Ready-to-Use Writing Proficiency Lessons & Activities 8th Grade Level

by Behrman, Carol H.

• ISBN13: 9780787965860
• ISBN10: 0787965863
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

This volume of Ready-to-Use Writing Proficiency Lessons & Activities gives classroom teachers and language arts specialists a powerful and effective tool for addressing curriculum standards and competencies at the eighth-grade level and preparing their students for comprehensive assessment testing.Writing Proficiency Lessons & Activities books are also available from Jossey-Bass at the fourth-grade level and the tenth-grade level.Included are a variety of easy-to-use, reproducible activity sheets that provide application and review the basic language skills as well as extensive practice in producing the types of writing called for in standardized tests.For easy use, the 240-plus student activity sheets are printed in a big 8-1/2" x 11" format that lays flat for photocopying. The activities are organized into nine sections. Here is just a sample of the topics covered in Sections 1-5: CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD: words often confused, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, adverbs vs. adjectives, sensory words, similes, metaphors, and double negatives MAKING MECHANICS AND USAGE WORK FOR YOU: apostrophes, hyphens, end marks, commas, semicolons, colons, quotation marks, titles, and misplaced modifiers. WRITING SENTENCES: subjects and predicates, subject-verb agreement, simple and compound sentences, complex sentences, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and sentence types WRITING PARAGRAPHS: writing a topic sentence, writing a concluding sentence, developing the topic, using tense consistently, using transitional words, and staying on the topic ESSAY-WRITING TECHNIQUES: brainstorming, clustering, outlining, writing an introductory paragraph with a question or a surprising statement, developing the topic using examples, avoiding irrelevant details, writing a concluding paragraph, proofreading, and writing a five-paragraph essay.

Author Biography

Carol H. Behrman taught writing to students in grades 5-8 for fifteen years. She has written twenty-four books— fiction and nonfiction— for children and young adults and has conducted numerous workshops on the writing process 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.

