Beyond "And Then": Assessing a Narrative and Planning the Next Step

 

Fresh off my deep dive into the 6+1 Traits, I had a chance to apply this diagnostic lens to a new piece of student writing: titled "The Day at the Beach." I love how assessing writing gives me a glimpse into how a child thinks and expresses themselves not just what they can do, but how they bring their ideas to life. This piece is a perfect example of a writer in the developing stage, full of potential and clear next steps. Assessing it confirmed that the Traits are not for grading, but for guiding.

Right away, I noticed the student’s voice and enthusiasm shining through. I can feel their excitement about going to the beach with their friend, taking the bus, unpacking, eating, and swimming. The story has a clear focus and a nice flow of ideas, which shows that the student has a strong sense of what they want to say. That confidence and ownership are so important, and it’s something I’d definitely want to encourage more of.

At the same time, I noticed areas that need support particularly sentence fluency, organization, and conventions. The frequent repetition of phrases like “and when” made the story sound a bit choppy, and spelling and grammar issues sometimes interrupted the flow. Still, I see these not as problems, but as opportunities for growth that can be addressed through targeted mini-lessons.

For a mini-lesson, I’d focus on using transition words and combining sentences to make the story flow more smoothly. We could revise a few lines together to show how small changes can make a big difference.

Gentle reminder to my future teacher self and my fellow teachers, remember to always look beyond the errors and see the writer’s effort and creativity. Every draft holds potential; our role is to nurture it. Keep building a classroom where feedback feels like encouragement and where every child believes they are a writer in progress.