Writing Skills - Teacher's Handbook

EDUCATORS PUBLISHING SERVICE
Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2022 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/writingskillstea0000king
Cambridge and Toronto
To the students, parents, teachers, and colleagues—all of whom have
enriched my life beyond any measure they can ever know.
Book design: Joyce C. Weston and Karen Lomigora

Cover design: Karen Lomigora
Editor: Theresa Trinder
Managing Editor: Sheila Neylon
Acquiring Editor: Sethany Rancier Alongi
Copyright © 2004 by Educators Publishing Service, a division of School Specialty Publishing, a member of
the School Specialty Family.
Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 0-8388-2561-3
978-0-8388-2561-7
34567 PP 10 09 08 07 06
Contents
Acknowledgments
From the Foreword to the First Edition
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter One The Sentence
Chapter Two The Paragraph
Chapter Three Purpose: The Types of Writing
Chapter Four The Essay
Chapter Five Standards and Assessments
Chapter Six Proofreading and Revising
Chapter Seven Working with Groups
Chapter Eight Spelling
Chapter Nine Handwriting
Chapter Ten Keyboarding: The Alphabet Method i
Appendices
Resources 132
Reproducibles 141
References 156
Index (LSE
Acknowledgments
Thanks to William Van Cleave for his sugegestions in the chapter on

keyboarding and to Theresa Trinder for incorporating the material on
references and the section on standards and assessments
My heartfelt gratitude to Theresa Trinder, Sethany Rancier, and Sheila

Neylon for the encouragement, patience, and hard work that have made
this revision a reality.
From the Foreword to the First Edition
It has been a pleasure to review this book and to formulate some of the reasons for that
pleasure.
The request or suggestion to“just write it down” sounds so simple until we analyze
carefully what it means. The obvious purpose of putting thoughts into writing is to
convey a message, be it practical or poetic, from one mind to another. To be able to do this
is a basic need in a literate, technological society such as ours. To be able to do it readily
and well liberates a person to function in whatever area and role his other aptitudes and
purposes suggest.
In Writing Skills for the Adolescent, Mrs. King demonstrates that she, herself, can
achieve what she sets as the goal for her students: to write clear, lively, informative prose
that exactly serves its purpose. She explains how writing skills can best be taught, from
how to hold a pencil to the use of the gerund (if you need this level of refinement). Her
teaching tactics and ordering of sequences and priorities reflect a clear sense of her
students’ needs and interests from, as I have said elsewhere, “zero to full literacy” as they
grow toward practical adulthood and, very often, college and advanced professional study.
The result is a description of writing problems and her well-tested, effective response to
its challenges. This makes interesting, straight-through reading that gives a quick,
comprehensive, informative survey of our own language.
Its prime purpose, however, is to be a useful, practical manual in this area of teaching.
It should serve both seasoned colleagues and newcomers to the field, like the many who
have found teaching under Mrs. King’s exacting supervision a most valuable part of their
professional education and training.
Beneath the major design and all the component parts, even to the fine details of
materials and procedures, moreover, one sees sound foundation. Within the specialized
field of dyslexia and its treatment, Mrs. King is widely recognized as one of its very best
educators. She is well-grounded in the sciences of language and language disorders. She
knows psychology and pedagogy and human development. She knows the specific
relations of rationale to both the subject matter to be taught and the real-live, lively
teenage boys and girls who people her school and camp. You know that behind prescription
or suggestion there is not whim but valid and tested reason.
Hundreds of students have helped develop the methodology for her approach. Their
remediation involves some grueling labor and sometimes discouragement, but they feel
rewarded in the end by having achieved a sense of genuine improvement, often of fluent,
effective competence in the use of the written word to serve in the pursuit of their several
life purposes.
— Margaret Byrd Rawson
Ol
About the Author
Diana Hanbury King founded the Kildonan School in 1969 and served as its
director for twenty-two years. In 1955, she founded Dunnabeck, a summer
camp for dyslexic students that is now the oldest established program of its
kind in the country. Over two thousand students from several different
countries have attended these two programs.
At The Kildonan School, Mrs. King planned curricula and was active in
both working with students and in training teachers. Throughout this period
she lectured and held workshops in this country and abroad. Working in the
New York State public schools, she led sixty-hour courses for over four
hundred teachers and made hundreds of classrooms visits. She served as
Executive Director of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and
Educators and continues to serve as a member of the Board.
Prior to foundingThe Kildonan School, Mrs. King taught in
Washington, D.C. at the Sidwell Friends School, where she was trained by
Helene Durbrow and Anna Gillingham, and at the Potomac School in
Virginia. She has been a member of the Orton Dyslexia Society, now the
International Dyslexia Association, since 1951. In 1985, she received the
New York Branch Annual Award and in 1990 she was awarded the
samuel T. Orton Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Society.
Mrs. King holds a B.A. Honors degree from the University of London
and an M.A. from George Washington University. She has developed and
published a variety of teaching materials.
She continues to tutor students every day at The Kildonan School.
WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Introduction
Writing is thinking in slow motion. We see what at normal speeds escapes

us, can rerun the reel at will to look for errors, erase, interpolate, and
rethink. Most thoughts are a light rain, fall upon the ground, and dry up.
Occasionally they become a stream that runs a short distance before it
disappears. Writing stands an incomparably better chance of getting
somewhere.
Paintings and sculptures are also new worlds, but confined to space; and if
the artist wants many people to share them, he must part with his works.
What is written can be given endlessly and yet retained, read by thousands
even while it is being rewritten, kept as it was and revised at the same time.
Writing is magic.
—Walter Kaufman, Tragedy and Philosophy
Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many.
—The National Commission on Writing

in America's Schools and Colleges
I originally wrote this text to help dyslexic adolescents develop writing skills
and as a reference work for teachers, some of whom said, “I like having
everything I need in one book.” It has since proved its value as a manual for
training teachers. Moreover, the carefully structured step-by-step approach
has enabled not only dyslexic students, but struggling writers of all ages to
become confident and successful. Even young children can learn to organize
their ideas and lay a foundation for later work. By fourth grade, all students
encounter expository texts and are increasingly required to develop their
ideas in an expository manner. If their experience has been limited to
narrative and descriptive writing, even the good writers among them are
likely to have difficulty in making the shift.
There are several reasons for concentrating, as this text does, on expos-
itory writing, rather than on creative writing. First, it is an essential skill for
academic success. No student can succeed without being able to organize,
support, and present their ideas in writing. Then, when approached in a
INTRODUCTION
step-by-step fashion, it is a skill all students can master. This is not the case
with the creative writing skills that tend to be gifts the gods distribute
unevenly—were it not so, more of us would be living off our royalties.
Secondly, knowledge of the various conventions of expository writing
enhances reading skills and reading comprehension. The texts students
encounter, even by fourth grade, differ from the beautifully illustrated
storybooks from which they have learned to read. As they read informational
text, they must follow the development of an argument, not a story line. Is
the writer giving examples, comparing or contrasting, defining, classifying,
describing a process, or relating an event that illustrates the point? Students
who have practiced these forms of writing will be quicker to identify and
analyze them.
Finally, state and national standards require that students be proficient
in writing. Based on the results of the 2002 national assessment, a recent
report from the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and
Colleges calls writing “the Neglected R.” This same document calls for a
“writing revolution,” in which districts double the time students spend
writing, teach writing in all subjects and grade levels, and provide profes-
sional development for teachers of writing. This book aims to address those
concerns, and to help teachers to teach writing in a step-by-step method
effective for all writers, especially those who struggle.
The ability to read does not follow automatically from the ability to
speak; many students who speak fluently encounter problems when it
comes to learning to read. Nor does the ability to read result in writing
skill. Many students who are excellent readers have great difficulty writing,
and their ability to read sometimes places them under extraordinary pres-
sures. Teachers know they are bright. Their intelligence has been tested.
They are responsive and attentive. Many teachers often mistakenly assume
that since a student can read well, he can also write well. Writing is a difficult
and intimidating task for all types of students, but especially for the struggling
writer and the dyslexic, who will show difficulty with language in its many
aspects: speech, reading, spelling, foreign language, and of course, writing.
While the advent of the computer has been the salvation of many who
could not otherwise have completed high school or been accepted into
college, it has not eliminated the need for handwriting and spelling skills.
Unfortunately, many teachers do not teach these transcription skills, impor-
tant for writing fluency, confidence, and success on standardized tests.
From an early age the struggling writer may be sent home with a pile of
WRITING SKILES TEACHER'S HANDBOOK

