January 2000

Book Shares Six-Trait Activities and Assessments

A new book shows teachers how to put NWREL's popular six-trait reading assessment model to work in their classrooms. The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom is chock-full of ideas, assessments, and activities for using the Traits of an Effective Reader with student readers of varying ages and ability levels.

Developed by the Laboratory's Assessment and Evaluation Program, the six-trait model breaks down reading performance into a manageable group of teachable and assessable skills. These include "reading the lines" (decoding conventions and establishing comprehension), "reading between the lines" (realizing context and developing interpretations), and "reading beyond the lines" (integrating for synthesis and critiquing for evaluation). Combined, these discrete skill areas, or "traits," demonstrate what strong readers do when they read.

"Where good reading used to be a mystery, or something that was 'caught' rather than 'taught,' we have made the qualities that define good reading very explicit," note authors Kevin Dwyer and Dr. Lesley Thompson.

A previous NWREL publication, The Journey of a Reader: K-12 Assessment Tasks and Tools, gives an overview of the traits as a framework for teaching and assessing critical reading skills across the K-12 continuum. The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom builds on this framework by creating a picture of what trait-based reading instruction and assessment look like in the classroom.

Teachers want assessment models that help students become more active readers by setting clear targets for success, point out Dwyer and Thompson. They recommend integrating assessment with instruction, enabling teachers and students to work together to chart progress toward meeting—and exceeding—reading goals.

"By integrating assessment and instruction,
teachers are able to continually diagnose
students' strengths and challenge areas in reading."

"By integrating assessment and instruction, teachers are able to continually diagnose students' strengths and challenge areas in reading, and intervene based on the results of each diagnosis," the authors explain. "Teaching becomes a dynamic decisionmaking process generating focused, purposeful lessons."

Instruction and assessment get equal play in the book, comprising its two main sections. The Instruction section describes each trait in detail and demonstrates how teachers can use the traits in the classroom to create more focused teaching. In response to requests for additional six-trait reading activities, the book collects more than 60 fun, student-centered activities, such as Word Sort, Picture Panels, Say Anything, Story Maps, and Dear Author Letters.

Each activity indicates appropriate grade levels, lists necessary materials and preparation steps, explains what both teachers and students should do, describes desired outcomes, and includes targeted trait skills from the book's accompanying scoring guides. Tested in classrooms throughout the country, these activities are divided into three levels of difficulty: introducing the traits, practicing the traits, and mastering the traits. The goal, stress Dwyer and Thompson, is to gradually release responsibility for learning onto the student.

The book's Assessment section walks teachers through the process of creating quality assessments and compiles sample assessments for Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Using more than 100 popular, grade-appropriate texts—from colorful picture books such as Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco to classics such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice—these assessments can be adapted to fit most texts and teaching styles.

The authors point to a number of reasons why trait-based assessment works:

It defines effectiveness for complex tasks. The traits define clear achievement targets for students. The literary and informational text scoring guides included in the book indicate what students should know and be able to do to master each trait, benefiting strong and struggling readers alike.
It creates a continuum of achievement. Trait-based assessment not only provides the criteria for mastering each trait, but shows students the criteria for each step along the way. The scoring guides describe characteristics of advanced, developing, and emerging skills for all six traits.
It provides a common language of quality. A trait framework allows teachers and students to communicate more clearly. When reading is broken down into clearly defined traits, students and teachers can more easily identify the components of good reading.
It encourages student self-reflection. When students have a clear target for learning, can identify the steps toward that goal, and use a common language for approaching it, they are better able to reflect on their own learning process.

Other Journey of a Reader products include a poster highlighting the Six Traits of an Effective Reader and a 37-minute Journey of a Reader video with accompanying printed materials for conducting a teacher-training workshop. The video presents 17 classroom activities showing the range of critical reading opportunities for emerging through advanced readers. The video instructional package is available for $165 from IOX, Educational Research & Development, 28170 SW Boberg Rd, Suite 1, Wilsonville, OR 97070. For ordering information, contact IOX by phone at (503) 582-8958 or by fax at (503) 582-8938.

To order a copy of The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom, The Journey of a Reader: K-12 Assessment Tasks and Tools, or the companion poster, please turn to the Document Order Form in this newsletter.