ESL students have the unique challenge of learning to organize their thinking and learning the conventions of writing at the same time as they are learning to speak and understand a new language. For that reason it is important that ESL and classroom teachers utilize strategies to support these students as they learn to write.
The 6 Traits model for teaching writing arose from the need to have a consistent rubric for assessing students’ written work. Many teachers find that focusing on these traits provides an effective framework for helping children learn to become proficient writers. The traits are:
Ideas/content – the heart of the story; generating the big ideas and the details that will convey a message, theme, or story.
Organization – the plan or road map of how the ideas/content are to be presented.
Voice – that indescribable quality that gives a writer’s work personality, flavor and style.
Word choice – choosing just the right words to make the writing precise yet natural sounding, while creating a picture in the reader’s mind.
Sentence fluency – writing that has a sense of rhythm; sentences vary in length and complexity; grammar and verb tense are correct.
Conventions - spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization and paragraphing.
6 Traits for Writing Model Fits Well with WIDA Standards and Can Do Descriptors
The 6 Traits framework fits quite well with the standards and rubrics developed by the WIDA Consortium for assessing ESL students’ performance in writing. These rubrics address what the student needs to be able to do at varying level of proficiency in vocabulary usage and language control along with linguistic complexity, which has to do with generating content, organizing writing and sentence fluency.
Elements of the traits can also be found in the “Can Do Descriptors” developed as a resource for ESL and classroom teachers by WIDA. These descriptors provide information about the language ESL students are able to understand and produce in the classroom along a continuum of language development, including writing.
Strategies to Help ESL Students Develop the 6 Traits of Writing
ESL and classroom teachers can employ a variety of strategies to support English language learners as they work within the 6 Traits framework.
- Engage students in class discussions, peer to peer conversations, and consultations with the teacher prior to writing.
- Provide opportunities for students to form peer-to-peer writing partnerships and engage in small group collaborations on stories.
- Explicitly teach the language of writing, including the language of the 6 Traits framework.
- Conduct author studies and encourage students to “read like a writer.” Teach students to be aware of how other writers – both professionals and peers - incorporate the six traits into their work.
Teaching ESL students the language of the 6 traits model for writing will help them grow as writers. English language learners will need extra support as they experiment with and learn to generate ideas and content, organize their writing, develop their own voice, make effective word choices, gain fluency in structuring sentences, and edit for conventions. The strategies mentioned above are good for all students, but with tweaking will be especially beneficial for those who are learning to write in English at the same time as they are learning to speak and understand the language.
For more specific teaching tips see "Help ESL Students Develop Ideas and Content for Effective Writing."
Also check out "How to Scaffold ESL Students' Writing" and "Supporting ESL Students in Inclusive Classrooms."
Margaret M. Williams - Margaret M. Williams (Peggy) has been a teacher for over 25 years. She currently teaches first grade in a classroom that combines native ...
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