Immersing Writers in

the Language of the

Traits

Presented by:
Maria Walther
1st Grade Teacher
Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary
2700 Stonebridge Blvd.
Aurora, IL 60502
(630) 375-3244
www.mariawalther.com
Twitter: @mariapwalther
maria_walther@ipsd.org

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 BIG IDEAS

READ ALOUD LIKE A WRITER

“Writing is only as good as the literature that surrounds it.”

Ralph Fletcher, NIRC Summer Literacy Conference, 2010

“Writing teachers can do several things to help children revitalize the language of
their writing. First, we need to attune the ears of young writers to magical
language wherever they hear it—in books, poems, the writing of their peers, talk.”
Ralph Fletcher, What a Writer Needs

IMMERSE STUDENTS IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE TRAITS

The traits are not a writing curriculum (Culham, 2006) but a fundamental
ingredient in quality writing instruction. The “trait lady” herself, Ruth Culham
(2006), conveys, “The six traits represent a language that empowers students and
teachers to communicate about the qualities of writing—ideas, organization, voice,
word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation (a feature of writing
often added the “+1” trait). We use the terms consistently, teacher to teacher,
year to year, to build understanding of what good writing looks like and to help
students generate texts that exceed our wildest expectations” (p. 53).

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 Engage in Collaborative Conversations
Using Mentor Texts to Read Aloud Like a Writer

Reading aloud IS teaching writing, even if no writing activity follows the reading.
Vicki Spandel, Creating Young Writers (2008)

READ LIKE A WRITER: COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATIONS

Turn and Talk Teaching Tips:

Before you begin, model “turn and talk” with another adult or student. Emphasize the
importance of having a two-way conversation with one person speaking at a time. Assign
students a “turn and talk” partner or small group.

During read aloud, stop several times at natural breaking points and pose the following queries
for students to “turn and talk” about:

• Where do you think this author got his/her ideas for this book?
• Listen to this! Let me reread the beginning of this book. Did the lead make you want to read
the story?
• Did you hear any words that you want to remember and use in your writing?
• Can you picture this setting/character/event in your mind? How did the author help you do
that? What words did he or she use?
• Notice the way the sentences flow. Talk about how the author did that.
• Does this writing have voice?
• Who is telling this story? How do you know that?

Source: Adapted from Routman, Regie. (2003). Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

We need to marinate students in literature so that, over time, it soaks into

their consciousness and, eventually, into their writing.
Ralph Fletcher, Roots and Wings: Literature and Children’s Writing (1993)

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 What to look for . . . What to say. . .
Source: Choice Words by Peter H. Johnston (Stenhouse, 2004)

• Various Text Structures “Oh, I love that line!”

• Sensory Language “Did anyone notice

*any interesting words?
• Creative Conventions *any new punctuation?
*any new ways of arranging
• Repetition the words on the page?

• Word Play “Are there any favorite words or phrases, or ones you
wish you had written?”
• Onomatopoeia
“Why would an author do something like that?” “How
• Interjections else could the author have done that?”

• Illustration Techniques “Why did the author choose that word?”

A Few of My Favorite Mentor Texts for Narrative Writing

(CCSS Writing Standard 3)

Daywalt, D. (2013). The day the crayons quit. (O. Jeffers, Illus.). New York: Philomel.
Duncan’s crayons write him letters to tell him why they are quitting. Illustrated with crayon (of course!), this
clever book is perfect for launching a discussion on creating colorful illustrations.

LaRochelle, D. (2012). It’s a tiger! (J. Tankard, Illus.). San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.
Begin reading this boldly illustrated picture book on the front flap and continue to read, notice, and laugh at the
young narrator’s adventures as he narrowly escapes a tiger again and again!

Fleming, C. (2012). Oh, no! (E. Rohmann, Illus.). New York: Schwartz & Wade.
When a frog, mouse, loris, sun bear, and monkey fall into a hole, the tiger is ready to pounce. Then, elephant comes
and saves the animals and tiger falls into the hole. Will the animals help him out? “Oh no!”

Mack, J. (2013). AH HA! San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.

Frog is relaxing in the pond (AAHH!) when he finds a rock (AH HA!). Close behind there is a boy with a jar poised to
catch him (AH HA!) and the chase begins. Using only four letters, Jeff Mack tells a rollicking tale.