worksheets that she has been unable to finish in class. Often these students
develop a pervasive frustration that can discourage them from writing, from
learning, or even from attending school.
Of course writing skills are crucial for success in high school and
college, but there are other reasons for teaching writing. Writing is a way of
strengthening memory. All of us have had the experience of arriving at the
supermarket and realizing that the carefully planned shopping list is sitting
at home on the kitchen table. But it does not really matter because the
process of writing it down has fixed it in the memory. Once I worked with
a student on whom the experts at the local school system had given up. He
could never remember anything; whatever he learned, he forgot. Once he
learned to write, his prospects changed. When I attend a seminar, I take
notes. Even if I never read them, the writing process has enabled me to
remember what I've learned.
Writing is also a creative outlet for the imagination. Often, struggling
students develop unusual creativity and imagination with language. The list
of famous writers with learning disabilities includes childrens’ authors Hans
Christian Andersen and Patricia Polacco, fiction writers F. Scott Fitzgerald
and Agatha Christie, and the poets Robert Frost and Amy Lowell.
There are at least two reasons why teachers fail to tackle writing skills.
First, they are not sure where to begin when faced with a jumble of illegible,
poorly constructed, and misspelled sentences, or, perhaps even worse, with
the student who stares at the paper for ten minutes and can think of nothing
to write. This book attempts to offer a solution in the form of a structured
approach that begins with the small, simple unit and goes on to tackle the
longer and more complex, in the method we use naturally in the teaching
of mathematics, chemistry, physics, or even biology. At no stage is the
student faced with a task he cannot perform; learning proceeds from the
simple to the complex.
Another reason why teachers hesitate is that they are pressured for
time and do not often realize how much can be accomplished in a short
time. If the teacher and student are dedicated to writing, improvement is
often rapid, and everyone is encouraged by the results of their efforts and
motivated to persist.
While the material in this book and in the accompanying student books
was designed for use in the classroom or with small groups, it can readily
be used by tutors and clinicians. Moreover, most of the exercises can be
adapted for use with very young students, students with learning differences,
LINDT ROiDIGiE
Tie IN 9
and adults. The exercises here are merely springboards that the teacher or
tutor can use as models to develop other drills appropriate to the age and
interests of the individual or group.
The material and exercises in the chapters reflect best practices in
writing instruction—they should be presented in overlapping fashion. For
instance, while sentence writing needs to be carried on over a long period
of time, exercises in devising supporting sentences for a given topic can be
started almost from the beginning. Similarly, perfection in writing single
paragraphs of all sorts need not be attained before beginning essay writing.
Spelling must be practiced frequently, but poor spelling cannot be allowed
to become a barrier that inhibits progress in other areas.
10 WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Chapter One
The Sentence
It is important that the initial writing assignments be designed to build the

writer's confidence. For many students, writing is a threatening activity to
be avoided at all costs. For these students and for beginning writers, begin
with single sentences. For the writer of any age, the basic skill of sentence
writing provides an important transition between single words and
compositions. Because the sentence is a small unit, students will feel more
confident and attentive to the task, and they will be less likely to make
spelling or grammar errors.
Provide students, especially struggling writers, with a great deal of
practice in sentence writing. Formulating sentences in speech is not the
same as formulating sentences on paper. Most struggling writers will be
intimidated by a blank sheet of paper and a writing prompt. When the
teacher asks why he isn’t writing, the reply is likely to be, “I’m thinking.”
Those of us who are fluent writers manage the two processes—thinking
and writing—simultaneously. There is often a seamless flow from brain to
pen and only rarely do we pause. Writing fluency—the uninterrupted
transfer of ideas—is important, especially in the elementary grades, and
improves with practice.
Writing fluency—the uninterrupted transfer of ideas—

is important, especially in the elementary grades,
and improves with practice.
Elicit sentences from students by asking them to use five, ten, even
twenty words in a sentence. Though it seems tedious, it is an activity at
which most students feel they can succeed. At first, you can select words
from the sound or skill you are teaching in reading or spelling, e.g. the two
spellings oi and ow or the words that end in tch. Later, you might have
students choose words from their personal spelling pack (see page 112).
GHAPTER ONE * THE SHNITENGE ple

Once students have acquired some facility and fluency with sentence
writing, set about improving the quality of their sentences. Most beginning
writers start their sentences with I. Though this is acceptable when students
are first beginning to write, it may become a difficult habit to break. Explain
to your students that there are many ways to begin a sentence. You can also
provide them with a list of words from which they can choose. This is the
first step toward achieving the sentence variety that makes compositions
more interesting and powerful.
Sentence Starters
Pronouns Adverbs Prepositions
Anyone Always Above

Anybody Quickly Below
He Finally Beside
Her First Beyond
His Happily By
It Never From
My Not only In
Nobody Once Into
Our Only Near
She Slowly On
Their Sometimes Out
They Soon Over
We Suddenly To
Whoever Tomorrow Under
Your Yesterday Up
Many of these exercises should be done orally first, especially with

children who are not fluent writers. Start a sentence with one of the words
above, then have a student finish it. Always model. Have a student choose
a word from the above list and then compose a few sentences before
asking her to produce one of her own.
Another good exercise to practice writing and improve fluency is to
have students write a series of questions and answers. Provide students
with a list of question words: who, what, where, when, why, how, how much,
how many, etc. Alternatively, ask a series of questions for students to answer
in complete sentences. Try to ask short questions to which students are
likely to know the answers. Tell them that if they do not know the answer,
they can make one up. This is a writing exercise, not a test.

Short-Answer Questions
Who is the principal of our school?

What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Where is the nearest library?
When was the last time it rained?
Why does a city need a mayor?
How can we help improve the environment?
How much milk do we need for this recipe?
How many dimes make a dollar?
This exercise will teach students to use part of a question ina complete-
sentence answer. This is a very useful skill for short answer questions in
homework assignments and on tests.
Have young students, beginning writers, and struggling writers write
on alternate lines. This gives the student more room to write and to read
what she is writing. It also facilitates correct spelling and grammar, and
ultimately, proofreading and self-correction.
Grammar and Spelling

Grammar and spelling—the rules of the written language—play an impor-
tant role in writing instruction, especially in the age of high-stakes testing.
According to the NAEP Writing Assessment, or Nation’s Report Card,
samples that are scored at the “proficient” level “have few errors in
spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.” And though writing
assessments vary widely from state to state, many state rubrics emphasize
grammar, mechanics, and spelling as well as development, organization,
coherence, etc.
More importantly, a knowledge of grammar and spelling rules will give
students competence and confidence in their writing ability. They will be
able to express their important ideas with clarity and coherence.
Research shows that grammar instruction is most effective when inte-
grated with writing instruction. The Writing Skills student books are
designed with this in mind, alternating between exercises in composition
and in grammar. In your teaching, begin with writing, then teach basic
grammatical concepts or review what students already know, and use their
writing as a basis for additional grammar instruction. Students do not need
to complete their books from start to finish; rather, use the sequence as
guidance for integrating instruction in both the process and rules of writing.
CHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE 13

Research shows that grammar instruction is most effective
when integrated with writing instruction. The Writing Skills
student books are designed with this in mind, alternating
between exercises in composition and in grammar.
spelling
The reason for teaching spelling is, after all, to enable the student to express
himself more accurately and with greater confidence, rather than to pass a
series of weekly tests, which may or may not include words he is likely to
use in his own writing.
To improve spelling and writing, elicit sentences using words from a
spelling list or words with which the student has difficulty. For example, in
order to reinforce particular sounds, you may give the student a list of oi/oy
or ou/ow words to transcribe and then use in complete written sentences.
The way in which the teacher reacts to these sets of sentences is impor-
tant. Never mark a student’s paper with a red pen, especially if he or she is
a struggling writer. No student has ever learned to spell from seeing a paper
covered with corrections. What she does learn is discouragement—and
sometimes despair. When | first started teaching fifth grade, | used to take
home stacks of papers every night and painstakingly correct every single
error, feeling that | would be considered a lazy or careless teacher if I’d
missed any. If you are teaching students who have difficulty spelling, let
their errors be a signal to you that something needs to be taught further or
taught differently.
Never correct all the mistakes on a page—in fact, at first, do not even
tell your student about them. Comment positively on content, on humor,
and on sentence length. Read students’ writing aloud, especially in the
classroom, and say, “Listen to Ashley’s sentence; it has eight words in it;”
or “This is the best sentence I have ever heard using the word coil!” Do not
at first ask students to read their own sentences aloud. They may feel nerv-
ous, and they will not read their writing with the appropriate excitement
that you can in order to make it sound wonderful.
After a few days, begin to collect the commonly misspelled words: thay,
wus, frome, whith, etc. and place them on three-by-five index cards to form

the beginning of the student’s personal spelling pack (see page 112). Select
increasing numbers of words from the student’s writing vocabulary to be
written for practice, incorporated into sentences, and dictated daily. This is
an excellent way of integrating spelling and writing instruction, and
is
particularly effective for the older writer.
Many students, especially those who are more independent, will benefit
from personal dictionaries. You can make these yourself from blank note-
books or purchase them pre-made. EPS publishes A Spelling Dictionary for
Writers and the Words I Use series for beginning and intermediate students.
Grammar
You do not want your students to be inhibited or intimidated by grammar.
At first, insist only on a capital letter at the beginning and a period, or other
punctuation mark, at the end. If students have repeated trouble remember-
ing capitals and periods, have them put a box around the capital and a cir-
cle around the period before they hand in written work. This technique
actually works well at any age. Later on, they can simply put two check
marks in the margin of every sentence to indicate that they have checked
for capitals and periods. Finally, the check marks could become little dots
that can be phased out once the habits of capitalizing and punctuating has
been established.
Grammar is essential to good writing, on standardized tests, in school,
and in lite. Unfortunately, not only are students likely to worry about it, but
many teachers are unsure of which rules to teach and when to teach them.
Remember that grammar should be taught in conjunction with writing.
Focus on what is important to clear communication and on recurring errors
in student writing. Students should learn and practice a single grammatical
concept, then apply it to their writing. This type of grammar instruction
should be ongoing, integrated with writing challenges throughout the
grades.
Student should learn a grammatical concept, then

apply it to their writing. This type of grammar instruction
should be ongoing, integrated with writing challenges
throughout the grades.
GHAPTER ONE 3. LEE SEN TENGE

6)
Parts of Speech
Begin grammar instruction with four parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and
their modifiers, and adjectives and adverbs. Once students have mastered
these, you can introduce prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The
Writing Skills student books provide basic instruction in the parts of speech.
Establish habits of identifying and labeling the parts of speech in sen-
tences. Draw arrows from adjectives to the nouns they modify and from
adverbs to the verbs they modify. Place parentheses around prepositional
phrases. This procedure is simpler than diagramming sentences and is as
effective in illustrating how the parts of the sentence relate to one another.
———~
The brave astronauts landed (on the moon).
y ee ~
Suddenly, | jumped (out of bed).

