Two New Publications on

Teaching and Assessing Writing

Wee Can Write Features Writing Traits Lessons for Little Kids

A steady toddler clutching a crayon heads for the blank wall. You know what that child intends to do: Write—starting now. While toddlers have a way to go in their command of orthography, the need to communicate visually appears quite early. Yet, writing instruction and assessment for kindergartners—and those just above or just below them—are in short supply.

The new Wee Can Write: Using 6+1 Trait® Writing Strategies With Renowned Children's Literature, published by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL), shows kindergarten, primary, and upper-preschool teachers how to apply the 6+1 Trait® Writing model with beginning and pre-writers. Written by kindergarten teachers Carolyn McMahon and Peggy Warrick, and edited by Peter Bellamy, who conducts NWREL's 6+1 Trait® Writing workshops across the nation, this resource ties the literacy needs of very young writers to developmentally appropriate instructional activities built on a foundation of renowned picture books. It also includes opportunities to assess student understanding and growth. The model provides a language and structure focusing on the skills that are the bedrock of effective writing at all ages and grade levels.

The 156-page book supplies lessons for six traits, drawing from 36 traditional and award-winning picture books readily available in libraries, classrooms, and personal collections. Divided into the four seasons of the year, the flexible lessons continuously blend connections among reading, writing, speaking, and creative artwork, supporting a thematic and integrated approach to the writing activities. Text is color-coded to easily separate information for the teacher versus instruction to be delivered by the teacher. A supply list for each lesson is also provided. As an extension to the book, NWREL has designed half- and full-day workshops to connect the resource to classroom practice.

In their preface, Warrick and McMahon say they have created the book "for teachers who value, encourage, and rejoice in writing with 'wee' writers. This project was created out of our need to find strategies to introduce the traits writing model to our young pre-writers."

In addition to Wee Can Write, NWREL offers a range of instructional and supplemental materials and workshops to support 6+1 Trait® Writing, an instruction and assessment model used by many districts and states throughout the country. To inquire about workshops, contact Sharon Northern at 800-547-6339, ext. 572, or visit www.nwrel.org/assessment/. For information on purchasing Wee Can Write, see the Product Catalog online.

Resource Guide Helps Teachers Cull Personal Stories

"The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away when they are needed," says Badger in Barry Lopez's story, Crow and Weasel. Badger's words introduce readers to a new publication by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory that explores the rich learning opportunities provided by sharing stories.

Tapestry of Tales: Stories of Self, Family, and Community Provide Rich Fabric for Learning shows how teachers can use personal, family, and community stories to bring children's narrative voice into the classroom and to connect classrooms with the world outside. Through examples from preschool to high school classrooms, readers learn how story telling engages and motivates students to write; enriches teaching and learning by tapping into real-life experiences; and reinforces reading, speaking, listening, and thinking competencies. The book also delves into research on the role of narrative as a way of understanding experiences and how that influences school success.

In one Alaskan classroom, kindergarten and first-grade students collect true bear stories from family members before tackling a month-long study of bear habits and habitat. "Some of the kids can write the story themselves. Some of their families write it for them," reports their teacher, Mimi Walker. "But the language development and the literacy that come out of it are very rich." Walker weaves a Native American bear legend into the unit, which students transform into a play and act out with animal masks they've crafted themselves. The unit ends with a teddy bear picnic, complete with bear-shaped pastries and favorite stuffed animal "guests" brought from home.

In a one-room schoolhouse in rural Montana, middle school students use a community history project to produce cards worthy of Hallmark. By interviewing town residents and consulting historical sources, the children gather facts and figures and amusing anecdotes about some of the town's landmark structures. The stories are printed on note cards, along with careful pen-and-ink drawings of the buildings. Teacher Linda Rice says that community members quickly snatched up the first batch of cards, requesting new editions featuring their own favorite buildings.

Each classroom example in Tapestry of Tales concludes with a project outline, contact information, and suggested student reading. The stories are meant to inspire teachers as they craft their own projects and look for strategies that fit their students and classroom environments. For information on purchasing Tapestry of Tales, see the Product Catalog online.

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