Crunchtime: Lessons to Help Students Blow the Roof Off Writing Tests--and Become Better Writers in the Process
Watch an overview by Gretchen.\ Book study groups and professional learning communities, click here to save when you order 15 copies of Crunchtime. A $315 value for $267.75. Save $47.25.\ "Our schools should be accountable, but do they have to become joyless halls of drudgery? I'm not against measuring student achievement and learning. But can't we develop lessons that use the best of what we know about learning and about children, lessons informed by research and results, lessons that...
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In this eagerly-anticipated teacher resource, master teachers Gretchen Bernabei, Jayne Hover, and Cynthia Candler share writing lessons that are healthy for kids, promote lifelong literacy, and, coincidentally, will help your students blow the roof off of their state test scores. Organized around the writing process selecting topics, crafting drafts, and polishing finished pieces explicit lessons engage student writers while shoring up the gaps between learning and testing. Growing out of their own work in Title I schools, Gretchen, Jayne, and Cynthia s strategies have proven to be especially effective in helping ESL and special education students, not only pass the test, but achieve commended performance. In addition to providing classroom-tested strategies, this practical teaching resource provides a wealth of crunchtime tools (rubrics, reproducibles, and writing samples) minilessons, and lesson plans that will help you teach strategically and position your students for success on their state writing tests and beyond.
Foreword ixAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction Gretchen Bernabei xviiThe Thermometer Rubric xviiSharing Within the Profession xviiiTwo Teachers Jayne Hover Cynthia Candler xviiiBut Shouldn't Test Writing Be the Same as Real Writing? xixKnowing the Research xxPart 1 From Idea to Draft (Gretchen's Story) 1Chapter 1 Selecting a Topic 7Levels of Personal Experience 7The Quicklist 14Student Spotlight Guadalupe 22Chapter 2 Organizing and Prewriting Structures 24The Talking List 24Writing a Kernel Essay with Text Structures 28The Flipbook 36The Fake Flipbook 54Student Spotlight Esequiel 59Part 2 Revision and Development (Cynthia's Story) 61Chapter 3 Writing with Style 65Expanding a Sentence: Revision Stations 65Telling the Story, Asking Questions 73The F.I.T. Chart 77Sparkling Sentences 84Truisms with Picture Prompts 88Ba-da-bing Sentences 98Student Spotlight William 102Chapter 4 The Devil's in the Details 104Great Beginnings 104Common Mistakes and Quick Fixes 109Preparing the Final Copy 112Part 3 Crunchtime Tools and Minilessons (Jayne's Story: Teaching Writing or Teaching Testing?) 115Chapter 5 Countdown to the Test 121KISS (Keep It Surprisingly Simple): The Concept 121KISS Lesson Plans for Writing 123Chapter 6 Minilessons with High-Scoring Student Papers 130AppendixResearch on Foundations of Effective Writing Instruction 137Beliefs and Experiences 139Student Chart for Brainstorming "Bank Experiences" 141Student Topic Lists 142Quicklists for Other Genres 144Connecting Life Experiences to Life Truths 146A Memory Chart 147The Story of My Thinking Chart147Evolution of a Term Chart 147Discovering a Lie Chart 147Tribute to a Person Who Taught Me Something 148Backfire Chart 148Metamorphosis Chart 148Cause and Effect Chart 148Expository, I-Search, and Literary Analysis Text Structures 149Sample Pages of a Flipbook 150Revision Stations 151Cause and Effect (If...Then...) 152Student Self-Check Flipbook 153Student Self-Check Flipbook Final Copy 154Scoring Guide 155The Fake Flipbook 156Where's the BEEF? 158F.I.T. Chart 159KISS Lesson Plan 160Writer's Toolbox 161Minilessons 162Works Cited 165