Rocco, J. (2013). Super hair-o and the barber of doom. New York: Disney/Hyperion.
Rocco and his “superfriends” get their superpowers from their hair. Unfortunately, they all have to go to the
barber. Will they get their powers back?

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)
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 Introducing Students to the Language of the Traits

In the book Creating Writers (2005) Vicki Spandel identifies six traits that are present in fine
writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. To make these traits
come alive for your students try the following mini-lesson.
Recall the movie Mary Poppins. Do you remember her carpet bag filled with all the items she
needed to make her room a home? An engaging way to introduce the traits of good writing to your
students is to fill a shopping bag with an object to represent each trait. Then, slowly reveal each object
as you describe the trait to your class.

1. Fill a shopping bag labeled My Bag of Traits with a light bulb, a dictionary, a puzzle, the book
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Martin, 1967) or music, a megaphone (the P.E. teacher may
have one or roll a piece of paper into a megaphone shape), and a pencil.

2. As you display each item explain how good writers use that trait. The words below will help you
get started:

Ideas (light bulb): When you see this light bulb in our room it will remind you that good ideas are the
heart of a piece of writing.

Word Choice (dictionary): What is inside this dictionary? Yes, words! Good writers know there are
many words from which to choose and they select their words very carefully.

Organization (puzzle): See the picture on the front of this puzzle box. Do the pieces inside this box
look like this? No, you're right, not yet. Writers have to put their ideas together carefully fitting each
word in just the right spot to get a complete picture.

Sentence Fluency (Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? or music): Hum the beginning of the
book Brown Bear without showing the cover or illustrations or hum a familiar tune for your students.
How did you know that was (the story/tune you hummed)? Yes, you recognize that story/tune because
each piece of writing/music has a distinct rhythm and beat. Writing is the same. When you read good
writing aloud, it flows. Good writers reread their words aloud so they can hear how they sound.

Voice (megaphone): When I talk through this megaphone you can hear my voice loud and clear. Each
writer has his/her own unique voice. When you are writing, trying using your “talking voice.” Pretend you
are talking directly to your reader.

Conventions (pencil): We write to communicate with others. After we draft a piece that we want to
share, we must edit it for proper conventions. Using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation is a
courtesy to the reader.

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 The Six Traits of Writing

Writing is thinking!

IDEAS
• Use your binoculars to zoom in on your topic
• Think of a funnel to help you narrow your focus
• Include rich details in your illustrations and/or writing
• Ask yourself, “Is the message clear?”

WORD CHOICE
• Search for the perfect word
• Use sensory words to help your reader
hear, smell, feel, or touch the moment
• Try new and unusual words
• Include vivid verbs
• Add flair to your writing
• Use words that paint a picture

ORGANIZATION
• Organization is the skeleton of your piece
• Put ideas in an order that makes sense
• Use connecting words (transitions) to link ideas
• Create a strong beginning and end
• Write a lead to hook your reader
• Good conclusions don’t just say “The End” - they give the reader
something extra like a ribbon on a package

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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SENTENCE FLUENCY
• Reread your writing aloud. How does it sound?
• Begin your sentences in different ways
• Mix long sentences and short sentences
• Use “telling” sentences and “asking” sentences
• Experiment with connecting words (transitions) to link sentences
together

VOICE
• Do your words tell the reader how you feel about your idea/topic?
• Are you talking directly to your reader?
• Is your writing/picture funny?
• Is your piece new, different, and
full of adventurous spirit?
• Are you excited to share it with your friends?

CONVENTIONS
For writers at the beginning levels we look for…
• Left to right orientation on the page
• Spaces between words and between lines
• Distinguishing between lowercase and CAPITALS
• Playing with punctuation
• Knowing the names of some conventions
• The use of readable spelling
As they progress we expect…
• Developmental spelling on more difficult words
• Correct spelling on word wall words
• Capital letters to begin sentences
• Ending marks including periods, question marks, and exclamation points
• Begin to use commas in a series
• Experimenting with more sophisticated punctuation marks – for example, quotation marks,
colons, dashes, ellipses, and so on
©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)
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 The Six Traits of Writing:
Teacher Prompts
Use this language to notice what your students are doing RIGHT!!

