Description
Kindergarten – no longer an environment of Readiness but rather Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic – and the Primary grades have higher academic expectations because of the emphasis on state and national standards.
Writing Standards in the Primary grades revolve around the writing process, listening and speaking, and language conventions. In surveying the states, Davidson found no single standard for exemplary writing. The assessment rubrics ranged from 4 to 6 points, only sometimes including conventions. Thus Kay developed her Simple 6™ design based upon the numerous standards and standardized assessments from the states across the country. The Simple 6™ is a student-friendly, simple, analytic rubric for becoming a successful writer. The high 2006 state writing scores of students in schools using The Simple 6™ prove the program works.
For Primary students the program first involves the integration of picture books from which writing ideas come and which model great writing components. The Simple 6™ are found in all picture books, and simply by designing questions based on the 6 components of The Simple 6™ students come to understand the program. Students then include The Simple 6™ components in drawings from ideas based on read alouds. This naturally leads to including The Simple 6™ in writing pieces. Each component of The Simple 6™ builds on the next, allowing students to master skills as they cumulatively review and work together to take control of their own writing.
Davidson presents prompts with assessed anchor papers as well as prompts for student writing experiences.
Teachers find scoring student writing easy with The Simple 6™ because students and teachers understand it. The language is clear, the order is developmentally progressive, and the scoring is relatively uncomplicated.
Sample Pages
CLC0408D.pdf
CLC0408C.pdf
CLC0408B.pdf
CLC0408A.pdf
Loyal Customer –
The Simple 6™ for Beginning Writers is organized into five chapters starting with Using Picture Books as a Motivation for Writing, Teaching Young Students to Draw, Assessment for Beginning Artists and Authors, The Simple 6 ™: A Writing Rubric for Kids, and ending with Prompts for Beginning Writ-ers.
Each chapter contains all kinds of ideas to encourage students at the K through 2nd grade levels to write and draw. I particularly liked the author’s write up in Chapter One about the value of reading to our students every day. She says, “Reading is the key to becoming a lifelong learner … Reading introduces us to characters we will never meet, to places we will never visit, to situations we will never experience on our own”. In Chapter Four the author outlines a very good Writing Rubric in six steps: 1. Stick to the topic, 2. Check for logical order, 3. Include interesting words, 4. Use different sentence patterns, 5. Write descriptive sentences and, 6. Write for an audience.
Every chapter contains good useable material for students particularly at the early grade levels. I can see where this book can be used along with some of the scripted materials in those schools where they are using such programs as America’s Choice, etc. I can also see how it can be integrated into differenti-ated lesson planning since it provides materials for all learning levels including the gifted.
Michael J. Read
Loyal Customer –
“Each chapter contains all kinds of ideas to encourage students at the K-2nd grade levels to write and draw. The author outlines a very good Writing Rubric in 6 (simple) steps. Every chapter contains good usable material. It can be used along with some of the scripted materials in those schools where they are using such programs as America’s Choice. It can also be integrated into differentiated lesson planning since it provides materials for all reading levels.”
-M. Read, Graduate Class Student