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.

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.

This volume of Ready-to-Use Writing Proficiency Lessons & Activities gives classroom teachers and language arts specialists a powerful and effective tool for addressing the curriculum standards and competencies at the fourth-grade level. Writing Proficiency Lessons & Activities are also available from the publisher at the Eighth Grade Level and the Tenth Grade Level.

In the early primary school years, children need to learn certain social skills to be successful in school and out. Some children have already mastered handling disappointment and working out differences with others, but many children struggle with the social skills that are expected of them. To help students of all skill levels, the author of the highly praised Ready-To-Use Violence Prevention Skills Lessons & Activities for Elementary Students presents this practical book that gives teachers and specialists a stimulating, systematic way to develop positive social behaviors in students through awareness, discussion, and rehearsing new behaviors. It offers over 50 detailed lesson plans and practice worksheets based on real-life situations. These age-appropriate lessons help children build self-esteem, self-control, respect for the rights of others, and a sense of responsibility for one's own actions. Printed in a spiral-bound 8 1/4" x 11" format, the pages can be easily photocopied for use by the whole class or for individuals as the need to work on a particular skill arises.

This volume of Ready-to-Use Reading Proficiency Lessons & Activities gives classroom teachers and reading specialists a dynamic and progressive way to meet curriculum standards and competencies at the tenth-grade level. It provides stimulating and effective ways to help students master basic reading and language content, and prepare to demonstrate their knowledge at the appropriate level.

This manual provides 218 reproducible activity sheets for quick, reliable practice in a broad range of basic to advanced reading and study skills. It also provides a reproducible Reading Skills Check List to help pinpoint individual or group needs and monitor students' progress in mastering specific skills. It is organized into six sections: vocabulary, word attack skills, basic comprehension, advanced comprehension, study skills, and creative writing.

Writing Smarter! provides 106 detailed lesson plans with reproducibles to help students begin writing better immediately! These writing improvement materials are complete and self-contained, can be used with individual students or an entire class in any order, and are organized into 13 sections: Orientation, Description, Character Sketch, Sentence Structure, Personal Narratives, Persuasion, Research, Interviews, The News, Writing Letters, Short Fiction, Poetry, and Peer Editing.

18 Easy Step-by-Step Lessons With Models and Writing Frames That Guide All Students to Succeed

This volume of Ready-to-Use Reading Proficiency Lessons & Activities gives classroom teachers and reading specialists a dynamic and progressive way to meet curriculum standards and competencies at the eighth-grade level. It provides stimulating and effective ways to help students master basic reading and language content, and prepare to demonstrate their knowledge at the appropriate level.