IDEAS:
• I can picture what you are saying.
• I learned a lot from reading this.
• No one else thought to write about _______. How did you come up
with such an original idea?
• Your writing has good, juicy details!
• This is really clear! It makes sense.
• You put interesting details in this picture/piece. Good writers
include details, fabulous job!

WORD CHOICE:
• Your words paint a picture.
• This is a great word. How did you think of it?
• I love the way your words sound and feel.
• Your words have flair!

ORGANIZATION:
• That lead hooked me. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
• That grabber made me want to find out more about this topic.
(Expository)
• I can see how all the parts of your piece fit together.
• I see where you’re going with this.
• You have great transitions. They help build a bridge from one event
to another.
• That ending works well! Bravo!
©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)
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SENTENCE FLUENCY
• Your piece is easy to read aloud.
• Your sentences begin in different ways.
• Some of your sentences are long and stretchy. Some are short and
snappy!
• I love the way your paper sounds - it has rhythm.

VOICE
• It sounds as if you are talking to me.
• I love the way your words sound and feel.
• Your words have flair!
• Your feelings come through loud and clear here.
• I could tell this was your writing.

CONVENTIONS
• You remembered to write your name on the top of your paper, thanks!
• I love it when you put a title on your piece - it gives me a clue about
your story.
• You remembered to put spaces between your words- that helps me
read your ideas!
• How did you know to put a comma/period/question mark/capital here?
• When you work to make your spelling readable, it really helps your
reader a lot. Super!

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 In Kindergarten: Teaching the Traits Through Author Studies

Trait Suggested Why?

Authors
Ideas Marc Brown The “Arthur” books are written
about familiar topics like pets,
school, holidays, birthdays, and
so on.
Organization Eric Carle Eric Carle uses different
organizational patterns to
structure his texts like days of
the week and numbers.
Word Choice Jane O’Connor Who better to help teach about
fancy words than Fancy Nancy?
Sentence Fluency Bill Martin, Jr. His Brown Bear Books and
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
contain rhythm and rhyme.
Voice Mo Willems Between Elephant and Piggie
and The Pigeon there is plenty
of voice to go around!

Take a moment to jot down your favorite authors:

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Mentor Texts to Cultivate Ideas

Wong, J. S. (2002). You Have to Write. (T. Flavin, Illus). Margaret K. McElderry.
This clever book shows children that their lives are filled with experiences about which
to write.

Hanlon, A. (2012). Ralph tells a story. Las Vegas, NV: Amazon.

Ralph can’t think of any ideas for his story. After trying everything, including roaming the
hallways, he writes his first story. Notice all of Ralph’s stories on the back end papers.

Ideas Mini-Lesson—Write About Something That’s Important to

You!
• Read one of the following titles:
 Arthur Writes a Story by Marc Brown. This is the ideal book because Arthur
begins writing his story about an event in his life, but strays away from what he
knows and ends up with a crazy, mixed-up piece!
 Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book by Cynthia Rylant where Mr. Putter
eventually decides to write about good things.
 The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli.
• Discuss that writers usually write about topics that they know a lot about. Discuss topics
that students know a lot about. Record ideas on “Heart Map.” Some may include the
following favorite color, favorite foods, family, where they live, pets, vacation, friends,
school, and so on.
• Students can create their own heart map to keep in their writer’s notebook or folder.

Ideas Mini-Lesson—Narrowing a Topic by Finding a “Jeweled”

Moment

• Read aloud Knots on a Counting Rope (Martin & Archambault, 1997)

• Invite students to make their own counting ropes highlighting several personal,
memorable life events.
• Next, ask students to select one life event and “explode the moment” by creating a
focused piece about that one “jeweled” moment of their lives.

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Mentor Texts to Model Organization
Auch, M. J., & Auch, H. (2009). The Plot Chickens. New York: Holiday House.
When Henrietta decides to write a book, she finds a helpful guide to composing a story that
lists eight rules including:
1. You need a main character
2. You need to hatch a plot
3. Give your main character a problem
4. Develop your plot by asking, “What if?”

Fisher, C. (2008). The Snow Show. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

“Welcome to The Snow Show!” where Chef Kelvin and Jack Frost cook up a fresh batch of snow.
This clever book, written like a recipe, describes the steps in making snow. Funny anecdotes in
the illustrations are sure to keep readers interested.

