6 Traits of Writing - Ideas Lesson Plans

Maureen Mazloum
6 Traits of Writing – IDEAS
1. Which paper below is better? In other words, which paper would you rather read
again? Paper 1, The Redwoods, or Paper 2, Mouse Alert? Why? Give me 3 reasons.
2. PAPER 2 because 1. It is more detailed because there’s better vocabulary compared to
the first one, 2. There is suspense because they are trying to kill something, 3. It is not
repetitive, and the story continues to reveal a attention grabbing plot.
Paper 1 - The Redwoods
Last year, we went on a vacation and we had a wonderful time. The

weather was sunny and warm and there was lots to do, so we were never
bored.
My parents visited friends and took pictures for their friends back home.
My brother and I swam and also hiked in the woods. When we got tired of
that, we just ate and had a wonderful time.
It was exciting and fun to be together as a family and to do things together. I love my family
and this is a time that I’ll remember for a long time. I hope we will go back again next year for
more fun and an even better time that we had this year.
Paper 2 - Mouse Alert.
As soon as school was out, we left on vacation. Nothing went the way it was supposed to.
Dad backed into a tree on the way out of the drive- way, pushing the bike rack through the rear
window and nearly scaring my sister to death. She was cranky the rest of the trip. We had to
take our other car; which is smaller and you can't hook the bike rack up to it. Now my sister and
me were crowded together so much she kept complaining about me breathing on her and
taking up all her air and foot room. Plus now Dad knew a big bill would be waiting for him when
we got home. It put everyone in a lovely trip starting mood.
We were supposed to go to Yellowstone Park. Well, actually, we did but just barely. I think
we hold the worlds record for shortest time spent in the park. This was all due to my mother's
new attitude toward animals. The night before yellowstone we stayed in a cabin on the edge of
the park. It had a lot of mice, but most of them had the good sense to stay hidden in the walls.
One poor furry guy had a death wish and showed himself The whole family went into action.
My father got a broom, which looked like an oversized weapon for a mouse. My mother hugged
her pink flannel nightgown around her knees, jumped up on a wood chair and started shrieking
"Kill him! Kill him!" Her eyes were as big as her fists. I had never seen her quite so blood thirsty.
My sister spent the whole time dancing on the bed crying her eyes out and yelling, "Don't kill it
Dad! Don't kill it!" It was up to Dad and me to trap it. We got it in a pickle
jar and took it down to the lake and let it go. It seemed really happy to get away from us. I
thought I knew how it felt.
The next day we raced through Yellowstone and then headed home. My Mother said she
had enough of animals. For weeks afterwards, this was the big story she told everyone who
asked about our vacation. You'd have thought the whole point of our trip was to go on a mouse
hunt. Dad said all the money we saved by not staying at Yellowstone could go to pay for the
broken car window, so for him the trip worked out perfect. As for me, I'm still planning to get
back to Yellowstone one day. I want to see something bigger than a mouse.
3. Highlighting
4. So… what are Ideas in writing

a. Remember FRIES: Facts, Reasons, Incidents, Examples, and Statistics
b. Add the 5 senses to create strong images
c. Figurative language, especially metaphors, similes, and personification spice
up you writing
d. Be specific
e. Writing about Literature is easy to have Ideas. We ALWAYS use quotes from
the text.
5. Which sentences below have Ideas? Highlight the ones you think.
a. A shark is a kind of fish.
b. Sharks can be big or small.
c. In Hawaii, sharks are revered as reincarnated ancestors.
d. Sharks are found in oceans throughout the world.

e. Goldfish have a memory span of 3 seconds.
f. Jaws was a popular movie.
g. The origin of the word “shark” goes back to the German word “shurke”,
meaning “villain.”
h. Sharks are loners.
i. Many people fear sharks.
j. Since the year 1560, the International Shark Attack File has recorded only
1500 instances of actual shark attacks.
k. Sharks have many pointed, sharp teeth!
l. Sharks lose their teeth – sometimes tens of thousands of them – throughout
their lives.
m. Thousands of books have been written about sharks.
n. Newborn sharks are not cared for by their parents – and often, in fact, are
eaten alive by one parent or the other.
6. Leveling Exercise
a. Fuzzy Sentence: The restaurant was nice, but the food wasn’t that good.
b. Focusing Sentence: The restaurant seemed friendly, but the salad tasted
odd, and the food was definitely overcooked. The rubbery lasagna bounced
in my plate.
c. Leveling Exercise - What is the difference between the Fuzzy Sentence and
Focusing Sentence? The focusing sentence gives more detail, specifically
the “rubbery lasagna.”
d. Perfection: The restaurant was friendly and crowded and wonderfully warm
and snug, but the food was possible the worst I’ve ever had outside a
hospital cafeteria – a gray salad with watery cucumber and mushrooms that
tasted of old newspaper and a lasagna that was not so much cooked as
scorched, Each time I poked it with my knife and fork, the lasagna recoiled as
if I were tormenting it.
e. Leveling Exercise - What is the difference between the Fuzzy Sentence and
Perfection?
7. Let’s try. Here is a Fuzzy Sentence: The house looked scary. Now create Perfection.
The house was scary because the lights would not turn on, spiders crawled on the
floor, cobwebs were on the walls, and the steps were broken and falling.
8. HOMEWORK She had a weird hairstyle. Complete your homework here.

a. Her hair looked weird because it was so oily, it looked wet. She had dyed it
camo green, added bow ties to her hair, and cut only the left side of her hair
shorter.
9. HOMEWORK The boy looked awkward. Complete your homework here.
a. The boy looked awkward because he won’t stop fidgeting every second, he
always says “um”, and whenever we talk to him he runs away.

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Maureen Mazloum

6 Traits of Writing – IDEAS

Paper 1 - The Redwoods

Last year, we went on a vacation and we had a wonderful time. The

Paper 2 - Mouse Alert.

4. So… what are Ideas in writing

d. Sharks are found in oceans throughout the world.

8. HOMEWORK She had a weird hairstyle. Complete your homework here.

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