= ents
The black cat crept stealthily (under the ladder).
As each part of speech in introduced, assign practice sentences to reinforce

the new concept. Develop lists that involve adjectives, adverbs, and later,
prepositions. Write a phrase, then vary the adjectives.
cro
a loyal dog
a
a spotted dog
Then vary the noun.

f™
a loyal citizen
co™
a little brother
o™
a spotted owl
Do the same with adverbs.

as
she spoke rapidly

16
-~
she spoke quietly
—~
she spoke firmly
Then vary the verb.
, St
she slept quietly
me
she disagreed firmly
Later, try this exercise with prepositional phrases.
they walked (into the woods)
they walked (around the city)
they walked (across the tightrope)
Then vary the object of the preposition.
they walked (into the store)
they walked (around the park)
they walked (on the boardwalk)
Verbs are troublesome and are probably best learned by practicing their
conjugations. This is a rather old-fashioned exercise, but a useful one.
Prepare worksheets with the pronouns in place, initially for just three
tenses. Assign two of these daily—one regular verb, such as talk, sail, like, or
repeat, which adds —ed to the past tense, and one irregular, such as speak,
take, go, or do. Once these three tenses have been mastered, add the three
perfect tenses. Another useful drill is to have students conjugate a verb,
regular or irregular, in single person.
CHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE

Regular Verb
Present Past Future

| practice. | practiced. | will practice.
Perfect Past Perfect Future.Pertect

| have practiced. | had practiced. | will have practiced.
Irregular Verb
Present Past Future

He teaches. He taught. He will’'teach.
Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

He has taught. He had taught. He will have taught.
Clauses
Do not necessarily wait until the parts of speech have been mastered to
begin work with clauses. A clause is a group of words containing a noun or
pronoun (a subject) and a verb (a predicate). Depending on the level at
which your students are writing, you may wish to teach the terms subject
and predicate when you teach sentence structure (page 20).
A main clause is a complete sentence and can stand alone.*
We come in peace.
The cow jumped over the moon.
We left home early in the morning.
Take me to your leader. (The subject here is understood because
it is a command, where the subject is always you and can
be omitted.)
A subordinate clause cannot stand alone, is not a sentence, and begins with
a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.
* Throughout this text, I have used the terms main and subordinate because the term
subordinate relates to subordinating conjunction, and main emphasizes the importance of
the most important part of the sentence being contained in the main clause. Some teachets
may prefer the terms independent and dependent.

Subordinating Conjunctions
after even if till

although how unless
as if until
as if in order that when
as soon as since whenever
as though so that where
because that wherever
before though while
Subordinate Clauses with Subordinating Conjunctions
whenever | hear the phone ring

although they did not expect to win
if they do not arrive soon
because nobody answered my letters
as soon as the bus arrived
Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns Subordinate Clauses with Relative Pronouns

that that she lost last summer
what what they need to know
which which got me into trouble
who who keeps interrupting my conversations
whom whom you will meet later
whose whose family just moved here
Have students practice identifying and writing main and subordinate

clauses. At first, do these exercises orally. For instance, hold up a card with a
subordinating conjunction, and ask the student to use it in a subordinate
clause. Remind students that main clauses are complete sentences and should
have a capital letter at the beginning and a punctuation mark at the end.
Subordinate clauses are sentence fragments, and should not be capitalized
nor followed by a punctuation mark.
See the appendix for reproducible lists, which you can post in the class-
room or give to students to attach inside the cover of their notebooks or
portfolios for ready reference.

Sentence Structure: Simple Sentences
There are three kinds of sentences: simple, compound, and complex. A sim-
ple sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject is the noun or pro-
noun that tells who or what the sentence is about. The predicate is the part
of sentence that contains a verb and tells what the subject does.
A simple sentence can have a compound subject.
Ducks and geese usually migrate in the winter.

Mom and Grandpa took me to the planetarium.
Sally, Max, and | enjoy going out for pizza.
It can have a compound predicate.
Sara took out the trash and brought in the recycling bin.
The gray horse jumped the fence and galloped away into the hills.
| rode my bike and skateboarded in the park last weekend.
Or it can have both a compound subject and a compound predicate.
The boys and girls swam in the ocean and built sandcastles.
Tom and Jen got up early in the morning and went for a walk.
Elephants, gorillas, and rhinos are endangered species and need to
be protected.
sentence Structure: Compound Sentences

A good way to describe a compound sentence to students is to compare it
to a compound word. Just as compound words such as sidewalk, popcorn,
sunrise, or airport consists of two words—each of which can stand alone as
a word—a compound sentence consists of two main clauses, each of which
can stand alone as a sentence.
The two parts of a compound sentence are joined by coordinating con-
junctions: and, but, or, nor, for, and yet (always preceded by a comma) or a
semicolon. It is helpful to have students memorize the coordinating con-
junctions, as it will give them automatic help in joining simple sentences,
correcting run-ons and fragments, and making their writing more cohesive.

Coordinating Conjunctions and the Semicolon
and The snow continued for a week, and we were running out of food.
but The team had lost several games, but we were not discouraged.
or We can all go to dinner now, or you and | can meet everyone later.
nor Tim has not mastered the guitar, nor can he play the piano.
for The sailors cheered, for they saw land on the horizon.
yet Jon rarely practices, yet he is our best violinist.
The weather was good; we ate dinner outside.
Avoid modeling sentences in which both clauses have the same subject as
they are usually best written as simple sentences with a compound verb. “1
left home early in the morning, and | caught the first bus into town” is bet-
ter expressed as “I left home early in the morning and caught the first bus
into town.”
A compound sentence with no semicolon or coordinating conjunction
is a run-on sentence. A sentence need not be long to be a run-on. An
unconventional—though effective—way to help students understand run-
ons is to have them write five or ten run-on sentences of their own. Once a
student knows their structure—two main clauses with nothing to separate
them (and a comma is not enough)—she will be in a position to identify
and correct them in her own writing.
The following are samples of student-written run-on sentences.
Charlie walked down the hall he was headed for their trap.
The chair moved mysteriously, there was no doubt in my mind that it was
the work of a ghost.
Amber Sunshine began her routines, they had not changed for sixty years.
| walked into the room, the welcoming committee was very helpful.
The teacher was trying to help him he doodled and daydreamed.
You can then teach the various ways of correcting them. First, explain
that a comma will not fix a run-on. A period or semicolon will, though if the
student relies on periods, he may have too many short, choppy sentences.
If he relies on semicolons, his sentences will not always make sense. He
GCHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE

may also use a coordinating conjunction or relative pronoun, but he must
be sure to choose the right one. Students can practice correcting run-on
sentences using periods, semicolons, coordinating conjunctions, and rela-
tive pronouns. These exercises will help students see that there are several
ways to write a sentence.
While students are learning to identify and correct run-on sentences,
they can practice sentence structure by practicing from model sentence
patterns.
Compound Sentence Pattern
Noun + verb + details, + coordinating conjunction + noun + verb + details.

A horse trotted down the lane, and the rider came running after it.
The band played swing music, and everyone danced all night.
sentence Structure: Complex Sentences

Once students have mastered compound sentences, you can begin work on
complex sentences. Complex sentences consist of one main clause and one
subordinate clause. A list of subordinating conjunctions can be found on
page 19. Students can use a model pattern for complex sentences as well.
Complex Sentence Pattern
Noun + verb + details + subordinating conjunction + noun + verb + details.

You will miss your train if you are late.
Subordinating conjunction + noun + verb + details, noun + verb + details.

If you are late, you will miss your train.
Note that a comma is used or omitted in complex sentences depending

on the order of the clauses.
The kite flew high because the wind was strong.

Flowers will grow where the soil is rich.
Because the wind was strong, the kite flew high.

Where the soil is rich, flowers will grow.

By now the student will be ready to embark on paragraph writing if she
has not done so already. A more advanced study of grammar including the
kinds of clauses, verbals, and compound-complex sentences can be taken
up later, depending on the needs of your writers.
Advanced Grammar
First teach the various kinds of subordinate clauses: adverb, adjective, and
noun. Begin with adverb clauses.
Adverb Clauses
An adverb clause begins with a subordinating conjunction. It modifies a
verb and tells how, when, where, why, under what conditions, and to what
extent. An adverb clause provides information, but if it is omitted, the sen-
tence remains intact.
Encourage students to form the habit of placing parentheses around
adverb clauses and drawing an arrow back to the verbs they modify.
How
eee
“ro
, ae ~
They act (as though they never met me).
When We shoatee..
ee nS
(After she finished talking), the speaker sat down.

ae
You may leave (when you have finished the exam).
Where
_— —
Finally free, he could sail his ship (wherever he wanted).

eS OU
(Where water rises to the surface), an oasis is formed.
Why
MOE
in on
He had difficulty staying awake (because the movie was boring).
eee a oe
(Since my alarm clock failed to go off), | was late for the wedding.

Under what conditions
. ha
(Unless you hurry), you will miss your flight.

eee
(If that jogger is not careful), she will fall on that patch of ice.
They went swimming (although they had been warned about the
dangerous undertow).
Postpone adverb clauses and adverbs that modify adjectives and adverbs.
This includes adverb clauses and adverbs that tell to what extent.
i as.
He ran so fast (that he fell).
The slope is so steep (that even goats could not climb it).
Adjective Clauses
An adjective clause describes a noun or pronoun. It usually begins with a
relative pronoun. See the list on page 19. An adjective clause provides infor-
mation, but if it is omitted, the sentence remains intact.
a— .
Sally, (who got her driver's license last week), drove us to the mall.
° ae a
My step-brother, (who lives in Japan), is coming for a visit.
Ann Bancroft, (who was the first woman to cross the North and
South Poles), is a famous dyslexic.
y TT
The book (that | dene) has been made into a movie.

a
Water (that is polluted) is not safe to drink.
Teach the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. When

an adjective clause is restrictive, it provides information that is essential to
the meaning of the sentence. For instance, in the sentence above, it is not
water that is safe to drink, only water that is polluted. When a clause is non-
restrictive, it provides information that is not necessary. Restrictive and
nonrestrictive clauses are sometimes called essential and nonessential.

