Abstract
This year-long case study examines the writing development of four Spanish-speaking kindergarten students, in their native language of Spanish, over eleven months in an attempt to describe how well the students incorporated the 6+1Trait® Writing program. Specifically, this study looked for evidence of the program’s writing strategies in the participants’ journal entries and monthly writing samples. The kindergarten students attend a 90/10 Spanish-English dual-language bilingual program located in the greater Northern California region. Recent anti-bilingual legislation, such as California’s Proposition 227 and NCLB, have swayed public opinion in viewing bilingual education as a hindrance for EL students. The current sentiment is that bilingual education does not work; therefore, it should be minimalized to unstructured classes that do not provide educational equity to EL students who are rushed through the process of acquiring proficiency in English. This encompasses the four domains of English acquisition: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students’ journal entries and monthly writing samples were collected and assessed each trimester using a modified rubric from the 6+1 Trait® Writing program. The traits which had been taught up to the time of the assessments were scored. By the end of the year, all six traits had been assessed. Research concludes that through a writing program, such as the 6+1 Trait® Writing program, students begin to lay a concrete foundation in becoming good writers in their primary language. This concrete foundation in the student’s primary language is advantageous in aiding the student in achieving proficiency in English.