Organization Mini-Lesson—Going on a Lead Hunt

1. Collect a number of picture books with strong leads.

2. Read the first few lines from the first book.
3. After reading ask, “Did this lead make you want to read the book? Why?”
4. Record the lead on chart paper with the title “Going on a Lead Hunt.”
5. Continue with 2-3 picture books, adding to the chart after each reading.
6. Encourage students to look for engaging leads in books they are reading and share them with
the class.

A Few Of My Favorite Picture Book Leads

Onomatopoeia Lead:
Bedhead (Palatini, 2000) Shuffle-shlump. Shuffle-shlump. Shuffle-shlump. . .
The Great Fuzz Frenzy (Stevens & Stevens, 2005) Down it went. Boink! Boink!

Character Lead:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Cronin, 2000) Farmer Brown has a problem.
The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians (Morris, 2007) Melvin lived in the Livingston Public Library.

Quotation Lead:
Grandpa’s Teeth (Clement, 1997) “Help, I’ve been robbed!” We heard Grandpa shouting.
Those Shoes (Boelts, 2007) “I have dreams about those shoes. Black high-tops. Two white stripes.”

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Mentor Text to Model Word Choice—Painting a Picture With Words

Cottin, M. (2006/2008). The Black Book of Colors. (R. Faría, Illus.). Berkeley, CA: Publishers
Group West.

Imagine for a moment how you would describe the color red to a person who is blind. In this
groundbreaking book, Thomas describes colors using his senses of touch, taste, smell, or
hearing. The illustrations are raised black line drawings on black pages and the written text is
also translated into Braille. This book is a wonderful mentor text to model how writers paint a
picture with words.

Word Choice Mini-Lesson—Word Exchange

One important aspect of writing is choosing precise words to communicate ideas to your reader.
Each time you teach a vocabulary lesson, you are teaching young children about word choice. In
addition, you strengthen students’ word choice as you read aloud and discuss key words in the
text. A quick and easy way to broaden your students’ writing vocabularies is to introduce them
to different words in the morning message.

EXAMPLE:
Good morning smart students!
(Possible responses: brainy, brilliant, clever, intelligent, sharp)
It is cold outside today!
(Possible responses: chilly, freezing, icy, frosty, bitter, frozen, arctic)

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Mentor Texts to Hear Fluent Sentence Patterns

Hip & Hop Don’t Stop! (Czekaj, 2010)

A Few of My Favorite Song Picture Books

Sing (Raposo & Lichtenheld, 2013)
Take Me Home Country Road (Denver, 2005)
There Was an Old Monster (Emberley, 2009)
Download song at www.scholastic.com/oldmonster

Sentence Fluency Mini-Lesson—AND-I-TIS

Thanks to Mary Dolan 2nd grade teacher at Owen Elementary School for sharing this engaging and effective mini-
lesson!

I begin this mini-lesson by saying to the children, “Boys and girls I have a terrible disease that
some writers get, it is called AND-I-TIS.” Then I share a piece of writing on the overhead (see
below). I continue, “When writers get this disease they have a few options. First, they can
cross out AND then replace it with a period or they can use ‘connecting words.’ Connecting
words help build a bridge from one sentence to the next. Let’s make a list of connecting words
to help us next time we have AND-I-TIS.”

Yesterday I went to my friend’s It snowed yesterday so I called my

birthday party and we went to Chuck E. friends and we went outside and

Cheese and we played games and I won played in the snow and we made a

300 tickets and we opened presents and snowman and we made a fort and we

we ate pizza and my friend blew out the had a snowball fight and we got cold

candles and we ate chocolate cake and and we went inside and we had hot

we had a marvelous time and we went chocolate and it was a fabulous day.

home.

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Vivid Voice Mini-Lesson—Animals have VOICE too!

• Build background knowledge by talking about dogs and cats. Make a web of dog and cat
characteristics.

• Share the story I am the Dog, I am the Cat. Discuss the differences in the voice of the dog
and cat.

• Students write similar version of the story using different animals. For example: “ I am a
mouse. I love to scamper and eat cheese. Don’t try to catch me because I’m too fast.”
Encourage students to show their animal’s voice in their piece.

