Often student writing is not held to the same high standard that student work is in many of the other subjects.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. Writing is an art. There is not an “easy answer key” for the writing teacher.

2. The way writing is taught can often seem “esoteric” to children. It seems to them that the rules of “good writing” sure do seem to change a lot. “The teacher liked what I wrote yesterday, but today they say this is not good. I don’t get it.”

3. Staying on top of student writing is hard work for teachers. As such, students have more opportunities to slack off and practice writing the wrong way.

Without a doubt “Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay Writing” has gotten a hold of all of these issues. I will admit, the “Pattern Based Writing” program does not teach every aspect of what good writing is. However, what it completely and absolutely solves is what this video below talks about.

Elementary School Essay Writing vs. High School Essay Writing

What is shocking about this video is that it is from Ashworth University and is designed for high school students. (It’s an excellent video on the 5-paragraph essay. The teacher is very clear and concise.)

As you watch it, imagine an entire class of third graders sitting there watching this video and saying, “Yes, we can do all that. We learned that last month. We can organize and write one of those 5-paragraph essays in less than 30-minutes.”

The third graders I am talking about are from the inner city and their teacher had become ill early in the year. This began a long string of substitute teachers. I came in at the end of their school year and took them from unorganized sentences to excellent 5-paragraph essay in just 37 days.

“Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay” solves the essay problem. Whether your students are in elementary school or middle school you can revolutionize their writing quickly and easily. This should not be an issue in high school.

Enjoy the video!

P.S. Concerned parents, ”Pattern Based Writing” is an easy way for you to get a hold on your child’s writing.

A pioneer of Six Traits writing was Paul B. Diederich. His “traits” were a little different than the current “Six Traits of Writing” however they did include both “ideas” and “organization.”

For Diederich “ideas” and “organization” were the most important of the traits and received greater weight.

Middle school teachers I have talked with believe that middle school success comes easier and is much more likely if students arrive with a FIRM MASTERY of the organizational structure of good writing.

Organization: The Hardest Trait for Elementary Students

Organization is the hardest trait.

               K-12 Student Writers Across America

Not only is organization one of the most important traits, but it is also one of the hardest traits for students to master.

Students’ True Understanding of How to Organize Writing

Teachers are often surprised to discover what their students’ real understanding of a concept is. They believe they have done a great job teaching something, and then a student says something which lets them know that their understanding is not what they had thought it was.

I have found this to be VERY true with student understanding of the organizational structure of good writing. It seems even good writers are “complying” more so than really understanding.

It can be very eye-opening to ask students what a “main idea” is. Likewise topic sentence, paragraph, introduction, conclusion, paragraph form…

Organizational Skills are Important in Writing, as Well as Across the Curriculum!

In teaching elementary students to write well there is “grammar” and there is “writing.” Many teachers teach A LOT of grammar because when it comes to teaching writing, they are at a loss.

What does it mean to teach “writing?” A useful model that can help elementary teachers is the “Six Traits of Writing” model. “The Six Traits of Writing” was developed in the 1980’s by several groups of researchers and teachers in order to bring about a more reliable method for bringing structure to writing.

Starting With the End in Mind: The Six Traits of Writing

The “Six Traits of Writing” model describes what good writers do. Like many breakthrough methods of instruction, this model was created by working backwards. The starting point was examining samples of excellent writing and then determining what made them excellent. The outcome of this project was these six common traits that produce good writing.

Overview of the Six Traits of Writing

• Trait #1 Ideas – The message along with the main theme and details
• Trait #2 Organization – The internal connecting structure
• Trait #3 Voice – The unique expression and point of view of common words and ideas
• Trait #4 Word Choice – Finding the right words to express ideas in a creative way
• Trait #5 Sentence Fluency – Connecting strings of sentences with rhythm and flow
• Trait #6 Conventions – Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and everything else us nitpickers love to pick over. 