Commas are used to separate nonrestrictive (nonessential) clauses
from the rest of the sentence. Restrictive (essential clauses) are not sepa-
rated by commas.
Restrictive
People who have Internet access can shop online.

A dog that bites should be kept in the yard.
Nonrestrictive
Paul, who is from South Africa, is visiting this week.

This sculpture, which is made from recycled materials, won first prize.
By way of review, show students that a noun can be modified in three ways.
noun: book
noun + adjective: the red book
noun + phrase: the book with the torn cover
noun + clause: the book thatI lost
A verb can aiso be modified in three ways.
verb: the book

verb + adverb: he skied fast
verb + phrase: he skied down the hill
verb + clause: he skied whenever he could
Noun Clauses
The third kind of clause, the noun clause, is the most difficult because it
requires some background in noun usage. Before beginning noun clauses,
you might want to go back and teach, or review, the various uses of the noun.
Subject: This is who or what the sentence is about. It usually

comes first in a sentence.
Direct object: This is the noun or pronoun that receives the action
of the verb. A direct object answers the question who? or
what?
Object of preposition: This is the noun or pronoun at the end of a
prepositional phrase.
CHAPTERAONE] THE SENTENCE

Indirect object: This is the noun or pronoun that follows the
action verb. An indirect object answers the question to whom?,
for whom?, to what?, or for what?
Predicate noun: This is a noun or pronoun that comes after a
linking verb and renames the subject.
Appositive: This is a phrase that renames the subject with no verb
in between.
A useful exercise is to give students a noun to use in various ways.
Noun: ducks
Subject: The ducks are nesting on the pond.

Direct object: We sold our ducks.
Object of preposition: The man came for the ducks.
Indirect object: We fed the ducks bread.
Predicate noun: Those birds flying high are ducks.
Appositive: My favorite birds, ducks, fly south for the winter.
A noun clause begins with a subordinating conjunction or a relative

pronoun. It acts as a noun and can do anything a noun can do. Because it
takes the place of a noun, it cannot be omitted from the sentence.
The following models show nouns and noun phrases in various places
in the sentence. Notice that a pronoun, such as this, that, or it, can usually
be substituted for the entire clause and the sentence will still make sense.
Subject
Noun: My ambition is to travel to Mars.
Noun clause: What | want is to travel to Mars.
Direct Object
Noun: He would like to live in Mexico.

Noun clause: He would like to live where the weather is warm.
Indirect object
Noun: Give this book to the librarian.

Noun clause: Give this book to whoever is in the library.

Predicate nominative
Noun: This movie is a classic.

Noun clause: This movie is what | want to see.
Object of preposition
Noun: This trophy is for Jacob.
Noun clause: This trophy is for whoever raises the most money.
Appositive
Noun: His story, a real adventure, was in the paper.

Noun clause: His story, how he was chased by the tiger, was in
the newspaper.
What a person says or thinks is also a noun clause.
He thinks that he owns the place.

They believe that someone will come to their rescue.
Stu said, "lam considering adopting a dog from the animal
shelter.”
Verbals
Verbals are the most advanced element of grammar and should not be
tackled until clauses have been mastered. A verbal is a word that combines
characteristics of a verb with another part of speech. There are three kinds
of verbals: participles, gerunds, and infinitives. All of them can be used
alone or expanded into phrases.
Participles: Participles are adjectives. They modify nouns or pronouns. They

can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence. Participial
phrases are usually set off by commas.
Running down the hill, Jill slipped and fell.

Barking dogs and yowling cats kept me up all night.
It is difficult to walk with a sprained ankle.
Having worked in the garden all day, he went to bed early.
The tree, having been damaged by the storm, had to be
removed from the road.
CHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE

Gerunds: A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and acts as a noun. It takes
the place of anoun and cannot be omitted without changing the meaning
of the sentence.
Subject: Skateboarding is fun.

Direct object: She enjoys skateboarding.
Object of preposition: She lives for skateboarding.
Indirect object: She gives her skateboarding a lot of attention.
Predicate noun: Her favorite sport is skateboarding.
Appositive: Her favorite sport, skateboarding, is sometimes
dangerous.
A gerund can have its own subject, always in the possessive case.
| object to your chewing gum in class.

John's parents are afraid of his driving at night.
Carol's passing that exam was a triumph.
Infinitives: The last kind of verbal, the infinitive, is easy to identify; it is the
“to” form of the verb. Its usage is difficult to detect, since it can be used as
an adjective, adverb, or noun.
Infinitive as Adjective:
He needs a book (to read).

She bought bulbs (to plant in her garden).
The prince had many servants (to obey his commands).
They had to abandon their plan (to climb the mountain).
Paula said, "| wish | had a machine (to do my homework)."
Infinitive as Adverb:
She longs (to travel).

Caesar came (to conquer Britain).
They went out (to get some pizza).
The bank agreed (to lend us the money for our business).
Susan stayed (to greet the party guests).

Infinitive as Noun:
Subject: To succeed is my aim.

Direct object: Petra wants to succeed.
Predicate nominative: Her aim is to succeed.
Appositive: Her only ambition, to succeed, has become an
obsession.
The study of verbals brings us to the end of formal grammar instruc-

tion. However, there are many aspects of mechanics and usage to cover. You
may need to teach your students the difference between and and but, differ-
ent from and different than, that and which, less and few, the correct place-
ment of modifiers, and the subtleties of pronoun case. Additional grammar
should be taught as the need arises.
Remember, the best way of teaching grammar is through student's
writing. Many students will not learn grammar in isolation—from a series
of workbook exercises or from the marks a teacher has put on her paper.
But writing the various types of sentences and learning to use grammar as
a tool of expression will vastly improve students’ writing. Doing this pre-
liminary work at the sentence level will enable them to move on to para-
graphs and essays with confidence.
Special Tips for Struggling Writers

When working with younger children or with students who are experienc-
ing significant difficulty with writing, the initial emphasis should be on oral
language. Sometimes the terminology of grammar can confuse rather than
help students.
Explain to your young or struggling students that every sentence has
two parts. The who tells who the sentence is about. It can be a person or an
animal. The what tel!s what they do.
Renowned educator Priscilla Vail suggests making two boxes of cards,
one with possible subjects, the other with possible predicates. For this exer-
cise to work, you must use past-tense predicates. Children can then draw a
card from each box and compose a sentence. They may read the sentence
aloud or, if they are writing, copy it down, or both. These sentences are
often very funny, and struggling students will feel a sense of accomplish-
ment and reward while creating them.
CHAPTER ONE <> TEE SENTENGE

Subjects Predicates
The elephant lost the keys.

My dad took a shower.
The president ate six hot dogs.
Three little pigs went to the movies.
The cow laughed loudly.
Spider-Man took all the money.
Nobody watched the sunrise.
My grandmother stayed up all night.
The mail carrier chased the dragon.
A slimy toad flew away.
If you are working with pre-literate students, read the cards for them.
Have them illustrate their favorite sentences. This will yield some creative
results.
If you are working one-on-one, you can also start a sentence and let a
child finish it, or end a sentence and ask how it could begin so that it makes
sense. Later on, you can do the same thing with clauses.
Sentence Starters
Because she was in ahurry...

When the bus comes . .
After the rain started coming down...
Unless | get permission . . .
Since they went away for the summer. . .
Always seek opportunities for practicing sentence skills. If your stu-

dents are reading single words, you could ask them to use some of the
words in a sentence. You can work with questions and answers even before
they begin writing. This activity could be related to your reading of litera-
ture; encourage children in your class to make up good questions, not
merely to answer those you pose. This activity has the added benefit of
improving reading comprehension.
When you start work with nouns and verbs, or even with adjectives and
adverbs later on, try word sorting. Create word cards and have students sort
them into categories. You may also have them sort words in a list by writing
them in a table or chart. When making up such lists, try to select words that
are likely to be used as only one part of speech.

When introducing compound and complex sentences to the struggling
writer, much of your work will initially be with oral language. Also, in work-
ing with compound sentences, stick to and and but, since these are easier
and more concrete. Walk students through the differences between these
two conjunctions, changing direction in the case of but, and moving for-
ward in the case of and.
| would like to see the movie, and it is playing in town tonight.

| would like to see the movie, but | have too much homework
to do.
We wanted to walk on the beach, and Mom planned to bring

a picnic.
We wanted to walk on the beach, but it started to rain.
Our new puppy is cute, and | enjoy playing with him.