Table of Contents

About This Writing TestPrep Teaching Resource	p. iv
Choosing the Right Word	p. 1
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 1
Answer Key	p. 6
Words Commonly Misspelled	p. 12
Words Commonly Misspelled (Part Two)	p. 13
Words Commonly Misspelled (Part Three)	p. 14
Words Commonly Misspelled (Part Four)	p. 15
Words Often Confused	p. 16
Words Often Confused (Part Two)	p. 17
Words Often Confused (Part Three)	p. 18
Prefixes	p. 19
Suffixes	p. 20
Suffixes (Part Two)	p. 21
Suffixes (Part Three)	p. 22
Suffixes (Part Four)	p. 23
Prefixes and Suffixes	p. 24
Synonyms	p. 25
Antonyms	p. 26
Synonyms and Antonyms	p. 27
Homonyms	p. 28
Homonyms (Part Two)	p. 29
Adjectives	p. 30
Adverbs	p. 31
Adverbs vs. Adjectives	p. 32
Prepositions	p. 33
Articles	p. 34
Common and Proper Nouns	p. 35
Collective and Compound Nouns	p. 36
Pronouns and Antecedents	p. 37
Pronouns and Antecedents (Part Two)	p. 38
Indefinite Pronouns	p. 39
Personal Possessive Pronouns	p. 40
Verbs	p. 41
Verbs (Part Two)	p. 42
Verb Tense	p. 43
Irregular Verbs	p. 45
Sensory Words	p. 46
Sensory Words (Part Two)	p. 47
Similes	p. 48
Similes (Part Two)	p. 49
Metaphors	p. 50
Metaphors (Part Two)	p. 51
Compound Words	p. 52
Double Negatives	p. 53
Illiteracies	p. 54
Illiteracies (Part Two)	p. 55
Review Test: Choosing the Right Word	p. 56
Making Mechanics and Usage Work for You	p. 61
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 61
Answer Key	p. 65
Plurals	p. 70
Plurals (Part Two)	p. 71
Plurals (Part Three)	p. 72
Capitalization	p. 73
Capitalization (Part Two)	p. 74
Abbreviations	p. 75
Abbreviations (Part Two)	p. 76
Apostrophes	p. 77
Apostrophes (Part Two)	p. 78
Apostrophes (Part Three)	p. 79
Hyphens	p. 80
Hyphens (Part Two)	p. 81
Dashes	p. 82
End Marks	p. 83
End Marks (Part Two)	p. 84
Commas	p. 85
Commas (Part Two)	p. 86
Commas (Part Three)	p. 87
Commas (Part Four)	p. 88
Commas (Part Five)	p. 89
Semicolons	p. 90
Semicolons (Part Two)	p. 91
Colons	p. 92
Colons (Part Two)	p. 93
Quotation Marks	p. 94
Quotation Marks (Part Two)	p. 95
Quotation Marks (Part Three)	p. 96
Quotation Marks (Part Four)	p. 97
Titles	p. 98
Slashes and Ellipses	p. 100
Parentheses	p. 101
Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers	p. 102
Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers (Part Two)	p. 103
Review Test: Mechanics and Usage	p. 104
Writing Sentences	p. 109
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 109
Answer Key	p. 113
Subjects and Predicates	p. 118
Simple and Complete Subjects	p. 119
Simple and Complete Predicates	p. 120
Sentences with One Subject and One Verb	p. 121
Sentences with Compound Subjects	p. 122
Sentences with Compound Predicates	p. 123
Subject-Verb Agreement: Number	p. 124
Subject-Verb Agreement: Person	p. 125
Dependent and Independent Clauses	p. 126
Dependent and Independent Clauses (Part Two)	p. 127
Dependent and Independent Clauses (Part Three)	p. 128
Simple Sentences	p. 129
Compound Sentences	p. 130
Complex Sentences	p. 131
Complex Sentences (Part Two)	p. 132
Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences	p. 133
Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, and Imperative Sentences	p. 134
Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, and Imperative Sentences (Part Two)	p. 135
Recognizing Sentence Fragments	p. 136
Recognizing Sentence Fragments (Part Two)	p. 137
Recognizing Run-on Sentences	p. 138
Do's and Don'ts for Writing Sentences	p. 139
Do's and Don'ts for Writing Sentences (Part Two)	p. 140
Review Test: Writing Sentences	p. 141
Writing Paragraphs	p. 147
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 147
Answer Key	p. 152
Organizing a Paragraph	p. 156
Organizing a Paragraph (Part Two)	p. 157
Writing a Topic Sentence	p. 158
Writing a Topic Sentence (Part Two)	p. 159
Writing a Concluding Sentence	p. 160
Writing a Concluding Sentence (Part Two)	p. 161
Developing the Topic	p. 162
Developing the Topic (Part Two)	p. 163
Using Tense Consistently	p. 164
Using Tense Consistently (Part Two)	p. 165
Using Pronouns Consistently	p. 167
Using Transitional Words and Phrases	p. 168
Using Transitional Words and Phrases (Part Two)	p. 169
Using Transitional Words and Phrases (Part Three)	p. 170
Staying on the Subject	p. 171
Staying on the Subject (Part Two)	p. 172
Avoiding Irrelevant Details	p. 173
Using Variety in Sentence Length	p. 174
Using Variety in Sentence Length (Part Two)	p. 175
Using Variety in Sentence Structure	p. 176
Using Variety in Sentence Structure (Part Two)	p. 177
Using a Variety of Sentence Types	p. 178
