Creating 6-Trait Revisers and Editors for Grade 3: 30 Revision and Editing Lessons

Challenge students to be daring, creative, and confident revisers with the help of writing expert Vicki Spandel!

Based on its highly successful parent texts, Creating Writers and Creating Young Writers, this new grade-level series Creating 6-Trait Revisers and Editors offers teachers a fresh, multi-level lesson series written for the second grade through eighth grade classroom. Vicki Spandel presents classroom teachers with effective tools for strengthening revision and editing skills―thereby increasing the power of writing process. These focused lessons allow students to experience dramatically heightened success as revisers--something many have never known. Each research-based volume includes a wealth of interactive lessons based on samples of problematic writing that students revise or edit in teams, with a follow-up coaching discussion led by the teacher. Clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions for each lesson help teachers know precisely what writing skill to focus on―how to introduce it, present it, and reinforce it in students’ own writing.

Unlike most writing lessons, Creating 6-Trait Revisers and Editors shows revision in action. Students practice revision and editing skills on texts other than their own--in groups, individually, and with partners. A goldmine of focused revision opportunities helps students build skills gradually and systematically, using their knowledge of the six traits. A focused approach ensures that the content of each lesson is manageable.

Vicki skillfully incorporates strategies, ideas, and samples from literature so that even teachers who have previously felt timid about modeling writing and revision will gain the confidence they need to jump right in and lead students in effectively taking control of their own writing process. 

• Complements and extends your own instructional ideas or materials such as Creating Writers (for grades 3 through college) and Creating Young Writers (for grades K through 3).
• Allows students to work on text that is not their own and encourages students to take risks and try new strategies.
• Shows teachers how-to actively "teach" and "model" revision.
• Focuses on one kind of writer's problem at at time to make revision small and manageable--and lets students experience the power that comes with being in charge of their own text.
• Incorporates very student- and teacher-friendly revision and editing practice that EVERY teacher can use.
• Presents a clear pedagogy to invigorate your writing instruction:
  • organized into 15 revision lessons and 15 editing lessons, perfect for alternating: one revision lesson, followed by one editing lesson, and so on or introducing conventions and editing skills as you go along
  • each revision and editing lesson contains basic components and timelines
• Includes samples of writing and suggestions to guide you and your students in identifying problems in the text.
• Fits perfectly into any writing workshop format that stresses a process approach to writing.
• Offers tips for extending the lesson and making it more effective for your students.

Vicki Spandel has worked as a language arts teacher, editor, journalist, technical writer, and award winning video producer. In 1984, Vicki coordinated the 17-member teacher team out of Beaverton, Oregon who developed the original, internationally recognized 6-trait model for writing assessment and instruction. Since that time, she has served as scoring director for more than 75 state, county, and district writing assessments, and has developed instructional writing materials for students K through college. She is a frequent visitor in writing classrooms, providing coaching on writing, revision, and editing. Vicki is the author or co-author (with Jeff Hicks) of more than 30 books for teachers and students, including Creating Young Writers, second edition (2008, Allyn and Bacon), The 9 Rights of Every Writer (2005, Heinemann), The Write Traits Classroom Kits, Grades 1 through 8 (Great Source Education Group), Write Traits Advanced, Grades 9 through 12 (Great Source), and most recently, Write Traits Kindergarten: Bringing the Traits to Kinderwriters (2008, Great Source). She lives with her family in the beautiful Three Sisters Wilderness area of Central Oregon.