The Six Trait Writing Model in Elementary School Writing

Understanding this model can be very valuable for teachers. This model can be an excellent guide and reference in planning instruction and in evaluating student writing. Most writing we teach in elementary school falls under at least one of the six traits listed above. This model puts a name and structure to what we are teaching.

The Six Traits Are Not All There is To Elementary Writing

There are many aspect of elementary school writing that are not addressed in the above “Six Traits” by name. Let’s look at some more “vocabulary words” that the elementary writing teacher must know:

Poetry, report writing, writing a friendly letter, writing with a purpose, writing to inform, writing to persuade, writing to explain, narrative writing, first person narrative, expository writing, compare and contrast writing, creative writing, journal writing, process writing, descriptive writing, the writing process, revising, prewriting, writing a summary, research papers, editing, proofreading, fantasy writing,  genres of writing, vocabulary, writing lists, writing short answers, writing a newspaper article, writing a business letter, literary response, writing a critique or review, technical writing…

The Six Trait Model is Big Picture Thinking for the Teacher  

The teacher will definitely want to be giving lessons on the above six traits. The teacher will want to keep a constant eye on all of these traits as they conference with students and evaluate student writing.

As elementary educators, we want to develop artistic writers! However, we also want to help students develop the writing skills and the writing knowledge that will help them to be successful in middle school. Fast and effective writers are happy students!

For many elementary writers, “voice” is not nearly as important as simply being able to create writing that both they and their teacher can understand and enjoy reading. Too many elementary students struggle with simply getting the job done. In fact, too many middle school students struggle with simply getting the job done.

In elementary school, some traits are more important that other traits!

The kids know that the teacher doesn’t know… Children see this kind of writing as busy work. (Moreover, they are right!)

In math, it’s much easier to see the end in mind. You can simply turn to the end of the book. You will not only see the skills they will need to know, but you will see the path leading there clearly mapped out.

Here are THREE GREAT RESOURCES for learning how to see the end in mind in your elementary writing instruction:

One is Stephen R. Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” Habit #2 in this excellent book is “Start with the end in mind.” Highly effective people make for highly effective teachers!

The second is “Understanding by Design” by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. This book is an exciting new addition to understanding curriculum development though backwards design, also known as backwards planning. Start with the end in mind!

The third source for mapping out what you wish to accomplish in your writing instruction is the state content standards for “English Language Arts” and “Writing Curriculum.” They may seem a bit dry, but you will not only be able to see where your students supposedly have been, but you will see where you need to take them (and sometimes even more importantly, what can and should wait for a later age.)

Teach writing THEIR way! Wishing you total writing success!

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

Lewis Carroll

“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.”

 Henry A. Kissinger

VS.

“You cannot be lost on a road that is straight.” 

Proverb

Let’s Compare a Typical Fictionalized Version of a Writer vs. a Real Life Working Writer

Fictional Writer

“Starting Out In the Evening” is a movie about a once successful writer who is also a professor that teaches writing. He routinely explains his process by saying things such as, “I never know what my characters are going to do…” and “I let them go where they want to go and then see what happens.”

It seemed the process worked well in his early years, but now this writer/professor has been working on his current novel for nearly a decade. A novel that in the end goes nowhere and ends up in the trash. It took him a decade to realize that this story had nothing really important to say.

Real Life Writer

David Simon is a real life writer and creator of the television show “The Wire.” This is a show that many consider to be one of the greatest television shows ever. He said, “We know how it’s supposed to end and we know what happens to every character, and we know the thematic context of what we are trying to say. Then we start to break it down into how the parts are going to play out over 13 episodes.”

Our goals as teachers of writing should be clear based on this comparison!

(Note: “The Wire” is known for its realistic portrayal of inner-city decay. Season 4 took place inside the Baltimore, MD school system and gives a powerful and realistic portrayal of the challenges many inner city schools face. One of the creators of the series was a former school teacher in the Baltimore school system, so he knows firsthand.)