• Have students share their piece without telling the animal’s name, see if their classmates
can guess their animal by listening carefully for its voice.

Mentor Texts with Voice

Cronin, D. (2003). Diary of a Worm. (H. Bliss, Illus.). New York: HarperCollins.
The first in a series of hysterical journals, this one describes a worm’s life.

Black, I. M. (2009). Chicken Cheeks. (K. Hawkes, Illus.). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Read this one aloud just for laughs. Then, return to it as a mentor text for “list” books as it
lists all the different kinds of animal rear ends. Observant readers will also notice the story of
the two ants depicted in the illustrations.

O’Malley, K. (2005). Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. (K. O’Malley, C. Heyer, & S. Goto, Illus.).
Walker & Co.
A girl and boy tell a fairy tale to the class with two very distinct voices.

O’Malley, K. (2010). Once Upon a Royal Superbaby. (K. O’Malley, C. Heyer, & S. Goto, Illus.).
Walker & Co.
A girl and boy tell a story about a king and queen to the class with two very distinct voices.

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Student Choice vs. *Teacher-Guided Writing—A Year at a Glance
Note: Opinion Writing takes place during Reading Workshop
Source: Month-by-Month Trait Based Writing Instruction (Walther & Phillips, 2009) Revised 11-10-12

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

Launching Writing Launching Writing Predictable/Pattern Predictable/Pattern Predictable/Pattern
Workshop Workshop Book Immersion Book Immersion Book Immersion
List Books Q-A Books See-Saw Pattern
Little Books/ Little Books/ Little Books/ Little Books/ Little Books/
Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook

Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 *Week 9 Week 10

Predictable/Pattern Predictable/Pattern Predictable/Pattern Informational Personal Narrative
Book Immersion Book Immersion Book Immersion Shared Research Immersion
Days of Week Circular Stories Cumulative Stories and Writing

Little Books/ Little Books/ Little Books/ October Animals Little Books/
Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Owls, Bats, Spiders Writer’s Notebook

Week 11 *Week 12 *Week 13 *Week 14 *Week 15

Personal Narrative Personal Narrative Personal Narrative Personal Narrative Informational
Immersion Writing Writing Reread, Revise, Shared Research
Polish & Celebrate and Writing
Little Books/ Personal Narrative Personal Narrative Personal Narrative TBD
Writer’s Notebook Paper Paper Paper

*Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 Week 19 *Week 20

Informational Mini-Lessons Mini-Lessons Biography Biography
Shared Research Immersion Interviews
and Writing Little Books/ Little Books/ Little Books/
TBD Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook Interview Notebook

*Week 21 *Week 22 *Week 23 Week 24 Week 25

Biography Writing Biography Writing Biography Writing Mini-Lessons Mini-Lessons
Reread, Revise, Explanatory Writing Explanatory Writing
Polish & Celebrate
Little Books/ Little Books/
Biography Paper Biography Paper Biography Paper Writer’s Notebook Writer’s Notebook

Week 26 *Week 27 *Week 28 *Week 29 Week 30

Poetry Immersion Poetry Writing Poetry Writing Poetry Writing Mini-Lessons
Reread, Revise,
Little Books/ Polish & Celebrate Little Books/
Writer’s Notebook Poetry Paper Poetry Paper Poetry Paper Writer’s Notebook

Week 31 *Week 35 *Week 33 *Week 34 *Week 35

Informational Informational Informational Informational Informational
Immersion Shared Research Shared Research Shared Research Reread, Revise,
Little Books/ and Writing and Writing and Writing Polish & Celebrate
Writer’s Notebook Dash Facts Paper Nonfiction Paper Nonfiction Paper Nonfiction Paper

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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1. I 2. I 3. I 4. I

O O O O

C C C C

5. I 6. I 7. I 8. I

O O O O

C C C C

9. I 10. I 11. I 12. I

O O O O

C C C C

13. I 14. I 15. I 16. I

O O O O

C C C C

17. I 18. I 19. I 20. I

O O O O

C C C C

21. I 22. I 23. I 24. I

O O O O

C C C C

I= IDEAS, O=ORGANIZATION, C=CONVENTIONS ©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights

Reserved

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 Descriptive Paragraph Rubric Name:____________________
©Siobhan Berendt, 2010, All Rights Reserved

