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Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Welcome to the Six Trait Model session on Word Choice.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Is everyone here familiar with the 6 Traits, or would you like Kim to briefly describe them.
Kim/Facilitator - The Six Trait Model is simply writing divided into the six areas/traits that teachers value most: Ideas and Content, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Writing Conventions (mechanics and grammar)
Kim/Facilitator - My definition of Word Choice is...
Kim/Facilitator - this is where the writer creates a mental picture for the reader by using words that are specific and accurate. The writer uses strong action verbs whenever possible to give the writing energy. The adjectives are as descriptive as possible...
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - This sounds like a fun trait! I love getting kids to write specifically...not generic!!
Kim/Facilitator - The nouns are specific, not general. Srikeing words and phrases catch the reader's eye, but the language is natural and not overdone. Slang and cliches are used sparingly, if at all. The writing is fresh and appealing.
Nicki - I have first grade, and want to get kids started on the right track with writing. What can I do at the beginning of the year to help them progress to the point where they would be using more specific nouns and such?
Kim/Facilitator - Nicki, try this activity. Activity #1: Give the students a boring sentence with general nouns and no adjectives. Ex: The teacher looked at the student.
Kim/Facilitator - Ask the students to come up with something more specific for teacher. They will probably say something like, "Mrs. Nicki."
Kim/Facilitator - Write it down, and go on to the word "looked." Ask for something more specific. They might say, "glared." Write it down.
Kathleen - Kim, where are you writing the words?
Kim/Facilitator - Then go on to "student." They will probably give something like, "Kathleen." Write it down. (Sorry, on the chalkboard, overhead transparency, whatever.)
Kim/Facilitator - Show them that they just changed the sentence "The teacher looked at the student" into "Mrs. Nicki glared at Kathleen." Have them close their eyes and ask them which one creates a better picture in their minds.
Carolyn - Do you think that "Word Choice" is one of the easier traits to teach? I used the 6 trait model last year and I found the others more difficult to teach (i.e. Voice).
Kim/Facilitator - You could then have them add to the sentence. Why is she glaring? Ex: Mrs. Nicki glared at Kathleen who was drawing a picture of her teacher dressed as a witch."
Kim/Facilitator - Carolyn, I agree. Word Choic is simply vocabulary. I think Voice is the hardest to teach.
Kim/Facilitator - With this activity, you can make it more complicated based on the level of the students.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - They could draw a picture of the first one - and they could see all the different "pictures in their mind" and then draw a picture of the new sentence to see if more of the pictures were similar. (Just a thought)
Kim/Facilitator - Acitivity #2: Do the same thing, but this time with a paragraph that gives only the basic information.
Mountainette 4th/WV - Or after you model this one, have them come up with their own
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, great idea. I'll add that when I post this one at mys site. (If you don't mind.)
Kim/Facilitator - Montainette, that would be great, especially for older students.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - That would work well, too, Mountainette!
Kim/Facilitator - With the paragraph, you can ask some questions to guide them. How old is the character? What does she see? What does she hear?
Nicki - These are great ideas, even with the younger ones, I think
Kim/Facilitator - Activity #3, coming up...
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Teachers are great at adapting things to their own level! :0)
Kim/Facilitator - Activity #3: Give the students several sentences that are wordy and repetitious. Have them rewrite the sentences. Ex. 1: I think Mr. Green is right about pollution control in my opinion. Ex. 2: Congressman Small was elected again to another term in office. Ex. 3: My sister she has some friends who have combined together their musical talents and abilities whatever instrument they are good at to form a band.
Kim/Facilitator - I forgot to mention, this activity is for the opposite problem. Writers who are too wordy or repititous.
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, that is very true!
Kim/Facilitator - This activity may not work for the lower grades. What do you think?
Kim/Facilitator - However, I have noticed that my six year old daughter repeats herself quite a bit when talking to me.
Nicki - Usually I don't have kids who write wordy sentences, but they sometimes repeat ideas in several sentences in the same paragraph...it might still work for that.
Kim/Facilitator - Nicki, you could adapt this activity to that problem. Write your own examples.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Something like Activity 3 would be good (one sentence at a time) with my ESL students. I found there English gets wordy - since Spanish and English sentences are developed differently.
Nicki - That's what I would do.
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, last year was my first year to have ESL students. It was also our district's first year to do ESL as Class within a Class. I never thought of using that activity for that purpose. Maybe it helped.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Last year was my first year with ESL students also. I'm trying to accumulate more ideas that will help them.
Kim/Facilitator - Nicki, I have found that I have to rewrite sentences, paragraphs, etc. from resources to fit my needs all the time.
Nicki - Making up examples similar to what I read in their writings seems to help. You were right earlier, Kim, when you said that we have to adapt.
