Sometimes you have those homeschool years when you need to really focus on an area for your kids, strengthen and beef it up a bit. For us, this area was writing. Both kids were on the writing struggle bus and I wanted that to change. I myself love writing (obvs…I’m writing this blog post) so I want them to love it too, but there are other reasons why kids need to learn to write that don’t include my selfish motivation.
The writing curriculum we chose and learned to love and keep using is Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 3 by Evan-Moor, a 3rd grade writing curriculum that starts at the beginning and goes through the why, what, and how of it all. It teaches kids in a step-by-step format towards being stronger writers, and I really appreciated how it did that since it helped my kids understand the whole concept of writing!
Disclaimer: We received a 50% discount from Timberdoodle in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are all genuinely mine. We were not compensated in any other way. You may find affiliate links throughout this blog post. See our disclosures.
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What is the Daily 6-Trait Writing Curriculum?
Mid to upper elementary is an exciting time for young writers! They’re just starting to get the hang of things and are beginning to see the possibilities of what writing can do. The Daily 6-Trait curriculum helps kids to explore all the different aspects of writing, from the basics of grammar and punctuation to the more creative aspects of storytelling.
I’ll be honest, when I first started using it I wasn’t sure if it was going to be “fun” enough for my kids. It’s not super flashy or anything, but it is effective. Each day has a different focus trait and there are 6 of them: ideas, organization, sentence fluency, voice, word choice, and conventions.
The Daily 6-Trait curriculum is tailored just for 3rd graders, but they have others in other grade levels, like the 4th grade Daily 6-Trait writing curriculum we also use at the same time with this one.
Yes…at the same time. Remember how I said I wanted my kids to get STRONGER in their writing? They were behind in this area. Their writing skills were lacking in a major way, and the TpT resources I got were confusing them more than anything. I realized they really needed to learn the basics. The “why” in the writing process.
So I used both the 3rd grade and the 4th grade Daily 6-Trait 3rd grade writing lessons at the same time to not only catch up but also to strengthen it!
I knew my kids could handle it. They’re like Super Sponges when it comes to why things work. And they did handle it – flawlessly.
I simply tore out each day’s activity from each grade level book, put them together, and that was their lesson for the day! And it worked very well because one would introduce a concept, and then the other would practice it. They are extremely congruent with each other!
Their lesson was just 2 pages long, too, so it wasn’t a huge big thing. Maybe about 10-15 minutes per day, sometimes more if we got into a discussion about a concept or practice more on it DIY-style. Well, it was 2 pages front and back, so I guess 4 total pages. But it was still not a lot at all!
It was easy to present their writing lessons to them each day. Because it’s set up for a 5-day schedule, the lessons aren’t too long. And it’s easy to review with them what they’ve learned.
Speaking of reviewing it with them, these 3rd grade writing lessons include a weekly summary before each week so you know what the week will look like. From this, you’re able to plan and prep your week ahead, so you can include any additional supplemental activities if you want, so to.
Or do like I do, and look over the weekly summary of grade 3 to make sure it coincides with the weekly summary of grade 4. Which it always did; they fit perfectly together.
How Our 3rd Grade Writing Lessons Look Like
Like I said, each day’s lesson is just 2 pages. It’s not a lot, but it’s effective! The first page is usually some sort of introduction to the concept with an example or two. The second page is where they get to practice it with some sort of fill-in-the-blank, clone sentence, or short answer format.
I’ll give you an example from the 3rd grade writing curriculum we used recently so you can see what I mean. This is from the “Voice” section on Day 1, where they learn about how to add voice to their composition.
The first page starts off with a little blurb about what voice is and why it’s important. It gives an example of a boring sentence and then the same sentence with voice added to it. And then it asks them to do the same thing to 3 other sentences.
The second page is where they get to practice adding voice to sentences. They have to fill in the blanks of 8 sentences, adding their own voice to each one.
It’s a really simple lesson, but it’s effective! And my kids loved it because they got to be creative and have fun with it!
What I Love About The 3rd Grade Writing Curriculum
I love that the 3rd grade writing lessons are so comprehensive! It covers all the different aspects of it, from grammar and punctuation to voice and word choice. And it’s all broken down into manageable chunks so that my kids can understand it and learn it easily.
You start with an introduction to the trait, then there are some practice pages, and finally, there’s an activity where kids get to show what they’ve learned.
I also love that it’s so flexible! I can use it however I want, whether that’s doing one lesson a day, or doing a few lessons at a time. And if my kids need more practice on a certain concept, I can easily go back and review it with them.
Plus, it’s super affordable! I didn’t have to spend a fortune on a writing curriculum, and I know that I can use it for all my kids in the future. In fact, I use it with two kids at the same time. Even though I received this curriculum at a 50% discount, it still isn’t expensive when you’re going to be using it all year long anyway!
It presents the writing basics in an extraordinary way that’s helpful for kids to understand the concepts needed for later essay writing.
If you’re looking for a 3rd grade writing curriculum that is comprehensive, flexible, and affordable, then I highly recommend the Daily 6-Trait curriculum series!
Overall, I think these 3rd grade writing lessons serve to be an excellent resource for my kids, even if I were to use grade 3 by itself. If you’re looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-use writing curriculum that teaches the basics and the foundations for writing, then I highly recommend this one.
For more practice, grab this Write Through the Holidays prompt pack!
Our 3rd Grade Writing Curriculum That Helps My Kids Excel In Their Writing
If you are looking for a writing curriculum that will engage your child and help them improve their written skills, you should check out the Daily 6-Trait Writing curriculum. My two kids love it and both have made great strides in their writing abilities since we started implementing it into our writing goal for the year. You can learn more about the Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 3 curriculum – you won’t be disappointed!
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