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Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers
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Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers
Building Better Sentences



November 2012 | 248 pages | Corwin
Develop fluent writers without the drudgery of diagramming sentences! Here you'll find a variety of sentence patterns, plus activities and sample sentences to build student mastery.Imagine leaving behind the drudgery of diagramming sentences. Imagine, instead, joyful writers who are capable of revising their work and writing effectively. By taking writing down to its basic building block—a solid sentence—and advancing from there, students will develop confidence, enjoy creating sentences, and ultimately empower each other as writers.

Lessons for Grades 3-12 include:

A variety of sentence patterns presented in a logical sequence

An explanation of each pattern's structure and conventions

Reinforcement activities and sample sentences for each pattern

Activities to develop the necessary instructional vocabulary

As students become engaged in the process, they will work toward:

Meeting the Common Core State Standards for Language Arts

Understanding and using basic sentence structures

Recognizing what makes a sentence effective

Learning to put sentences together to write effective paragraphs

This indispensable handbook serves as a blueprint for instruction and unit development by emphasizing the end goal: preparing students to be effective writers. Along the way, all students, including English language learners, will gain the fluency and automaticity needed for effective daily writing and for success on high-stakes tests.

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. Introduction: Why Teach Sentence Patterns?
 
2. Teaching Parts of Speech
 
3. Sentence Patterns by Grade Level
 
4. Sentence Combining to Reinforce Skills
 
5. Activities for Students Needing Extra Practice
 
6. Extra Practice With Patterns
 
7. Short Writing Assignments
 
8. From Patterns to Essays
 
References
 
Index

"This author provides the tools teachers need to make grammar instruction meaningful and engaging so students build the knowledge they need to craft not only sentences, but strong pieces of writing that meet the demands of the Common Core."

Carol Gallegos, Literacy Coach
Hanford Elementary School District, Hanford, CA

"This book is a great resource for teachers looking for ideas to improve their skills in teaching writing to students. I wish it had been around when I was working on my professional development and working towards my National Board Certification."

Ken Garwick, Education Consultant
Kansas State University

"Students will enjoy the active and collaborative lessons that will allow them to gain skill in writing grammatically correct descriptive sentences with the sophistication of variety in structure."

Sharon Jefferies , Retired Teacher
Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, FL

"The writer’s knowledge of how students learn, passion for finding ways to teach sentence patterns, and willingness to share those strategies with the world all combine to make Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers: Building Better Sentences a book that every writing teacher can use."

Norma Barber, Language Arts Teacher
Ukiah School District 80R, Ukiah, OR

Phyllis Hostmeyer

Phyllis Hostmeyer lives in Southern Illinois, but is a Language Arts consultant for Educational Resources Group, Inc. of Charleston, South Carolina. (www.ergsc.com) A frequent speaker and presenter throughout Illinois, Phyllis has also worked as a language arts consultant throughout the country and abroad. She conducts a range of workshops on reading, writing, assessment, poetry, and other topics. But her favorite presentations revolve around the sentence patterns. In addition, Phyllis is a professional storyteller who turns fables and fairy tales into rap, jazz, and ballads. She also does Bible tellings and has traveled to Israel as part... More About Author

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ISBN: 9781412989046
$41.95

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