Kim/Facilitator - Activity #4: (This one helps the students add descriptive details. Give the students an object, place, etc. Then have them write five words or phrases that come to mind. Ex: a waterfall--they might say clear, racing, misty, splashing, and fresh.
Kim/Facilitator - Have them write a sentence using 3 of their words.
Mary K&1 - Do you use the books that are listed on the nwrel site? Do you know of any others that would serve as good resources for teaching writing?
Kim/Facilitator - Mary, I don't think I have any of the ones listed at NWREL, but I do have a page at my site with books that I recommend. For each book, I have given a desctiption of how it has helped me. Most of them do not mention the traits by name, but I have found very few that actually do. The URL for the page of recommended books is http://www.angelfire.com/ks/teachme/bookstore.html
LUCY - Great ideas. For primary students, I would adapt it on a more concrete level, e.g., writing descriptions of a pumpkin on a pumpkin (round, heavy, bumpy)
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Good idea, Lucy!
Kim/Facilitator - Lucy, that's a good idea. You could even bring in the actual object for them to hold and look at. I remember a class where I had to write an entire page about a dead branch that fell off a tree. If I hadn't had the branch to look at and feel, I would have been lost!
Kim/Facilitator - Any questions before I go on to Activity #6?
Nicki - no...go on.
Kathleen - No, I'm ready to go on:-)
Kim/Facilitator - Activity #6: Give the students the following recipe and ask them what is wrong with it....
Kim/Facilitator - Ingredients: margarine, sugar, egg, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla, chocolate chips...
Kim/Facilitator - 1. Put together 3 things. 2. Add 4 things. 3. Add chips to stuff...
Kim/Facilitator - 4. Put stuff on pan. 5. Put pan in very hot place for a while. 6. Take them out. 7. Put in mouth.
Kim/Facilitator - Okay, class. What's wrong with this recipe?
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - It isn't very descriptive! I don't even know what you are making.
Kathleen - it doesn't tell me what hot place, how hot???
Nicki - We don't know how much of anything...
Kim/Facilitator - Have the students correct it. They don't need cookbooks because the idea isn't to come up with a recipe that works, but one that someone can actually follow. Some of the older students may even have one memorized.
Kathleen - How long?
Mountainette 4th/WV - or how much of what
Kim/Facilitator - You could do the same thing with directions for a science experiment.
Nicki - you could adapt it for younger kids by writing a "recipe" for how to get ready in the morning for school...leave out important items.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Your recipe reminds me of the one's Johnny Carson read each Thanksgiving...on how to make a turkey (they were written by little kids!)
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Like the science idea - since I also teach science to the 5th graders!
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, it would be great to get a copy of one of those and share it with the students.
Kim/Facilitator - Nicki, great idea!
Kathleen - Ask your local kindergarten teacher to collect the "recipes" for cooking turkey, then share with older kids
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - They were a hoot! I wonder if they are on the video tapes of Johnny?
Kim/Facilitator - Ready for Activity #7?
LUCY - Ready...
Kathleen - I'm ready :-)
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Great, Kathleen!
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Ready, here!
Kim/Facilitator - Kathleen, that would be a great for the Kindergarteners as well.
Kim/Facilitator - Activity #7: Are you tired of old, over used, and dull words?
Kim/Facilitator - Mountainette, I may have skipped that one--I thought I could rememeber where I was.
LUCY - I love my mom...I love my dad...I love my teacher...I love my school...I love my dog...Yes, I am tired of old, overused and dull words LOL
Kim/Facilitator - Have your students help you brainstorm a list of old, overused, and dull words. (love goes on the list.)
Kim/Facilitator - Write the words on a tombstone that has been labeled "Dead Words." These are now words that the students can no longer use because they are---dead.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Good idea, Kim! :0)
Kathleen - love is dead?:-(
Kim/Facilitator - You could also put the words in a box, take it outside somwhere and bury it. (Kathleen, I was just teasing Lucy.)
LUCY - I love this idea, Kim!
Kim/Facilitator - This is great for Halloween.
Kim/Facilitator - Jill, I bet you have some ideas for Word Choice. Everyone, Jill is a Six-Trait facilitator in Montana.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - They could make a page for each word in a notebook for the dead words, also. I don't have much room for lots of charts, etc...
Jill/2nd/Mont - Kim, I do have some ideas, but you are our facilitator and I am enjoying reading these ideas. I would be happy to share when you get to the end of your list:-)
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, good idea. I've seen some teachers create word wheels. The dead word goes in the middle, and more descritpive words go around it like pieces of a pie. They could be hung from the ceiling, stuck to the walls, put on the windows, etc.
Kathleen - We're honored to have Jill join us!
Kim/Facilitator - Jill, please do!
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - That's neat, Kim...I'll have to remember that!
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Or...I could figure out how to put them on the top of my ugly window shades.