Our new puppy is cute, but | wish he wouldn't bark so much.
Practice sentence-writing frequently. In students’ journals, rather than

assigning a free-write on a theme or topic, have them write three to five
separate sentences, numbering them and starting each one on a separate
line. You will be surprised at how much this activity improves their writing.
Spending time at the sentence level makes young students and strug-
gling writers less likely to produce run-ons or fragments once they start to
write compositions and gives them confidence to express their ideas from
the very beginning.
CHAPTER ONE THE SENTENCE

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Chapter Two
The Paragraph
The most frequent comment teachers, administrators, and test-scorers

make about student writing is, that though full of potential, it lacks
organization. According to teacher/writer Carol Jago, most writing
instruction lacks “cohesion.” Planning a paragraph is an exercise that can
be taught, practiced, and mastered by writers at every level if writing skills
are taught in a step-by-step and cumulative manner.
As in sentence writing, you must begin simply. Perform pre-writing
activities by making lists of all sorts. This is an invaluable activity. Students
then apply to their lists what they have learned about sentences. First, they
turn list items into supporting sentences, as these are conceptually the
easiest and most concrete. The next step is to have students develop topic
sentences. Finally, they learn to create concluding sentences. These sentences
(the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence) form
the basis of the five-sentence paragraph. Students can then embellish these
basic paragraphs with interesting and important details. They will learn to
use transitions to lend structure to their writing. Once students have
become proficient in paragraph writing, they will be ready to tackle multi-
paragraph compositions. Presented in this cumulative and orderly fashion,
writing skills are most easily learned and retained.
Prewriting
From the very beginning of the program, students can be writing lists of all
sorts. Writing a list, besides being fun, is a way of brainstorming, generat-
ing ideas, and unleashing the student’s innate creativity. Like sentence
writing, it is anon-threatening activity. A list is a group of similar things or
ideas, and the activity provides practice with the sophisticated thinking that
depends on perceiving these similarities. A student who has practiced
writing lists will not have trouble generating appropriate supporting topics
when it comes to paragraphs and compositions.
A list of fifteen items seems to be the right length, but, with an individ-
ual student the list can be extended to twenty or limited to ten. Needless to
say, at this stage, spelling should be ignored. If a student is still struggling
with writing or is especially inhibited, use oral exercises—student and
CHAPTER TWO *® THE PARAGRAPH oo

List Topics
Beginning intermediate Advanced
Animals with Fur Ancient Civilizations African Nations

Articles of Clothing Basketball Teams Airlines
Blue Things Board Games Plays
Books Camping Gear Books Made into Movies
Boys’ Names CDs You Would Like to Own Capital Cities
Breakfast Foods Chores Car Parts
Cartoon Characters Computer Words Clichés
Colors Electronics College Majors
Compound Words Excuses for Being Late Colleges
Costumes Excuses for Not Doing Your Companies
Farm Animals Homework Cosmetics
Favorite Foods Famous Women Current Political Issues
Holidays Fast Food Restaurants European Nations
Homonyms Flowers Famous Sayings
Ice Cream Flavors Furniture Herbs and Spices
Insects Games High School Subjects
Kinds of Sandwiches Girls' Names Cheeses
Kinds of Weather Hobbies Languages
Movies Junk Foods Magazines
Musical Instruments Cars Mottos
Pets Dances Car Parts
Pizza Toppings Reptiles Careers
Playground Games Kinds of Stores Renaissance Painters
Red Things Man-Made objects Signs of Being Sick
Relatives Music Groups After-School Jobs
School Supplies Middle School Subjects The Planets
Signs of Spring Souvenirs Things on a Resume
Soft Drinks Summer Jobs Things People Collect
Soft Things T.V. Shows Tools
Street Names T.V. Stars Art Supplies
Superheroes Team Sports Party Supplies
Sweet Things to Eat Things at the Movies Trees
Things at the Circus Things in a Medicine Cabinet Benefits of Exercise
Things in the Sky Things in the City Ways of Saving Money
Things That Are Cold Things at the Gym Ways of Saying “Hello” in
Things That Glow in the Dark Things Made of Paper Other Languages
Vegetables Things That Cost Less Than a Ways to Cook Eggs
Ways of Getting Exercise Dollar Word Pairs (cup and saucer,
Words That Begin with St Things That Need Batteries lost and found)
Zoo Animals Video Games World Leaders

teacher contributing in turn. Sometimes such a game can fill a couple of
minutes left at the end of class or provide a moment of relaxation during a
one-on-one session. Many of these lists can encourage a student to exer-
cise his imagination, ingenuity, or humor—several lend themselves readily
to subdivision. The following have proved successful, but the best topics are
probably those designed for the individual student, or worked out by pupil
and teacher in collaboration. Have fun with this prewriting activity, and try
to make it fun for your students.
List making is a useful skill when students must choose their topics—if
a student cannot come up with five to ten good items for a list, it is a signal
that the student should broaden her topic or use one with which she is
more familiar.
The lists of topics on page 34 are divided by suggested levels, which
correspond to the Writing Skills student books. You will, of course, find
appropriate topics in each list, regardless of writing level. You may provide
a writer struggling with a topic with several from page 34 and have him
choose his favorite. Further topics can be found in the Writing Skills student
books. Keep your own list of ideas, favorite topics, and topics that inspire
your students. You may find yourself referring to these master lists again
and again.
Supporting Sentences
The next step is to have students select three to five of the best items on
their list and turn each one into a sentence. First, have your students reread
their list. Then have them put a check mark beside their best items. Next,
have students write a complete sentence for each list item they chose.
Order is important. Whenever possible, supporting ideas should be
arranged either in chronological order (from first to last) or in order of
importance (from least important to most important). The following are
student samples of prewriting at this stage.
CHAPTER TWO * THE PARAGRAPH po

Student Sample Supporting Sentences: Beginning
List: Things to drink Supporting Sentences

soda Fresh orange juice is great with
ginger ale breakfast.
Vv milkshakes Creamsicle tastes like ice
apple juice cream.
milk Milk shakes are thick and
cocoa sweet.
Vv creamsicle
Vv orange juice
Student Sample Supporting Sentences: Intermediate
List: Things I could not live Supporting Sentences

without Legos expand my creativity.
Vv legos The computer lets me go on
chocolate the Internet and chat with
AGW. other kids.
VY computers My school teaches me how to
v my school read and write.
At this stage, what counts are the ideas. If you worry too much about
mechanics and style, you will miss the point. Remember, this is an exercise
in thinking—not in spelling nor in style.
Topic Sentences
Be sure to teach your students what a topic is. The topic is what your para-
graph is about. It can be a category or a theme. For instance, if I say
“pineapple, banana, mango, papaya” my topic is fruit. If Isay “take out a
book, join a reading club, listen to a CD, and read a magazine” my topic is
things you can do at the library. When students are writing lists, the heading
of the list is also the topic. In order to create a topic sentence, you must
change the topic into a sentence. For the topic fruit, a good topic sentence
would be Many delicious fruits grow in the tropics. For things you can do at
the library, a good sentence would be There is something for everyone to do at
the library.

Many delicious fruits grow in the tropics.
There is something for everyone to do at the library.
When | return from school | have to relax.
There are things kids can do to save money.
Students, especially struggling writers, will need plenty of practice

identifying and writing a topic sentence because it requires more abstract
thinking. For practice with this concept, provide a set of supporting sen-
tences and have the students devise appropriate topic sentences to match.
och garden can bea lot of work.

S.S. You have to plant rows of seeds.
S.S. Weeds have to be kept under control.
S.S. You should fertilize in the early spring.
S.S. Unless it rains, you have to keep watering it.
T.S. Used cars are often better than new ones.

S.S. A used car is much cheaper than a new one.
S.S. You do not have to worry about every little dent.
S.S. It does not decline in value as fast.
S.S. Insurance is often less expensive as well.
Further suggestions for practice with topic sentences is provided on

page 70.
Concluding Sentences
A concluding sentence should not merely restate the topic; it should reflect
the writer’s feeling or opinion, offer a solution to a problem, or suggest an
action to be taken. For the sets of sentences above, possible concluding
sentences might be: A garden can be a peaceful place, but it requires a lot of
work. Your first car should be a used one.
Do similar exercises with concluding sentences. Provide a topic sen-
tence, three supporting sentences, and have the student write a concluding
sentence. Or give students a choice of several concluding sentences and ask
them to choose the best one. Ask them to explain their choice. You may also
ask them to write another.
CHAPTER TWO * THE PARAGRAPH

T.S. When | come home from school, | need to relax.
S.S. | enjoy listening to music.
S.S. | like to change into my pajamas.
S.S. Sometimes exercising helps.
Cs. Relaxing in the evening helps get me ready for
anew day.
1. | need to relax when | come home fromsschool.

2. There are many relaxing things to do in my house.
3. Relaxing in the evening helps get me ready for a new day.
The Five-Sentence Paragraph

The five-sentence, or basic, paragraph consists of a topic sentence, three sup-
porting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Though somewhat formulaic,
itis an indispensable concept, especially for struggling writers who need this
structured approach to composition. It is a valuable skill for short writing
assignments at every level, and is especially handy for short answer test
questions, including those found on most state-mandated exams.
The five-sentence paragraph is a valuable skill for short

writing assignments at every level, and is especially handy for
short answer test questions, including those found on most
state-mandated exams.
Once the previous steps have been completed, students should have all
the skills necessary to write five-sentence paragraphs on any topic.
Use the following format to help students organize their ideas into a
five-sentence paragraph. You will also find blank worksheets with these
templates in the appendix.
hese
Soh
§.5:
aS:
CS, se SSSSSSSSSSSeSSSSSeSSSeeeSeeSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSee

Use the topics on page 34 to model a five-sentence paragraph with
your class. Depending on the level of your students, you may want to start
with a list, choose the best items, and add supporting, topic, and concluding
sentences. If your students are skilled in prewriting, you may begin with the
topic sentence, and add the other sentences in order.
These five-sentence paragraphs are important to practice over a long
period of time, even when students have moved on to more extensive
forms of writing. They form the basis for five-paragraph essays and are
useful for short-answer questions at any level. Before beginning to write a
lengthy response to a question, students who would never bother with a
formal outline will scribble down a quick list and formulate topic, supporting,
and concluding sentences before beginning their composition.
Formatting Paragraphs
You may need to spend just a little time teaching students to format their
paragraphs. If they are beginning from a list, the list topic may become the
title. They may use the topic exactly as it appears or be creative. Titles should
be written in the middle of the first line, and not underlined. Have students
skip a line to start their paragraphs. Older students will understand
indenting right away; younger students may be need some guidance.
Instruct them to leave a space about the width of two fingers at the beginning
of each paragraph.
Expanded Paragraphs
The next step is to expand these basic paragraphs by adding more details to
each supporting sentence. Say to your students,” Suppose you wanted to
give more information about each of your supporting ideas—to write several
sentences instead ofjust one.”
When you begin expanding paragraphs, teach transitions. Explain that
these are ways to keep students’ writing organized. For younger or strug-
eling writers, call these words signal words. They signal to the reader that a
new idea is coming.
Introduce the words first, next, and last. For more advanced writers,
introduce then and finally, and allow them to choose which transitions to
use. (For more transitions, see page 75.) For all writers, model the use of
CHAPTER TWO *® THE PARAGRAPH oD

transitions in the expanded paragraph. Provide a basic paragraph with a
topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
With the student, brainstorm and write the details.
Writing the Expanded Paragraph

Taking Care of My Dog
T.S. Having a dog is a big responsibility.

