Greetings!
We hope you are settled in for the new school year, and your classroom is full of eager faces ready to learn! This newsletter is targeted for middle school teachers, but the tips and ideas can certainly be modified for upper elementary students.
Also remember you can always update your profile so that you only receive the e-mails you want from us. To do that, simply scroll to the very bottom of this e-mail and click on "Update Profile/e-mail."
Enjoy! The Write Tools |
 Jen LethebyThe beginning of the year is a great time to assess your students' knowledge of the different sentence structures. Remind them (or teach them) how to use the four-block sentence format found on page 25 of The Write Tools binder. Then, show them an engaging picture (remember the polar bears from TWT 101?) and ask them to create one simple, one compound, and one complex sentence about it. See if they can label the parts of the sentence correctly. As a follow-up, assign groups of students a different type of sentence. Ask them to change the "ok" sentence to the "better" sentence, and ask each group to share their final sentence. Language Arts Teachers: This gives you a good reference when discussing sentence fluency and word choice. Content Area/Specials Teachers: Use sentence frames to review important information from your texts (a chapter, section, or a few pages). Select key sentences from the content and create sentence frames consistent with the samples on pages 25 and 27 of The Write Tools binder. Complete a block or two of each frame with a word or words from the text along with the appropriate sentence part label. Then allow students to participate in a "scavenger hunt" by skimming and scanning their text pages to locate the specific sentences. Students will then complete the sentence frames by filling in the missing words and sentence part label. This will combine learning content with sentence building. You can challenge your students to rewrite some of the sentences using a different sentence style.
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 Alice Greiner to Present at
90/90/90 Schools Summits Sponsored by Doug Reeves and The Leadership and Learning Center, these summits will highlight research and replicable practices used by results-driven, high achieving schools. You will also learn practical strategies to lead and sustain improvement in times of change. You will hear directly from administrators of now-successful 90/90/90 schools about their journeys, challenges, and successes.
The most important practice of all the successful 90/90/90 schools is the emphasis on expository writing. Alice will be sharing The Write Tools' strategies at these important summits:
September 14-15, New Orleans, Louisiana
October 19-20, Burlingame, California
December 14-15, Las Vegas, Nevada
April 14-15, 2011, Washington DC
May 3-4, 2011, St. Louis, Missouri
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October Workshops in Denver, Colorado!
Join us in Denver, Colorado, for the following workshops:
Two-Day Introductory Workshop-TWT 101
Saturdays, October 2 and 9, 2010, 8:30-3:30-$249
Primary/Level 1 Intensive
Tuesday, October 12 and Thursday, October 14, 2010, 4:30-8:30-$149
Personal Narrative Intensive
Saturday, October 16, 2010, 8:30-3:30-$149
Descriptive Writing Intensive
Call us if you are interested in setting up workshops in your area!
303-221-5301 |
 Giggles in the Middleby Jane Bell Kiester
Jane Bell Kiester, author of the popular Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle series, has adapted her effective and fun approach to meet the specific learning needs of middle-school students. Giggles in the Middle gives 6th through 8th grade teachers the perfect alternative to boring grammar books and dry lectures. With this flexible, proven approach to teaching grammar, usage, and mechanics (GUM) skills and vocabulary, everyone has fun while they learn skills in context. You'll find:
- One continuous story, "The Bizarre Mystery of Horribly Hard Middle School," divided into three parts, each with enough sentences for an entire school year.
- Classroom-tested writing assignment suggestions, mini-lessons, and teaching tips.
- "Almost midterm" and final exam tests for each grade, with teacher keys.
- Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions.
- Complete vocabulary lists for words used in each part of the story.
- For easy reference and duplication, a CD with the Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Guide; the complete, uninterrupted story in narrative form; the midterm and final exam tests; and the Caught'ya sentences.
Use Giggles in the Middle to improve writing and editing skills, raise test scores, engage students in learning, and create classrooms filled with giggles!
(Description provided by Amazon.com) |
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 Epic Fun with Mythological Mad Libs! Below are links to some fun activities to do in class or assign as homework.
The first one is about writing a summary of a favorite Greek myth and then turning it into a Mad Lib game. This is a great activity as it can be customized to various subject matters. Click the link for more details.
This next activity is about epic poetry and having your students try their hand at creating their own epic poem. It's a fun way for the students to get hands-on experience with the structure of epic poetry and stories.
| | Write Your Own Epic Activity | |
 | | Doug Reeves Endorses The Write Tools! | |
Dr. Reeves believes in the importance of today's students being strong writers. View a short video clip of Dr. Reeves discussing the strategies The Write Tools offers teachers and students. Then examine the data of the outstanding results many schools have achieved on state assessments using these strategies.
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 | | The Write Tools Companion Software is now available for the Macintosh! | | PC users have been thrilled with our new TWT Companion Software. Now Mac Users can find out what all the excitement's about!
Call us at 303-221-5301 if you would like to receive a demo disk.
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