Content Overview
The Sumner School District uses the Six Trait Writing Model to help students meet Washington’s Grade Level Expectations in Writing.
Six Traits Writing
Ideas
When ideas are strong, the message is clear and easy to follow. Things make sense because the writer includes
detail.
Organization
Organization is the structure of writing.
A writer with a strong organization
stays focused on the main idea. They have a sense of sequencing and the reader sees a distinct beginning, middle, and end.
Voice
Voice is the uniqueness of each writer. Voice lets the reader know the writer is personally engaged in the topic. The writer is aware of his/her audience and communicated accordingly.
Word Choice
Word Choice paints a picture in the reader’s mind. Word Choice includes recognizing overused words and replacing them with more interesting words.
Sentence Fluency
Sentence Fluency is the rhythm and flow of the language. Sentences vary in length and style.
Conventions
Conventions include spelling, punctuation,
grammar, capitalization, and presentation.
Writing Process
 Pre-Write – Choosing a topic and organizing ideas
Draft – Putting ideas into words
Revise – Re-reading and re-writing to make ideas more powerful
Edit – Fixing spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar
Publish – Writing a clean copy and sharing the work with an audience
Handwriting
Handwriting is part of the writing trait, conventions. Formal handwriting practice is expected in all grades, K-5. At grades K-2, printing is taught with the “ball and stick method.” At grades 3-5, cursive is taught using the D’Nealian method.
The Sumner School District expects that all students write legibly.
District Expectation Printing: Grades K-2
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District Expectation Cursive: Grades 3-5
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District Expectations
Several times a year, students’ writing skills are assessed formally. Scoring is based upon the Six Traits of Writing. Each Trait can have a maximum score of 4 points, for a total of 24 points. There is an expected level of performance at each grade level. The results of these assessments inform teachers of the students’ instructional needs.
Students must meet grade level expectations on one of the following assessments:
Classroom Writing Samples
Within the student’s writing collection, a student should have at least two papers with a score of 16 or more and one paper with a score of 18 or more.
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