S.S. First, | have to feed him.
Detail 1
Detail 2
S.S. Next, he needs to be walked every day.
Detail 1
Detail 2
S.S. Last, we have to take him to the vet.
Detail 1
Detail 2
C.S. | want my dog to be healthy and happy.
While you model, write with your students, and while students are
writing on their own, provide explicit direction: Write your topic sentence.
Use the word first and write your first supporting sentence. Give all the
information you can think of about your first supporting idea. Write the
word next, or then, and add your second supporting sentence and tell all
about it. Then use next or last and talk about your third idea. Write a con-
cluding sentence. Transitions, or signal words, should always be followed by
a comma.
When students understand how to use transitions and add details to an
expanded paragraph, have them write their own. Have them choose a
topic; write a list; choose their best items; create topic, supporting, and
concluding sentences; and add transitions and details. Here is a sample of
student writing at this stage. This student noticed that several items in his
list belonged in the same category and decided to use these as his details.
Remember, writing is an exercise in thinking.

Student Sample: Expanded Paragraph, Intermediate
List: lee Hockey Equipment
¥ helmet
neck guard
elbow pads
chest protector
pants
hockey gloves
knee pads
v¥ skates
v stick
if you plan to play ice hockey, this is the equipment you will
need. First, you will need a stick. The stick is what you use to shoot
the puck. There are all different kinds of sticks. There are alu-
minum, graphite, and wood. A wooden stick will cost from ten to
twenty dollars, and aluminum or graphite up to one hundred dol-
lars. Next, you will need hockey skates. Hockey skates are not like
figure skates, they do not have a rugged edge on the front. And
they are not like speed skates because they are not so long. The
price range is about fifty to five hundred dollars. Finally, you will
need a lot of protective gear. The helmetis one of the most impor-
tant things you will need. It protects your brain from hitting the
ice. You also need a neck guard, chest protector, elbow pads, knee
pads, and gloves. You would probably have to spend about three
hundred dollars on equipment, but the expense is worth it because
you have something fun to do every weekend. You are able to
travel different places and have fun playing hockey.
Remember to incorporate grammar instruction with writing instruc-

tion. This was an excellent opportunity to revisit run-on sentences: Hockey
skates are not like figure skates, they do not have a rugged edge on the front.
Remind the student of the many ways to fix a run-on sentence. He may
look back at the list of coordinating conjunctions and choose the best one
for his sentence. Hockey skates are not like figure skates because they do not
have a rugged edge on the front.
The expanded paragraph is an essential skill where length is important,
such as on standardized tests, which require a large enough sample to score
CHAPTER TWO *® THE PARAGRAPH 41

adequately. Many writers are often unable—or so they think—to write
longer compositions. Length, however, is largely a matter of organization.
When writing is presented in this fashion, students gain confidence in their
ability to make their paragraphs grow. One of the fears struggling writers
have is that they will never be able to write anything long enough to satisfy
their teachers. “How long does it have to be?” they ask.
Some students may be better able to expand a basic paragraph on the
computer, where they can more easily manipulate their text. Start with a
basic five-sentence paragraph, as you would on paper, then add transitions
and details to each of the supporting sentences. Sometimes you may want
to scribe all or part of a student's text, on paper or on the computer, to show
that they can succeed at composing a paragraph. (See Chapter 7 for more
on interactive writing.)
Transitions
Transitions are words that connect ideas and lend cohesion to writing. They
give several kinds of important information to the reader. Some (another, yet
another) signal that a new topic is coming up. Some (moreover, furthermore,
also) indicate that more information will be given about a topic. Some show
time sequence (first, next, then, later, finally). Some signal relative importance
(most important, least important, best, worst). Some indicate a change of direc-
tion in an argument (however, on the other hand, nevertheless). Some indicate
a condition (if, ifonly, unless).
Some students use transitions instinctively in their writing; most have
to be taught explicitly. It is best to begin with the basic first, next, last when
teaching the expanded paragraph and add more as you introduce the vari-
ous types of writing. There are categorized lists of useful transitions in later
sections and in the appendix. Allow students to refer to these throughout.
An important benefit of understanding the role of transitions is im-
proved reading comprehension. Readers often miss the significance of
these important guides to organization and understanding, especially in
their textbooks and in the short passages that appear frequently on stan-
dardized tests.
For further information on transitions, see the next chapter on essay
writing.

Chapter Three
Purpose: The Types

of Writing
Exposition, or expository writing, is writing that explains. It is the single

most important kind of academic writing, from elementary school to college.
Students are expected to be able to organize information and to support
their ideas. Often the emphasis in elementary school is on story-writing.
While it has a valuable place in the curriculum, it will not give students the
skills necessary for answering a short-paragraph test question nor for writ-
ing a research paper.
A goal of the National Commission on Writing, as stated in The Neglected
“R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution is to bolster this kind of analytical,
expository writing: “While exercises in descriptive, creative, and narrative
writing help develop students’skills, writing is best understood as a complex
intellectual activity that requires students to stretch their minds, sharpen
their analytical capabilities and make valid and accurate distinctions.”
It is true that young students and struggling writers need to begin writing
about information that is already in their heads—about things with which
they are familiar. Exercises in creative writing will help students express
their ideas. Exercises in expository writing will help students organize and
think critically about them.
Before students can decide how to approach a writing task, they
must understand their purpose for writing. Purpose plays a very important
role in writing, as reflected in state assessment frameworks, the frame-
work for the NAEP Writing Assessment, and in the NCTE and IRA
Standards for the English Language Arts. Each of the types of writing
are suited to a particular purpose, whether that is to provide examples,
give directions, classify, compare and contrast, or persuade. The sections
below discuss each type of writing, its purposes and applications, and
provides possible topics, useful transitions, model paragraphs, and samples
of student writing.
CHAPTER THREE * PURPOSE:

THE TYPES OF WRITING
The Types of Writing
. Example
. Process
. Classification
. Reason
. Persuasion
. Definition
. Comparison and Contrast
. Description
. Narration
BP
=|
WYN
ON
oO
OU
—. . Research
As you begin working with students on the different types of writing,

you will notice that the divisions between the various types of paragraphs
are not necessarily clear-cut. For instance, a process paragraph may imply
or include reasons. Persuasion paragraphs will certainly include reasons,
and perhaps comparison/contrast. Example paragraphs are likely to be a
part of most kinds of writing, and narrative anecdotes and description
enliven writing of all kinds. For the beginning writer, it is useful to catego-
rize these types of writing. As writers advance, they will begin to notice that
the types of writing often overlap.
The following sections on the types and purposes of writing focus
mainly on the paragraph, because, by this point, the student should be
familiar with paragraph structure and able to focus on their purpose of
writing. Later, in Chapter 4, these types of writing are applied to the essay.
Example Writing
The example paragraph is one of the most important types of writing for
students to learn and is the easiest one to teach. The example paragraph
can be written from the students’ lists of examples from which they then
select their best (see page 33). Specific, concrete, carefully selected exam-
ples are important to all good writing.
Effective examples are a part of the rubrics—the scoring criteria—of
almost every state assessment. Texas, for example, requires “a successful use
of support or elaboration.” In its “Writer’s Checklist,” the New Jersey writ-
ing assessment reminds students to “support your ideas with details,

explanations, and examples.” The California assessment tells students that
their writing will be scored on how well they “describe the points in sup-
port of your position, using examples and other evidence.”
The applications for example writing are infinite. Frequent practice with
providing examples, details, and support will help students in all the kinds
of writing they do, in elementary, high school, college, and beyond.
Model: Example Paragraph, Advanced
Incredible Inventions
During the past century our lives have been changed by a
number of incredible inventions. Jet planes make it possible for us
to travel all over the world in a matter of hours, rather than in
weeks or months. High-powered rockets have made space travel
a reality, rather than the dream it used to be. But some people
believe the invention of the century is the Internet, which has
made worldwidecommunication possible for almost every
household. What will the new century bring?
Student Sample: Expanded Example Paragraph, Beginning

We Help Our Family
My brother and I help around the house. First, we
take care of our pets. We have a bunny named Lucky.
Tam usually the one who feeds him. I let him exercise
out of his cage. I change his water, and I help my dad
clean out his cage. Matt has a gerbil named Ick. Matt
cleans out his cage and cleans his water. Next, we
help at mealtimes. We set the table. We clear the
plates and put them in the sink for Mom and Dad to
wash them. Finally, we keep the house spotless. If we
take our shoes off, we put them in the shoe basket. If
we play With one of our toys, we put it back where it
belongs. At the end of the day we put our dirty
clothes in the dirty clothes basket. MattandI havea
busy life, but our family needs our help.
GHARTER THREE Si sRURPOSE THE TYPES (Ok WIRE TING

