History of Six Traits

Stunning! I've spent the past three days in Lincoln City, Oregon at the lovely Salishan Resort for the NWREL Training for Trainers of the 6+1 Traits. Kane and I lodged amidst majestic evergreens that emitted an intoxicating fragrance. The days were sunny with temperatures 55-65 degrees and the nights were a chilly 50 or below. It's July! Leaving here is...
I think I have a bit of a crush on this town.



We visited two light houses, spotted seals playing right about where that large structure stands near the shore (in the first pic), experienced a pretty frightening hike through the woods, munched on fish and chips at a local dive (turns out we do like cod fish... a lot), collected driftwood, shopped along the historical Newport Bayfront, and today we visited downtown Portland, which we like equally as much for completely different reasons. We need more time to explore eclectic, fresh city. We found Powell's Books, "the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world". It would take a full day just to completely journey through this place!

Alas, we're now lodging in a Days Inn near the Airport. Our flight home is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. All good things..
But, what I gained from the workshop is endless. Thanks to our materials and our activities and to the extensive practice of scoring the traits, I am fully prepared to present this information to my colleagues.

Six Traits History:

(In the words of Sophia Petrillo) Picture it. Northwest Region of US 1980's. Teachers were scoring student papers holistically or were deriving writing grades from standardized tests, which really didn't assess a student's ability to write. So, they got together, discussed what makes writing effective, researched other educators with similar concerns, and pinpointed it to six traits: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. The process of assessment continued into the 90's and the 6+1 Trait Model was developed.
The Plus One is Publishing, which is important for the reader of a piece, but doesn't qualify as a full-fledged trait on its own. The Model is built upon the use of rubrics for assessment and on incorporating rich literature as models of effective writing in the instruction cycle.

6+1 Traits is a model of writing, not a program.

6+1 Traits does not replace the writing process. It is the content of the writing.

6+1 Traits helps students to grow as writers. If they struggle with one trait, they can still shine in another instead of receiving one overall grade with no explanation or guidance on how to develop as a writer.

Lighthouse print by Roger Bansemer