By Staff
The staff and students at Patrick Hamilton Middle School have been hard at work since beginning the school year on Sept. 5.
Teachers have been busy planning and implementing lessons to teach and reinforce concepts in four core instruction areas (English/language arts, math, science and social studies).
One of these core areas affects every school subject: English/language arts.
A good foundation in basic reading, writing, spelling and grammar skills is essential to success in school, and ultimately, to success in life.
One new strategy being implemented by various staff members is the Six Traits of Effective Writing.
This is a systematic program developed by educators in the 1970s in response to a Time magazine article published in 1974, reporting that almost half of incoming freshmen at UC Berkeley failed an English composition exam and were required to enroll in a remedial class.
Over the past 30 some years, various educators tweaked the Six Traits program to make it the teacher and student friendly model it is today.
In mid-August, around 30 teachers from Dowagiac, Marcellus, Edwardsburg and Niles schools spent a week together with Shirley Poulton, a retired Michigan teacher and Six Traits practitioner.
She introduced the six traits: sentence fluency, rich, precise word choice, organization, ideas, conventions, and voice; and light bulbs began going off around the room!
Finally, an approach that incorporated many methods of teaching writing and provided a practical teacher's guide to using all of the best parts of power writing, writer's workshop, John Collins' writing types with FCAs, and whole language!
The multi-sensory approach is fully engaging for students, as it involves amassing a useful list of colorful vocabulary for all parts of speech.
Each part of speech (article, adjective, noun, verb, adverb, preposition) is assigned a color to help students remember the differing functions of words in a sentence, and teachers are encouraged to have students "build" exciting sentences by physically manipulating color words.
The program also encourages reading aloud to students from all kinds of media (picture books, textbooks, novels, trade books, magazines, menus, brochures, newspapers), to hear and respond to elements of writing in various contexts.
In essence, students "celebrate" good writing by analyzing texts, sharing favorite words or phrases that really grab attention, and offering ideas for making published writing even better.
Students follow a step-by-step plan outlined by teachers designed to engage children in more purposeful and meaningful writing activities that communicate a range of thoughts and ideas.
The students in the classrooms using Six Traits are excited about writing, and already are becoming more expert at helping peers make writing clearer and more enjoyable for readers and writers alike.
The excitement appears to be contagious, as fellow staff members have asked to borrow the Six Traits manual, and additional staff attended other training this fall. Every teacher who has tried the method is excited about its possibilities and the changes evident in their young writers!
Nothing is more satisfying for teachers or students than youngsters who are eager to work, learn, and improve.