Reading for the 6 Traits of Writing

Look for opportunities to weave your reading and writing together. Point out evidence of the 6 Traits within your reading.

Robin Peterman (Instructional Interventionist at Abbett Elementary School in Fort Wayne, IN) took it one step further. Instead of the teacher pointing out the traits in reading, she has her students do the thinking!

After using picture books to refresh students' minds of the 6 Traits of writing, Robin asked students to read like writers. She put them in small groups, decided on which trait(s) to focus on for the day's reading, and required the students to keep rigorous documentation. Her handout requires students to reference the text with specific examples. This "citation" component is a key factor in writing a strong literature response.

Robin wrote in an email, "Our (corporation) data showed that literary response and analysis were weak. What better way to try to improve those skills than to study books as critics using 6+1 traits as parameters?"

While listening to the students, Robin heard one group talk about the author's word choice on specific pages and another group liked how the author used his voice to foreshadow action. What an excellent reading-writing connection, Robin! Thanks for sharing.