Letters to Santa Using 6+1 Traits

Oh the excitement is in the air during the holidays! The children have a hard time keeping it all together during the school day but they were really focused with these holiday writing activities!

Our holiday writing activities began with the class brainstorming ideas about what to say in our very important letters to Santa. The students were challenged to include a bold beginning lead, mighty middle with details and an excellent ending to wrap up the letter.

I use 6+1 Traits for my writing instruction to supplement the program the district has purchased.

What is 6+1 Traits Writing?

In the book, 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for Primary Grades, the author, Ruth Culham, outlines a common vocabulary that captures the key characteristics of writing—specific traits that can be used as a foundation for writing instruction. Those traits include:

Ideas: the meaning and development of the message
Organization: the internal structure of the piece
Voice: the tone of the piece—the personal stamp that the writer brings to it
Word Choice: the specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning
Sentence Fluency: the way the words and phrases flow throughout the text
Conventions: the mechanical correctness of the piece
Presentation: the overall appearance of the work

We are working on the traits organization and word choice with our letters. I will also include a mini-lesson on voice. This is the perfect assignment for that! Kids say the cutest things! I just love reading their Santa letters!

Organization Teaching Strategy:

The students made a quick foldable to help them to visualize organization in a friendly letter. It was a blank sheet of paper with both ends folded into the middle. The center is wider and helps them to see that the body should be a little bit longer than the the introduction and conclusion. 

Next, I modeled friendly letter format with this letter to santa that I wrote. I try not to give many examples when we pre-write because I have found that it stifles the students’ creativity.

Modeling Ideas and Word Choice

We are going to do a guided highlighted reading activity with this sample. The focus will be on identifying details, examples and descriptive words in the writing. Then we will discuss ways to improve this piece. The students will then add carets to their own writing to insert more detail.

The guided highlighted activity will go something like this:

In the introduction, highlight the words that tell what kind of person I am trying to be.

Highlight the word that tells what kind of cookies I am leaving for Santa.

teacher script

The next day the class will label the parts of a friendly letter in red colored pencil. I love the use of color in any learning activity!

The following day, they will write a sloppy copy or draft of the Santa letter on the same stationery that will be used for publishing. I have found that it helps the kiddos to see the size of the lines they are given and the length of the expected writing. Of course, those that need it will get a second back page!

They will revise and peer edit for correct conventions that same day. It will go home as homework to sit with a parent and do a final revision so parents help correct spelling on some of the games and toys I have never heard of! 

The plan is to publish the letters on special Santa paper and mount them on construction paper for a nice presentation. I always like to add some clear glitter to the beard for a magical touch!

We also started compiling an A-Z list to help with our computer lab activity. The students will work on keyboarding skills and changing font and font color. Then they will insert clip art.

It will look something like this only cuter!

The ABC’s of December 

Ais for antlers

B is for bells

C is for carolers

D is for Dasher

and so on!

Good luck with Z!

Any suggestions would be welcome in the comments below!

Hope you found some good holiday writing activities to use with your class!