other subject area has been able to do," Bellamy answers. "It's really assessment as learning, and that's a very powerful thing."

Upcoming 2004 Sessions

• 6+1 Trait® Writing Assessment for Trainers; Hood River, OR, July 14–16, 2004

• Integrating 6+1 Trait® Writing Assessment and Instruction; Cannon Beach, OR, October 14–15, 2004

For information and registration, call Sharon Northern at 800-547-6339, ext. 572 or e-mail northers@nwrel.org. Trainings are also listed on the Web at www.nwrel.org/comm/database/events.asp

Classroom Writing Posters

Teachers using the 6+1 Trait® Writing strategy can enliven their elementary classrooms with an updated, colorful POSTER identifying the traits. The 24 x 36-inch poster is available for $9 plus shipping (members); $11 plus shipping (nonmembers).

For middle and high school teachers, there's a set of seven POSTERS with each one featuring a single trait. When lined up side-by-side, the 18 x 24-inch posters spell "WRITING."

The cost is $22 plus shipping (members); $25 plus shipping (nonmembers).

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