Synopses & Reviews
This volume of
Ready-to-Use Writing Proficiency Lessons and Activities gives classroom teachers and language arts specialists a powerful and effective tool for addressing curriculum standards and competencies at the tenth-grade level and preparing their students for comprehensive assessment testing.
An experienced teacher and author, Carol Behrman helps students develop the sound foundation they need to become proficient writers throughout their lives. Included are a variety of easy-to-use reproducible activity sheets to provide review and application of basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing the types of writing called for in standardized tests. The steps of the writing process are emphasized throughout. Each set of activities is accompanied by detailed lesson plans and suggestions to the teacher for presenting and implementing the skills and concepts being addressed. Each section is followed by a practice test focusing on the concepts and skills covered in the section, plus answer keys and scoring guides with writing samples. These practical tests will help students prepare for the types of questions they will be asked on actual tests.
Sections 1-5 offer review and practice in basic writing skills.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD: Covers words often confused, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms, similes and metaphors, sensory words, and more.
MAKING MECHANICS AND USAGE WORK FOR YOU: Reviews grammar and usage including punctuation marks, titles, misplaced modifiers, and prepositions.
WRITING SENTENCES: Includes lessons on subjects and predicates, subject/verb agreement, simple and compound sentences, complex sentences, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and sentence types.
WRITING PARAGRAPHS: Guides student writers through writing a topic sentence, writing a concluding sentence, developing a topic, using tense consistently, using transitional words, and staying on topic.
ESSAY-WRITING TECHNIQUES: Includes activities in brainstorming, clustering, outlining, developing the topic, avoiding irrelevant details, writing a concluding paragraph, revising, proofreading, and writing a five-paragraph essay.
The activities in Sections 6-9 take the students through the steps in the writing process to develop from six to eight writing samples on various age-appropriate topics in each of the following genres required on state tests:
WRITING INFORMATIVE ESSAYS
WRITING PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
WRITING NARRATIVE ESSAYS AND STORIES
WRITING LETTERS
Synopsis
Many states now require comprehensive assessment testing and high school exit testing at the 10th grade level. With a variety of easy-to-use, reproducible activity sheets to provide review and application of basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing the many varied types of writing, this book is ideal for both written test preparation and for broad-based language arts competencies. Topics include; Choosing the Right Word, Writing Sentences, Writing Paragraphs, Essay-Writing Techniques, and much more. Each sections is followed by a practice test with answer keys and scoring guides to assist students in preparation for the actual test.
Synopsis
Powerful and effective tools for addressing writing curriculum standards and competencies
Many states now require comprehensive assessment testing and high school exit testing at the 10th grade level. With a variety of easy-to-use, reproducible activity sheets to provide review and application of basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing the many varied types of writing, this book is ideal for both written test preparation and for broad-based language arts competencies. Topics include: Choosing the Right Word, Writing Sentences, Writing Paragraphs, Essay-Writing Techniques, and much more. Each section is followed by apractice test with answer keys and scoring guides to assist students in preparation for the actual test.
Carol H. Behrman (Sarasota, FL) taught writing for 22 years. She is the author of numerous books on writing, including Write! Write! Write! (0-7879-6582-0) and Writing Skills Problem Solver (0-13-060039-3).
Synopsis
Ideal for written test preparation and for broad-based language arts competencies
This new volume in the Ready-to-Use Test Prep series gives classroom teachers and language arts specialists a powerful and effective tool for addressing the curriculum standards and writing competencies tested at the tenth grade level. The book includes more than 200 easy-to-use, reproducible activity sheets to provide review and application of the basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing many varied types of writing. Chapters focus on choosing the right word, mechanics and usage, writing sentences, developing paragraphs, essay-writing techniques, and much more.
Carol H. Behrman (Sarasota, FL) has served as writer-in-residence at the Chatauqua Institute and has been an adjunct lecturer at Seton Hall and New York University s Writing Center.
Synopsis
An experienced teacher and author, Carol Behrman helps students develop the sound foundation they need to become proficient writers throughout their lives. Included are a variety of easy-to-use reproducible activity sheets to provide review and application of basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing the types of writing called for in standardized tests. The steps of the writing process are emphasized throughout. Each set of activities is accompanied by detailed lesson plans and suggestions to the teacher for presenting and implementing the skills and concepts being addressed. Each section is followed by a practice test focusing on the concepts and skills covered in the section, plus answer keys and scoring guides with writing samples. These practical tests will help students prepare for the types of questions they will be asked on actual tests.
About the Author
Carol H. Behrman taught writing to students in the Glen Ridge New Jersey school system for fifteen years. She has written thirty books—fiction and nonfiction—for children and young adults and conducts numerous writing process workshops for students, teachers, and aspiring writers. Ms Behrman has served as writer-in-residence at Chautauqua Institution and has been an adjunct lecturer at Seton Hall University and at New York University’s Writing Center. Writing Proficiency Lessons and Activities grades four and eight by Behrman are also available from Jossey-Bass.
Table of Contents
About This Writing TestPrep Teaching Resource iv
Section 1: Choosing the Right Word 1
Teacher Perparation and Lessons 1
Answer Key 4
Review Test: Choosing the Right Word 32
Section 2: Making Mechanics and Usage Work for You 35
Teacher Perparation and Lessons 35
Answer Key 39
Review Test: Mechanics and Usage 73
Section 3: Writing Sentences 77
Teacher Perparation and Lessons 77
Answer Key 81
Review Test: Writing Sentences 105
Section 4: Writing Paragraphs 109
Teacher Perparation and Lessons 109
Answer Key 113
Practice Test: Writing Paragraphs 145
Section 5: Essay-Writing Techniques 151
Standardized Testing Information 151
Teacher Preparation and Lessons 151
Practice Test: Essay-Writing Techniques 183
Section 6: Writing Informative/Expository Essays 189
Standardized Testing Information 189
Teacher Preparation and Lessons 190
Practice Test: Writing Informative Essays 213
Section 7: Writing Persuasive Essays 219
Standardized Testing Information 219
Teacher Preparation and Lessons 220
Practice Test: Writing Persuasive Essays 243
Section 9: Writing Letters 273
Standardized Testing Information 279
Teacher Preparation and Lessons 280
Sample Letter Forms 282
Practice Test: Writing Letters 301
Proofreading Symbols 307
Appendix: Preparing Your Students for Standardized Proficiency Tests 309