Student Goals for Descriptive Paragraph Writing

ü Understand why organizing in paragraphs is essential to both readers and writers
ü Identify a narrow topic on which to write a descriptive paragraph
Skills demonstrated:
ü Use the five senses to vividly describe a person, place, or thing in a single paragraph
ü Organize the paragraph with a topic sentence, body sentences, and a closing sentence
ü Edit your writing independently for indentation, correct spelling, capitalization, and ending punctuation

+ Strong ü+ Effective ü Developing ü- Emerging -Not Yet

5 pts. 4 pts. 3 pts. 2 pts. 1 pt.

___ Ideas: The writer showed thoughtfulness in gathering writing ideas for this topic. The final
selected idea was narrow and focused on one single idea. The writer wrote enough about the
topic to engage the reader.

___ Organization: The paragraph includes indentation. It contains a topic sentence, enough body
sentences to describe the topic thoroughly, and a closing sentence that makes sense and
“wraps up” the writer’s idea. The order of the body sentences makes sense to the reader.

___ Word Choice: The writer included powerful verbs, descriptive adjectives, and sensory words
(where appropriate) related to touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. The word choice makes
the paragraph interesting to read.

___ Fluency: The writing makes sense and has a flow to it.

___ Voice: The writer’s enthusiasm and understanding of the topic are evident.

___ Conventions: The writer took care to edit the paragraph and turned in all draft work to
demonstrate edits made. The writer gave his/her full attention to indentation, capitalization,
ending punctuation, and spelling using our classroom’s list of editing expectations.

___ Effort: The teacher observed the writer using his/her time wisely during Writer’s Workshop.
The writer worked to apply the lessons taught and evidence of revisions is clear.

Overall Grade: ______________ Comments

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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Point Values:

+ Strong ü+ Effective ü Developing ü- Emerging -Not Yet

5 pts. 4 pts. 3 pts. 2 pts. 1 pt.

Grading Scale:

35 to 28 points = A
27 to 21 points = B
20 to 14 points = C
13 to 8 points = D
7 points = F

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2014, All Rights Reserved (Revised 3-23-14)

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 Bibliography of Superb Resources for Teaching Budding Writers

Areglado, N., & Dill, M. (1997). Let’s write: A practical guide to teaching writing in the early grades. Scholastic.

Behymer, A. (2003). Kindergarten writing workshop. The Reading Teacher, 57 (1), 85-88.

Bellamy, P. C. (Ed.). (2005). Seeing with new eyes: Using the 6 + 1 trait writing model (6th ed.). Portland, OR:

NWREL.

Bellamy, P. C. (2004). Picture books: An annotated bibliography with activities for teaching writing with the 6 + 1

trait writing model (6th ed.). Portland, OR: NWREL.

Calkins, L. (2003). Units of study for primary writing: A yearlong curriculum (K-2). Heinemann.

Corgill, A. M. (2008). Of primary importance: What’s essential in teaching young writers. Stenhouse.

Culham, R. (1998). Picture books: An annotated bibliography with activities for teaching writing. Northwest

Regional Educational Laboratory.

Culham, R. (2008). Inside the writing traits classroom: K-2 lessons on DVD. Scholastic.

Culham, R. (2006). The trait lady speaks up. Educational Leadership, 64 (2), 53-57.

Culham, R. (2005). 6+1 traits of writing: The complete guide for the primary grades. Scholastic.

Culham, R., & Coutu, R. (2009). Getting started with the traits: Writing lessons, activities, scoring guides, and more

for successfully launching trait-based instruction in your classroom. Scholastic.

Culham, R., & Coutu, R. (2008). Using picture books to teach writing with the traits. New York: Scholastic.

Culham, R., & Jachles, L. (2010). Using benchmark paper to teach writing with the traits. Scholastic.

Cunningham, P. M. (2009). Phonics they use: Words for reading and writing (5th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Cunningham, P. M., Hall, D. P., & Sigmon, C. M. (1999). The teacher’s guide to the four blocks. Carson-Dellosa.

Dorfman, L. R., & Capelli, R. (2009). Nonfiction mentor texts: Teaching informational writing through

children’s literature, K-8. Stenhouse.

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Stenhouse.

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