180 Days to Successful Writers
Lessons to Prepare Your Students for Standardized Assessments and for Life
- Karen Donohue - Lockheed Elementary
- Nanda N. Reddy
February 2006 | 296 pages | Corwin
In today's high-stakes environment, standardized test scores determine much more than student performance. Scores are linked to school status, the amount of funding a school receives, and ultimately a teacher's job security. Which means teachers not only need to teach their students how to write well for practical purposes-they must also teach them how to write well on timed tests. Luckily, it is possible to do both using one curriculum.
This book provides teachers with a writing curriculum that prepares students for standardized writing tests while helping them develop skills for lifelong writing success. Adaptations for gifted students and for low-performing students are also provided. Finally, a way for teachers to provide direct quality writing instruction that allows them to meet testing demands in time and with confidence!
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. No-Brainers and Bosses: Laying the Foundation
2. Pickle Sandwiches and TCUPSS: Beginning Expository Writing
3. Rainbow Words and Awe-Inspiring Adjectives: Enhancing Expository
4. It all Started With a Tier Cake: Directing Narrative Structure
5. Ask for Likely Similes and Vivacious Verbs: Enhancing Narratives
6. Dressing Things Up: Independent Writing
7. The Improvement Process: Diagnosing and Fixing Problems
8. Timers and Deadlines: Preparing for a Test
9. Beyond Tests and Essays: Applying Expository Writing Knowledge
10. Beyond Tests and Stories: Applying Narrative Writing Knowledge
11. Writing Outside the Lines: Advanced Lessons
12. Going School-Wide: Ideas to Create a Spiraling Curriculum
Resources
Index
"Teachers who lack a clearly articulated instructional plan for teaching writing skills will appreciate this year's worth of lessons presented in a logical, linear format."
School Library Journal