Teacher's Guide to Effective Sentence Writing


Book Description

This practical book provides explicit instructions for teaching sentence-level skills to students who have difficulties in this area. The author explains the key role of sentence combining in the writing process and presents effective techniques for instruction and assessment. Numerous sample lessons, practice activities, planning tips, and grammatical pointers make it easy for teachers to incorporate sentence combining and construction into the writing curriculum at all grade levels (2-12). Accessible and engaging, the book helps teachers and students experiment with different ways to arrange thoughts and produce meaningful written work.




Sentence.: A Period-to-Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers


Book Description

Sometimes it’s better to start small, with a sentence. Every English teacher has experienced it: students staring at an empty page, seemingly paralyzed by a writing assignment. When this happens, it may be time to back off from the Big Idea approach to the art of reading and writing, and zero in on a single sentence. In this book, a master teacher offers a complete guide to a sentence-level approach. Helping students recognize the techniques that make sentences great is the first step, and there are plenty of examples here from YA novels, TV shows, and song lyrics as well as the novels, poetry, and nonfiction pieces that form the canon of middle and high school reading lists. Lesson plans include activities to introduce the featured element of style; questions to guide students in their analysis; and writing prompts and activities to spark students’ interest and creativity. With this Little-to-Big strategy, students move quickly from analysis of the words between two periods to the universe of ideas of which that sentence is a part. They may even be eager to write their own




The Writing Revolution


Book Description

Why you need a writing revolution in your classroom and how to lead it The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach. The model, also known as The Hochman Method, has demonstrated, over and over, that it can turn weak writers into strong communicators by focusing on specific techniques that match their needs and by providing them with targeted feedback. Insurmountable as the challenges faced by many students may seem, The Writing Revolution can make a dramatic difference. And the method does more than improve writing skills. It also helps: Boost reading comprehension Improve organizational and study skills Enhance speaking abilities Develop analytical capabilities The Writing Revolution is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There's no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt the TWR strategies and activities to their current curriculum and weave them into their content instruction. But perhaps what's most revolutionary about the TWR method is that it takes the mystery out of learning to write well. It breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.




Best Practices in Writing Instruction, Third Edition


Book Description

Well established as a definitive text--and now revised and updated with eight new chapters--this book translates cutting-edge research into effective guidelines for teaching writing in grades K–12. Illustrated with vivid classroom examples, the book identifies the components of a complete, high-quality writing program. Leading experts provide strategies for teaching narrative and argumentative writing; using digital tools; helping students improve specific skills, from handwriting and spelling to sentence construction; teaching evaluation and revision; connecting reading and writing instruction; teaching vulnerable populations; using assessment to inform instruction; and more. New to This Edition *Chapters on new topics: setting up the writing classroom and writing from informational source material. *New chapters on core topics: narrative writing, handwriting and spelling, planning, assessment, special-needs learners, and English learners. *Increased attention to reading–writing connections and using digital tools. *Incorporates the latest research and instructional procedures. See also Handbook of Writing Research, Second Edition, edited by Charles A. MacArthur, Steve Graham, and Jill Fitzgerald, which provides a comprehensive overview of writing research that informs good practice.




Teaching Beginning Writers


Book Description

An essential "how-to" primer, this book examines the process of learning to write and shares evidence-based instructional strategies for the primary grades. With an emphasis on explicit instruction and scaffolding students' learning, the authors explain when and how to teach handwriting, spelling, foundational skills such as sentence formation and editing, and composition in specific genres. They present clear-cut techniques for assessment, differentiation, and supporting struggling writers. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Writing are used as a framework for setting instructional goals. Reproducible assessment forms, checklists, and rubrics are provided; purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.




Best Practices in Writing Instruction


Book Description

Highly practical and accessible, this indispensable book provides clear-cut strategies for improving K-12 writing instruction. The contributors are leading authorities who demonstrate proven ways to teach different aspects of writing, with chapters on planning, revision, sentence construction, handwriting, spelling, and motivation. The use of the Internet in instruction is addressed, and exemplary approaches to teaching English-language learners and students with special needs are discussed. The book also offers best-practice guidelines for designing an effective writing program. Focusing on everyday applications of current scientific research, the book features many illustrative case examples and vignettes.




Teaching Word Recognition, Second Edition


Book Description

This highly regarded teacher resource synthesizes the research base on word recognition and translates it into step-by-step instructional strategies, with special attention to students who are struggling. Chapters follow the stages through which students progress as they work toward skilled reading of words. Presented are practical, evidence-based techniques and activities that target letter- sound pairings, decoding and blending, sight words, multisyllabic words, and fluency. Ideal for use in primary-grade classrooms, the book also offers specific guidance for working with older children who are having difficulties. Reproducible assessment tools and word lists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research on word recognition and its connections to vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension. *Chapter on morphological (meaning-based) instruction. *Chapter on English language learners. *Instructive "Try This" activities at the end of each chapter for teacher study groups and professional development.




Teaching Word Recognition, Second Edition


Book Description

This highly regarded teacher resource synthesizes the research base on word recognition and translates it into step-by-step instructional strategies, with special attention to students who are struggling. Chapters follow the stages through which students progress as they work toward skilled reading of words. Presented are practical, evidence-based techniques and activities that target letter- sound pairings, decoding and blending, sight words, multisyllabic words, and fluency. Ideal for use in primary-grade classrooms, the book also offers specific guidance for working with older children who are having difficulties. Reproducible assessment tools and word lists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research on word recognition and its connections to vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension. *Chapter on morphological (meaning-based) instruction. *Chapter on English language learners. *Instructive "Try This" activities at the end of each chapter for teacher study groups and professional development.




Handbook of Effective Inclusive Schools


Book Description

Over the last decade, the educational context for students with disabilities has significantly changed primarily as a result of mandates contained in NCLB and IDEA. The purpose of this book is to summarize the research literature regarding how students might be provided classrooms and schools that are both inclusive and effective. Inclusive schools are defined as places where students with disabilities are valued and active participants in academic and social activities and are given supports that help them succeed. Effectiveness is addressed within the current movement toward multi-tiered systems of support and evidence-based practices that meet the demands of high-stakes accountability.




Academic Assessment and Intervention


Book Description

Serving students with academic deficiencies necessitates communication and collaboration among professionals from several disciplines. Academic Assessment and Intervention brings together divergent approaches in order to demonstrate that scientific evidence, rather than biases or previous practice, must determine assessment practices that are selected and used for particular purposes. Similar to a handbook in its comprehensive topical coverage, this edited collection provides a contextual foundation for academic assessment and intervention; describes both norm-referenced and curriculum-based assessment/measurement in detail; considers the implications of both of these assessments on ethnically diverse populations; provides a clear link between assessment, evidence-based interventions and the RTI model; and considers other important topics related to this area such as teacher behavior. Intended primarily for graduate-level courses in education, school psychology, or child clinical psychology, it will also be of interest to practicing professionals in these fields.