Scholars throughout the Winters Joint Unified School District are taught the six + 1 traits of writing (ideas, organization, conventions, sentence fluency, word choice, voice and presentation) as they master the Common Core State Standards in writing. These traits establish a clear vision of what good writing looks like. Rubrics are used to set goals for our scholars and to guide instruction, and mentor texts are read to highlight each trait.

Three times each year, scholars are asked to respond to an “on-demand” writing prompt.  Scholar’s responses are scored by the grade level teachers using the rubrics to identify areas of focus for writing skill development.