Right before test time — The Test Lady revisited

Based on what they know the Test Lady loves, what are they going to want to make sure to incorporate into their own drafts? Have the students write down individual goals and intentions.    read more...

FAQ: State Writing Prompts: Cursive or Print

Question: Should I encourage my students to write in cursive or print their responses to the state writing prompt?    read more...

Beginnings & endings are crucial on state writing tests

The state standardized writing prompts are just around the corner. Knowing that, it's time to take stock. Last month we targeted one of the top two reasons students were falling short of passing scores -- their writing is too short and lacks development. In this edition, let's dive into the second most common reason students don't pass--- their writing lacks cohesiveness or completeness. In other words, they don't have the 3-part combination including a beginning, middle and end.    read more...

The Test Lady Lives!

The Test Lady is alive! WOW! The creativity in your mini-lessons on the Test Lady was astounding.    read more...

Twenty ways to develop an idea

At this point in the year it's time to hone in on students' development of their writing topics. And with state standardized tests approaching in late February and early March, we need to fine-tune students' strategies for elaborating in their writing.    read more...

A couple of my new favorites

Another one of my new favorites is entitled "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick." The book consists of fourteen black-and-white drawings, each accompanied by a title and a caption, allowing readers to make up their own stories to complement the pictures.    read more...

Strengthening school-wide/district-wide writing assessments

For those schools on the front end of this process and just beginning to develop a common writing assessment, here are some things to consider along the way. For those schools looking to revise your current writing assessment procedures, here are some tips for making the process more efficient and effective.    read more...

Key lessons to cover before the state writing assessment

Here are my essential mini-lessons to target first-draft, on-demand prompt writing within these waning weeks before the state writing assessment:    read more...

Improving students’ self-assessment after writing

When teachers announce a new writing assignment, or a specific writing project, or even a single writing prompt, there are often multiple tasks for students to juggle. The teacher carefully and explicitly goes over every single required component and verifies that students understand the expectations. And yet, when the assignments are turned in, invariably, there are numerous writings that lack all the required components. Ugh!    read more...

Challenging students to reference the text to support their thinking

A large portion of most state standardized tests include students writing an extended-response prompt. This requires students to read a passage and then write to a prompted topic. The bulk of a writer's score is based on how he supports his thinking with examples and evidence from the text.    read more...