Creating Young Writers (with a Foreword by Barry Lane)

This long-awaited text offers a most comprehensive exploration of Spandel's effective 6-trait approach to writing for K-3 teachers. The perfect complement to its phenomenally successful parent text, Creating Writers, 3e, this new text provides clear guidelines on helping young students draft, assess, and revise their writing, as well as explicit criteria to show students precisely what they must do to succeed as writers in virtually any situation-including state tests.

Table of Contents:
All chapters conclude with “Things to Keep in Mind,” “Extensions,” and “Sources Cited.” Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. Dedication. 1. Face to Face with the Six Traits. Where do the six traits come from? It's meaning—not terminology—that counts! Creating a vision of success. A Quick Review of the Traits—Through the Eyes of Judy's Students. Where should I begin? 2. Looking Within: Seeing Traits in Children's Writing. A Little Warm-Up. The Primary Connection. Tracking Down Ideas. Rubrics and Checklists. Spotting Organization. On the Hunt for VOICE. In Search of WORD CHOICE. Stalking SENTENCE FLUENCY. Spotting CONVENTIONS. Now . . . 3. Teaching Traits Conceptually. “Nothing to do with my curriculum.” Teaching the Concept of IDEAS. Teaching ORGANIZATION Conceptually. Teaching VOICE Conceptually. Teaching WORD CHOICE Conceptually. Teaching FLUENCY Conceptually. Teaching CONVENTIONS Conceptually. A Lesson in Anatomy: The Importance of Doing It. 4. Trait by Trait—More Ideas for Teaching. Trait Basics. Teaching IDEAS. Teaching ORGANIZATION. Teaching VOICE. Teaching WORD CHOICE. Teaching SENTENCE FLUENCY. Teaching CONVENTIONS. Some Final Questions. 5. Making Changes. Uh-Oh—are portfolios still with us? Ready for Reflection? Revision: From Rough to Ready. Publishing. Final Reflection. 6. Modeling the Process. Benefit 1: Learning About Writing As a Writer. Benefit 2: Showing Students Process in Action. Benefit 3: Showing Students how to Deal With Writing Problems. Secrets to Good Modeling. 7. Loving Books. Introduction. Favorites. Books for Teaching IDEAS. Books for Teaching ORGANIZATION. Books for Teaching VOICE Books for Teaching WORD CHOICE. Books for Teaching SENTENCE FLUENCY. Location, location, location... 8. Assessing Young Writers. Three Levels of Assessment. Importance = Impact. Large-Scale Assessment: Is it right for primary students? Meanwhile—Some Lifelines. The Easy Target. Six-Trait Rubrics: One Vision. Features of Six-Trait Primary Rubrics. Classroom Assessment: Keeping It Simple. The Dreaded Grades! What You Can Do. 9. Making Magic Happen. How do you see it? In Arlene's Classroom. In Penny's Classroom. In Minnie's Classroom. In Lois's Classroom. Making Your Own Magic. Appendix 1. Appendix 2.

About the Author :
Vicki Spandel is a master teacher and was the co-director of the original teacher team that developed the 6 Trait model. She has designed instructional materials for all grade levels and is the author of numerous books on writing and writing assessment including Creating Writers - Linking Writing Assessment and Instruction. Vicki is a former language arts teacher, journalist, technical writer, consultant and scoring director for dozens of state, county, and district writing assessments. She also serves as contributing editor to r.w.t, the magazine for reading, writing, thinking.