Using the Writing Process: Prewriting	p. 179
Using the Writing Process: Writing the First Draft	p. 180
Using the Writing Process: Revising and Writing the Final Copy	p. 181
Practice Test: Writing Paragraphs	p. 182
Essay-Writing Techniques	p. 189
Standardized Testing Information	p. 189
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 190
Answer Key	p. 195
Brainstorming	p. 196
Brainstorming (Part Two)	p. 197
Clustering	p. 198
Clustering (Part Two)	p. 199
Outlining	p. 200
Outlining (Part Two)	p. 201
Stating the Topic	p. 202
Stating the Topic (Part Two)	p. 203
Introductory Paragraph with a Question	p. 204
Introductory Paragraph with a Question (Part Two)	p. 205
Introductory Paragraph with a Surprising Statement	p. 206
Introductory Paragraph with an Anecdote	p. 207
Introductory Paragraph: What Not to Do	p. 208
Introductory Paragraph: What Not to Do (Part Two)	p. 209
Developing the Topic Using Examples	p. 210
Developing the Topic Using Examples (Part Two)	p. 211
Avoiding Irrelevancies	p. 212
Avoiding Irrelevancies (Part Two)	p. 213
Staying on the Subject	p. 214
Staying on the Subject (Part Two)	p. 215
Concluding Paragraph	p. 216
Concluding Paragraph (Part Two)	p. 217
Avoiding Confusion	p. 218
Self-Evaluation, Revision, Use of Proofreading Symbols	p. 219
Writing a Simple Three-Paragraph Essay	p. 220
Writing a Simple Three-Paragraph Essay (Part Two)	p. 221
Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay: Brainstorming and First Draft	p. 223
Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay: Revising and Writing a Final Copy	p. 224
Practice Test: Essay-Writing Techniques	p. 225
Writing Informative Essays	p. 231
Standardized Testing Information	p. 231
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 233
Informative Essay #1: Writing About the School Cafeteria	p. 235
Informative Essay #2: Writing About a Memorable Class Trip	p. 238
Informative Essay #3: Writing About Your New Room	p. 241
Informative Essay #4: Writing About Winning the Lottery	p. 245
Informative Essay #5: Writing About Becoming a Chef	p. 248
Informative Essay #6: Writing About Dangerous Situations	p. 251
Informative Essay #7: Describing a New TV Series	p. 254
Informative Essay #8: Describing Your Dream Vacation	p. 257
Practice Test: Writing Informative Essays	p. 260
Writing Persuasive Essays	p. 265
Standardized Testing Information	p. 265
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 267
Persuasive Essay #1: Writing an Editorial	p. 269
Persuasive Essay #2: Entering a Contest	p. 272
Persuasive Essay #3: Should the Lunch Program Be Changed?	p. 275
Persuasive Essay #4: Country Living vs. City Living	p. 278
Persuasive Essay #5: Does Watching TV Affect Students' Grades?	p. 281
Persuasive Essay #6: Convincing Others to Help Their Country	p. 284
Persuasive Essay #7: A Park vs. a Shopping Center	p. 287
Persuasive Essay #8: Writing About School Violence	p. 290
Practice Test: Writing Persuasive Essays	p. 293
Narrative Writing	p. 299
Standardized Testing Information	p. 299
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 301
Narrative Essay #1: A Memorable Experience	p. 303
Narrative Essay #2: Unfair Treatment	p. 306
Narrative Essay #3: A Scary Experience	p. 309
Narrative Essay #4: Through Someone Else's Eyes	p. 312
Narrative Essay #5: Lost and Found	p. 315
Narrative Essay #6: Developing the Plot	p. 318
Narrative Essay #7: Using Dialogue	p. 322
Narrative Essay #8: Developing the Characters	p. 325
Practice Test: Narrative Writing	p. 328
Writing Letters	p. 333
Standardized Testing Information	p. 333
Teacher Preparation and Lessons	p. 334
Informative Letter #1: Writing to Someone Who's Away	p. 336
Informative Letter #2: Writing a Fan Letter	p. 340
Informative Letter #3: Writing to Someone in Another Country	p. 343
Persuasive Letter #1: Applying for a Job	p. 346
Persuasive Letter #2: Writing to the Board President	p. 349
Persuasive Letter #3: Persuading Your Parents	p. 352
Practice Test: Writing Letters	p. 355
Proofreading Symbols	p. 360
Preparing Your Students for Standardized Proficiency Tests	p. 361
What Parents Need to Know About Standardized Tests	p. 361
The Uses of Standardized Tests	p. 362
Test Terms	p. 363
Common Types of Standardized Tests	p. 365
Preparing Your Child for Standardized Tests	p. 366
Cover Letter to Parents Announcing Standardized Tests	p. 367
What Students Need to Know About Standardized Tests	p. 368
Test-taking Tips for Students	p. 369
Test Words You Should Know	p. 370
Creating a Positive Test-taking Environment	p. 371
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