Transitions for Example Writing
For example
Another example
A final example
The last example
First
Next
Finally
For instance
Another instance
Yet another example
Topics for Example Writing
Beginning Intermediate Advanced
Dangerous Animals People | Admire Ways of Saving Money

Interesting Places to Visit Things That Annoy Me Common Superstitions
Favorite Movies Ways of Earning Money Interesting Jobs
Safety Rules Hobbies Popular Magazines
Costumes Useful Inventions Labor Saving Devices
People Who Wear Uniforms Team Sports Uses for Credit Cards
Things That Are Blue Kinds of Jewelry Forms of Communication
Things in the Classroom Things You Can Recycle Mountain Ranges
Noisy Places Ways of Keeping in Touch World Religions
Baby Animals Desert Places Extreme Sports
Process Writing
The process paragraph is one that gives directions, tells how to do some-
thing, or explains a process. It should be written in chronological order, or
time order, from the first to last steps. After they have completed their lists,
students will probably need to rearrange them or number the steps in order
before beginning to write. They may need to begin by describing what
material to collect before the process begins.
Process writing can be a way to introduce point of view. If the para-
graph topic is “How to throw a surprise party,” the student will write in the
second person (the student will use you). If the topic is “Making my favorite
recipe,” the student will write in the first person (and will use /). If the topic

is “How the Wright Brothers built their flyer,” the student will write in the
third person (and will use he, she, it, or they). Remind students that the point
of view must be consistent; it cannot change from I to you or from we to they
in midstream.
While the process paragraph is traditionally taught to children by
assigning them such topics as “How to make a peanut butter sandwich,” it
has wider and more advanced uses across the curriculum. At the middle
school, high school, and college level, process writing is used in discussions
of historical or events and scientific processes. At the elementary level, it is
important that students know how to write directions and follow direc-
tions, activities that go hand in hand.
Model: Expanded Process Paragraph, Intermediate
From Caterpillar to Butterfly

The life cycle of the butterfly has four stages. Butterflies
begin life as an egg. Then, the egg hatches into a tiny larva.
Larva is another word for caterpillar. The larva eats and grows.
Next, the larva attaches itself to a branch or a twig and forms a
hard outer shell called a chrysalis. This is also called a pupa, or
cocoon. Finally, the butterfly matures and breaks out of its
cocoon. Butterflies are just one of the many living things that
change as they grow.
Student Sample: Expanded Process Paragraph, Advanced
Learning to Drive
What do people have to do when they learn how to
drive? First, you must be fifteen years or older to get
your permitin Florida. To get your permit you have to
have a four-hour class on drug and alcohol safety.
Next, you have to pass a written test. It contains ten
multiple choice questions and ten picture questions.
if you pass the test, you geta card that says you area
permit driver and that you can drive a car if you are
with a licensed driver over twenty-one years of age.
After six months, you can take the driver's test. For
the driving test you have to have your OWn Car. You
have to drive to a stop sign and then onto the main
highway. You must obey the speed limit, use your
CHAR LE TIE E s “RUKP OSE TRE IyeEs OF WRITING

47
signals, and turn when it’s safe. You also have to do a
three point turn. When you have done all that correctly,
you pass the test and can drive on your own. lf you
are qualified to take your license test, you should.
Transitions for Process Writing
first, second, third when

before at last
next the next step
finally the next event
also afterwards
after in the end
to begin with once
at this point in year/month/season
Topics for Process Writing
Beginning Intermediate
How to Care for a Pet How to Do Laundry

How to Wrap a Gift How to Set Up a Campsite
How a Tadpole Becomes a Frog How to Cure a Cold
How to Wash Dishes Caring for House Plants
How to Play Tic-Tac-Toe How to Make a Good Impression
How | Get Ready for School Riding a Bike
Setting Up a Lemonade Stand How to Save Energy
How to Do Jumping Jacks Planning a Bake Sale
How to Get to My House How to Take a Picture
Brushing Your Teeth How to Win an Election
Advanced
The Discovery of Radium

The Invention of the Light Bulb
How the Railroad Developed
How a Species Became Endangered
How Volcanoes Erupt
How to Quit Smoking
How to Prevent Erosion
How Women Got the Vote
How Laws Are Made
How Birds Migrate

Classification Writing
Classification is something with which young children quickly become
familiar. Every time they go shopping with a parent, they learn the patterns
of classification. Even the very young child know he will not find oranges in
the dairy section nor sneakers in the hardware department.
In beginning work with classification, the categories should be few in
number and must include everything in the group. For instance, you cannot
classify the students in your class as those who have long hair and those
who wear glasses, nor can you classify magazines as those that come out
weekly and those that are about fashion.
Before attempting to classify things in writing with beginning or strug-
gling writers, practice the skill frequently. The Writing Skills student books
include additional practice for honing classification skills. There are always
real-life opportunities for classification as well. Take advantage of them. A
teacher I know has students lay out all their mittens and gloves on the
table and find ways of classifying them (by mittens/gloves, solid color/pat-
terned, size, color, or material). Sort blocks by shape and crayons by color.
Classify books by setting or character. Classifying encourages students to
think critically.
Older writers and students who are skilled at classifying may begin
with lists. Once the basis of classification has been established, several
examples of each category can be selected for inclusion in the paragraph.
In the curriculum, classification is essential for science writing, where
students are often asked to group types of plants and animals, elements
and matter, etc. It is also frequently required in English classes, where
students must discuss various types of literature by theme, genre, time
period, and so forth.
Transitions for Classification Writing

the first kind/type
the second kind/type
the third kind/type
the next kind/type
one kind/type, another kind/type
one type of, another type of
the best/worst kind/type
finally
the last kind/type

THE TYPES OF WRITING 49
Topics for Classification Writing
Hats Cars Tools

Shoes Stores Magazines
Games Marine Life Kinds of Music
Snacks Clothing Jobs
Animals Climates Rocks
People | Know Reptiles Dwellings
Toys The Food Groups » Literary Genres
Sports Holidays The Animal Kingdom
Weather Parties Web Sites
Communication Computers Architecture
Model: Expanded Classification Paragraph, Intermediate
Clouds
Clouds are classified according to their shape and position in

the sky. First, a nimbus is a cloud that produces rain. The word
nimbus is Latin for cloud. These clouds are usually low, gray, and
dark. Next, a stratus cloud is flat. Sometimes they are layered on
top of one another. The third kind of cloud is the cumulus cloud.
This is a rounded mound. Sometimes cumulus clouds look like a
flock of sheep moving across the sky. The last type of cloud is a
cirrus, a white fleecy cloud found high up in the air. They usually
indicate that there is wind in the stratosphere. Prefixes are added
to each cloud name to indicate its position in the sky. Strato
clouds are low in the sky, alto are in the middle, and cirro are high
in the sky. The next time you look at the sky, try to decide what
kind of cloud you are seeing; you may even begin to be able to
predict the weather.
Student Sample: Basic Classification Paragraph, Beginning

Snacks
There are two kinds of snacks. Nutritious snacks

include peanut butter sandwiches, fruit nuts, and
vegetables. Junk food snacks include candy bars,
potato chips, and ice cream. Everybody knows which
kind is good for you, but everyone enjoys junk food
once ina while.

Reason Writing
Reason paragraphs are the most powerful ones to use if you want to
make someone believe something or do something. Often when we ask
somebody to do something, the question, spoken or unspoken is “Why
should I?” Friends may ask us why we think, believe, or do something,
and our response must be to produce reasons. Like examples, good
reasons help provide support for an argument, and should be included
wherever possible.
Reason paragraphs are difficult for some students because they do not
necessarily grasp the difference between a reason and a detail or example.
When teaching reason writing, always begin by having students write
about things they believe or feel strongly about, as they will be able to
develop more convincing reasons than they would for more abstract and
academic topics.
Each reason should be followed by supporting details and, perhaps,
examples. Reasons are best placed in order from least to most important. If
the paragraph ends with the most important reason, there may be no need
for a concluding sentence.
Remember to. integrate grammar and mechanics. Writing reasons is a
good time to be sure students use clear, complete sentences. Students
should avoid sentences starting with because and never use the phrase the
reason 1s because.
Reason writing incorporates the analytical skills frequently required in
the social studies curriculum, especially in the upper grades. Students are
often asked to write essays explaining the reasons for the American
Revolution, Civil War, or Vietnam War, the reasons for the creation of the
United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or the end of
apartheid. Mastering this form of writing will give students a significant
advantage in social studies classes, especially if the program is writing
intense, and on state social studies assessments.
Mastering reason writing will give students a

significant advantage in social studies classes and on
state social studies assessments.