Kim/Facilitator - Activity: Have the students cut out an entire newspaper article. They then need to highlight five descriptive phrases that create mental pictures. (Remind them to look for vivid verbs and awesome adjectives.)
Kim/Facilitator - The next step is for the students to illustrate each phrase. The more descriptive the phrase, the easier it will be to illustrate it.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - This would be a good activity for National Newspaper Week.
Kim/Facilitator - The younger students would probably need something easier than a newspaper article. Maybe you could give them the words from a page in a picture book, but no picture.
Jill/2nd/Mont - Word Choice is my favorite trait. My school (k-6) all started with the Trait of Word Choice last year. In Billings, we are using picture books for each trait to model what published authors are doing. There are a ba-zillion great books for Word Choice.
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, once you start thinking, you can find ways to tie Six-Trait in to other things you do.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Are they listed somewhere, Jill?
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - I'm seeing that to be very true....but I hope I can remember them when it comes time to incorporate them!!!!
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - As you are doing these activity, do you do a mixture of the different traits, or concentrate on one trait at a time?
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, is that question for me or Jill?
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Either one of you.
Kathleen - both can answer ;-)
Kim/Facilitator - Each activity I do is meant for one trait. However, when I have the students do a major writing assignment, I have them concentrate on one or two traits, usually with Conventions mixed in.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Do you do a word choice activity one day, and a voice one the next, etc...
Kim/Facilitator - I other words, my mini-lessons are geared toward one trait, but the major writing assignment covers more.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - How long are your mini lessons?
Mountainette 4th/WV - Do you have students write in a journal daily?
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, it depends. Some of them are only a few minutes, and some of them may last for an entire class period--not really a mini-lesson then, huh. I do a week's worth or so before giving a major writing assignment.
Kim/Facilitator - Mountainette, I used to, but I couldn't manage it. I have 85 8th graders.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - So, during the week of mini lessons, you would concentrate on each trait one at a time? Also, do you have your major writing assignment ideas on your web site?
Kim/Facilitator - Mountainette, also with everyting I have to cover in my curriculum, I would never get it done.
Mountainette 4th/WV - I understand - I only have 22 and the same ones all day long!
Jill/2nd/Mont - Ruth Culham and Vicki Spandel from NWREL have written 2 Picture Books:An Annotated Bibliography for Teaching Writing. You can order by phone: 503-275-9519 Here is the description: Dozens of outstanding picture books for all ages (primary through adult) are reviewed and thoroughly annotated. Listings are alphabetical by trait(books to teach ideas, books to teach organization, books to teach voice, etc.) These are many excellent teaching ideas that integrate reading and writing. Also, another valuable resource for primary teachers(but I actually think all teachers would find ideas is: Seeing With New Eyes:A Guidebook on Teaching & Assessing Beginning Writers. Again, it is available from the NWREL. And now you are way ahead of me. It takes awhile to type:-)
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Thanks, Jill!
Kim/Facilitator - Kathy, I work on one trait for a week or so before moving on to another trait. I don't have my major writing assignments listed, as I change some of them every year. However, the format I follow is at my site--can't remember where I put it though. I think with the ideas for teaching the writing process.
Kim/Facilitator - Jill, so these books mention the traits by name?
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Thanks, Kim!
Jill/2nd/Mont - Kim, I don't think that I understand your question. Sorry, please clarify. Thanks
Kim/Facilitator - Another activity I do is give the students a copy of a writing sample and a highlighter. Then I have them highlight all of the words and phrases that they think are descriptive and specific. (Love those highlighters!)
Kim/Facilitator - Jill, I have found that most books do not refer to the traits by their names. For example, I might find an activity for Voice in a teacher resource book, but it is listed under style. Or an activity for Word Choice might be listed under vocabulary. Do the books you mentioned call the traits by their names? Voice is Voice?
Kathleen - Kim, Kathy, Thank you for another terrific session on Six Traits..this will be a valuable addition to our Archive!
Kim/Facilitator - Are there any more questions?
Mountainette 4th/WV - Thanks Kim - good night!
Jill/2nd/Mont - I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. The books are listed by trait which means that if you read a book for word choice (example: Brave Irene by William Steig or Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes) you know that this book will be loaded with great examples of word choice. We teach the language of each trait to our kids, so as I am reading I will ask if the kids hear Vivid verbs/or descriptive words. Another key phrase is "do these words paint a picture in your head?" Does this make sense?
Kim/Facilitator - Jill, you answered my question in the second sentence. Thanks!
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - The books sound great. I'll have to look into them!
Jill/2nd/Mont - Thank you Kim for another great session. I will e-mail you this week and try to explain more.
Kim/Facilitator - Well, goodnight all! Thanks for a great session.
Kathy/5/IA/Hostess - Good night all! Have fun getting ready for school...or in school if you have started.