Every writer in our classroom has a Writer's Notebook. The Writer's Notebook is a special place to keep their ideas and "seeds" of a great story in a safe place. It is here that they will go when it is time for them to choose a piece to publish. The Writer's Notebook is different than a journal or a diary, it is strictly for writing ideas and story starters. We will keep these notebooks in school. Encourage and support writing at home by getting your child a Writer's Notebook for home!
In our classroom, we will be planting the seeds of good writing by implementing the 6+1 Writing Traits throughout our writing practices. This is a common language that your child will learn in third grade, and continue to learn and use in future years. They are Ideas/Content, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Voice, Conventions, and finally Presentation. The first trait your child will begin to learn is the Ideas Trait. Below you can familiarize yourself with each trait as we learn them, as well as find links to help guide your child to being a better writer!
IDEAS
The Ideas of a writing piece are the heart of the message that ties together with enriching details to make the content grab your reader's interest. The ideas are best if the message is clear and easy to understand. The writer should choose details that are interesting, important, and on topic. Memorable writers do not tell their ideas, but show them using descriptive details. The ideas of a paper are the reasons for writing the paper. Some things to think of as you begin to write:
Show
you know a lot about your topic.
Did
I include important details? Did I show, not tell?
Did
the reader learn something new?
Did
I narrow my topic so I am only writing about one specific thing?
Conventions
When you think of the Conventions Trait, think of a mechanic. A mechanic makes sure that everything in the right place to make the car run smoothly. As an author, you are the mechanic of your piece of writing. You use the Conventions Trait to make sure that you have all the commas, periods, and punctuation marks in the correct places so that your writing is smooth and clear! You also check to make sure that you have correct capitalization and spelling. Writing that has correct conventions has been edited and revised several times, by several people! A good author always checks his or her conventions!
Here are some links to help you "tune up" your convention skills:
