February 1998 Updated Editions Offer Insights on Writing Strategies from Teachers
New editions of two of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory’s most popular products provide updated resources for elementary and secondary teachers who use the six-trait analytic model for assessing and teaching writing.
More than 50 teacher-written classroom activities have been added to the fifth edition of Picture Books by Ruth Culham. Nearly double the number of pages of the prior edition, it identifies and provides annotations for more than 200 picture books recommended for teachers’ use in introducing students to the excitement of writing. Both titles and classroom activities are grouped under headings corresponding to the six traits of good writing.
New features of Seeing with New Eyes, designed for teachers of new writers (grades K-2), include writing criteria (how do you recognize good writing?) and behavioral criteria (how do you recognize good writers?) for students at different levels of proficiency. Student writing levels include: the Exploring Writer, the Emerging Writer, the Developing Writer, and the Fluent/Experienced Writer. These criteria are provided for each of the six traits of good writing in the 304-page, fourth edition by author Vicki Spandel.
The six traits include:
- Ideas. A clear point, message, theme or story line
- Organization. How a piece of writing is structured and ordered
- Voice. The writer’s personal style, combined with the informational needs of the audience
- Word Choice. Language, phrasing, and choosing the right words to get the message across
- Sentence Fluency. The rhythm and sound of the writing
- Conventions. Editorial correctness and attention to detail
For copies of Picture Books and Seeing with New Eyes, order online at www.nwrel.org/comm/catalog/.
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