6-Traits Resources

What voice looks like in the Common Core

First of all, let’s be honest. You won’t find the word “voice” anywhere in the Common Core standards for writing or language. But that doesn’t mean the concept isn’t there. There are many words to describe voice: style, tone, technique, and connection to the audience, among others. And each of these things is emphasized in the Common Core.

How to work develop your own voice when writing...

A Bibliography for Teachers Interested in the Going Deep Guide: In 2006, the Northern Nevada Writing Project (sponsor of this free-to-use website) published a 196-page resource for teachers: The Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Guide.

The guide features trait-specific lessons and resources designed to help all students use 6 trait language better as they explore the act of writing. Many of the guide's lessons and resources cite awesome picture and chapter books as examples of powerfully crafted text to show and discuss with students. Many Northern Nevada school libraries made sure they had all cited books from the guide available to their teachers.

Hardly a week goes by that I’m not asked about the differences between modes, genres, and formats.  I admit, it’s pretty confusing out there when you try to sort it out on your own.  Here is how I keep the terms separate in my work–I hope it helps you, too.

At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective. Try describing yourself in six words. Not easy, right?

So how does the six-word memoir make sense in a history class? As a history teacher, I am always looking to integrate my class with as many different disciplines as possible. I also try to turn my students away from being just consumers of information and toward being global creators of everything cool. When I learned that the National Writing Project teamed up with Mozilla to create a Thimble webmaking application for six-word memoirs, I began to realize the potential this could have in my history classes.

There is an expected research paper voice and while the mode is driven by organization, voice still plays a part in this form of writing.

I'd describe the desired voice in this mode as; authoritative. Other descriptors would be strong, confident, and understanding. Lovitts 2007 p 36

Clues From How the Caged Bird Sings A long time ago, I met a young woman and in our first conversation, it came out that she sang with a choir. I told her I couldn’t sing, and I confided that...

Writing Traits: Teaching the Skills of Voice
teacher-created resources and lessons...all focused on skills that make up the trait of voice

Voice is just one of the six writing traits. Voice is a complex trait that should be discussed, explored, and further developed every year that students learn to write in school; both kindergartners and high school seniors can be taught to think about developmentally appropriate skills that are associated with organization. This page contains voice lessons and resources that we consider appropriate for sharing with third graders and up.

Writing is a tool for self discovery, not just workplace literacy.

A poem from a young writer is shared and discussed. It's a powerful piece of writing from a young heart in pain.

Posted by Barry Lane at Discoverwriting.com