THE TYPES OF WRITING ol
Student Sample: Expanded Reason Paragraph, Intermediate
The Best Book
The best book thatI have read in literature class this
year was Beowulf. 1 like this book because it took
place in the Middle Ages. I like books in those times
because of the dragons, monsters, and a hero. In
Beowulf the monsters were mean, but also had feelings.
Beowulf is a fantasy novel, and 1 like fantasy stories. It
has a good story anda surprise ending. I didn’t expect
the ending would be different than I what I had
guessed, but it was. These are the reasons why I like
this book and why Iam glad we read it in class.
Model: Expanded Reason Paragraph, Advanced
Why College?
There are a number of reasons why students choose to attend

college before moving on to the next stage of their lives. One rea-
son is that they enjoy learning and would like to continue being a
student. Many students are excited at the prospect of the intel-
lectual stimulus that college will offer. They look forward to learn-
ing new things and acquiring new skills. Another reason for
college is that it offers the opportunity to make friends. Lifelong
friendships are formed when young people live in dormitories and
study together for several years. A final reason is that the four
years spent in college will help many students become more
mature. If students are living on their own and managing their
own schedule, they will learn to be independent. College often
provides life experiences that help students make important deci-
sions about their future. College is a major investment, but the
rewards are lifelong.
Transitions for Reason Writing

One reason As a result
Another reason Consequently
The first/second/third reason Moreover
The final reason Furthermore
The last reason Also
The most important reason Another consideration
Therefore
NO WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Topics for Reason Writing
Beginning
Why | Believe in
Why | Admire
Why Sleepovers Are Fun
Why You Should Eat Breakfast
Why | Use the Computer
Reasons for Getting Dressed Up
Reasons for Staying Home from School
Reasons for Moving
Reasons for Homework
Reasons for Class Trips
Intermediate
Why You Should Vote for

Reasons for Learning
Why | Enjoy/Avoid the Mall
Why | Enjoy/Avoid Parties
Why People Should Get Up Early
Why | Watch TV
Why | Need to Earn Money
Reasons for Recycling
Reasons for Saving the Rainforests
Reasons for Traveling
Advanced
Why Won the Election

Why _ Went out of Business
Why | Need a Car
Why | Go to the Gym
Why People Should Visit Museums
Why People Should Travel
Why the Titanic Sank
Reasons for Taxes
Reasons for Working
Reasons for Being a Vegetarian
CHAPTER THREE * THE TYPES

PURPOSE: OF WRITING
Persuasion
Persuasion is a special kind of reason paragraph. The transition words writ-

ers use are the same as for a reason paragraph, and the topics are often
similar, but it is important to understand how they are different. In a per-
suasion paragraph the task is to persuade someone to think in a certain
way, to feel strongly about something, or to take a certain course of action;
consequently, the arguments need to be convincing and powerful.
When beginning persuasive writing, introduce the idea of audience, the
person or people who will read what you are writing. Understanding one’s
audience is a key strand in most state standards and is essential to success
on standardized writing assessments.
Understanding one's audience is a key strand in most

state standards and is essential to success on
standardized writing assessments.
For young students and for students with learning differences, this may
be a very difficult concept. Use a clothing analogy. Pajamas are comfortable,
but imagine if you wore them to a fancy party? What about wearing a
tuxedo to bed? For students who need very clear distinctions, call the
audience “casual” or “formal.”
Help students establish their audience by considering who they are
writing to and what they are writing. A letter inviting your friend to a party,
for example, will have a very different audience from an essay persuading
an employer to raise your salary. Help your students understand the
nuances of audience by providing various purposes for writing. Have them
explain to whom each composition is directed and how that may affect
their writing. If they are just beginning or are having trouble with this
concept, have them decide whether the communication is casual or formal.
There may be more than one type of audience for different types of writing.
Students should understand their audience for each specific task and be
able to write appropriately for them.

Establishing Audience
Who is your audience for...
an e-mail telling about your new bike?

a short-answer question on a homework assignment?
a grocery list?
a note saying that you are going to your friend's house?
an essay On an exam?
a paragraph on a job application?
a journal entry?
a thank-you note?
a speech about school issues?
a postcard?
Audience is particularly important to persuasive writing because the writer

must choose arguments that are most likely to influence the reader. Will
your reader be more likely to recycle cans and bottles because it is good for
the environment or because they may obtain a five or ten cent reward?
When crafting the list of reasons, remind students to first establish their
audience, then to consider which reasons will appear most convincing to
that audience.
Model: Expanded Persuasion Paragraph, Beginning

A Kitten
| know we can't have a dog because no one is at home during

the day to take care of it. But couldn't | have a kitten? Kittens can
be alone all day. | would feed it and empty its litter box every day.
It could sleep in my room and keep me company at night. It
wouldn't even cost us anything if we adopted a kitten from the
animal shelter. We could give a kitten a good home.
Model: Expanded Persuasion Paragraph, Intermediate

Don't Try It
Don't try to study in the living room or den. It never works.

Your computer tempts you to play games or browse the Internet.
The lure of cyberspace is irresistible. Get online and the hours just
slip away. Then there is the phone. It is not difficult to waste
CHAPTER THREE * PURPOSE: THE TYPES OF WRITING 55

away the evening catching up on the latest gossip at school.
Finally, there is the T.V. No one can watch just one show. You
probably have your favorite movie handy as well, and it's three
hours long! If that paper of yours is ever to get written, you had
better spend your evenings in the library.
Model: Expanded Persuasion Paragraph, Advanced

Say No to Landfills
Town Hall is promoting a lined landfill as the solution to our

waste problems. It is not the solution. To begin with, household
waste is not what it used to be: paper, old clothes, food, and
other biodegradable material. Nowadays, it contains plastics and
other synthetics that are as toxic as hazardous waste. A lined
landfill is like a huge bathtub; rainwater accumulates fast, and if
the landfill overflows, poisonous materials escape. Therefore,
landfills must be capped by a heavy layer of plastic, which has to
be protected from the weather by a layer of soil. The soil itself will
wash away unless it is sown with grass and mowed regularly for
several hundred years so that trees will not grow and pierce the
landfill with their roots. We do not want a lined landfill on our
neighborhood. Come to the town meeting on Saturday to find a
safer, more environmentally friendly solution.
Transitions for Persuasion Writing
One reason
Another reason
The first/second/third reason
The final reason
The last reason
The most important reason
Therefore
As a result
Consequently
Moreover
Furthermore
Also
Another consideration

Topics for Persuasive Writing
Beginning
I'd Like to Take Lessons

Change the Rules for
| Can Go to by Myself
Send Me to Summer Camp
We Need a Longer Recess
| Should Have a Later Bedtime
We Need Less Homework
Follow These Safety Rules
Stay for Dinner
Join an After School Program
Intermediate
Visit
The School Needs More
Join the Soccer Team
| Need a Larger Allowance
Don't Litter
Make a Donation
Recycle
Open a Bank Account
Watch Less T.V.
Hike
Advanced
Join the Club

Attend a Meeting
Learn
Join Our Band
Get a Job
Volunteer
Don't Start Smoking
Don't Buy a New Car
Obey the Speed Limit
Be a Big Brother/Big Sister
GHARIER THREE URROsSE:

THE LYRrS (OF WRITING
Definition Writing
Students are often asked to define terms in their subject-matter courses,
and practice in writing short definitions will prepare them for this task.
Definition paragraphs are generally short, but they are challenging because
they require students to use language precisely.
There are many ways of formulating a definition. Do not begin defini-
tion writing with the dictionary. Rather, teach students to define by exam-
ple, by synonyms, by stating what something is not, or, for the imaginative,
by analogy. Sometimes challenging students to explain the difference
between words with similar meanings makes for an interesting exercise.
Since the definition paragraph is likely to be short, students will not need a
wide range of transitions.
Try asking your students to define a slang word or expression from their
vocabulary. In exchange, define an expression that you or your parents once
used. Definition writing is an exercise in language skills, with which you
should encourage your students to have fun.
Model: Basic Definition Paragraph, Intermediate

Black Hole
When a star runs out of fuel, it grows smaller and smaller until
it disappears from view. This is how a black hole is formed. A
black hole is a region of space packed so full with matter and
gravity that nothing can escape. Sometimes | think that this is the
place where all my lost belongings go.
Model: Basic Definition Paragraph, Intermediate

Similes and Metaphors
Both a simile and a metaphor are literary devices which use

comparisons. The difference is that a simile uses the word like or
as. A metaphor is more powerful because it compares two things
directly. Compare the following similes and metaphors. “His room
is a pigsty” or “his room is like a pigsty." “Jackson was a
stonewall” or "Jackson was like a stonewall." “She is a tower of
strength" or “she is like a tower of strength.” If you want to
make a powerful comparison, try writing metaphorically.

Topics for Definition Writing
Happiness Freedom Democracy
Hero Peace Prejudice
Community Future Environment
Friend Hip-hop Fair Trade
Family Internet Unique
Computer War Philanthropist
Story Space Techie
Fancy Recycling The Glass Ceiling
Crocodile and Alligator Planet and Star Alibi and Excuse
House and Home Dog and Canine Species and Genus
The Comparison and Contrast Paragraph

Comparison and contrast writing requires a sophisticated level of thinking,
as it requires students to address both similarities and differences in the
Same composition. An important component of most literature courses,
comparison/contrast is usually not required until the middle or upper
grades. There are three ways of addressing the task.
Ways to Compare/Contrast
1. Write all about one thing and then all about the other.
2. List similarities and then list differences.
3. Compare things point by point.
If the discussion is short, the first two plans are appropriate, but if the
subject requires a lot of writing, a point-by-point comparison is more effec-
tive and is easier to read. This method requires careful organization, and is
an opportune time to teach the formal outline.
CGHAPTER TAREE #& PURPOSE THE TYPES OF WRITING BY

The Formal Outline
Title or Topic
|. Topic sentence
Il. First idea
A. Detail
B. Detail
C. Detail
Ill. Second idea
A. Detail
B. Detail
C. Detail
IV. Third idea
A. Detail
B. Detail
C. Detail
V. Concluding sentence
Do not worry about the rules of capitalization and parallelism when

you begin to teach the outline. At this point, because the student is dealing
with two different subjects, the outline serves as a more organized list. The
look of the outline will change depending on how the student plans to
organize the composition.
Model: Comparison/Contrast Outline and Paragraph, Intermediate

This outline and paragraph lists similarities, then differences.
Skiing and Snowboarding
|. Topic sentence
Il. Similarities
A. Equipment
B. Skill
C. Getting there
D. Thrill
Ill. Differences
A. Technique
B. Age of sport
C. Participants
IV. Concluding sentence

Skiing and Snowboarding
If you like winter sports, it may be hard for you to choose
between skiing and snowboarding. Both involve the purchase of
equipment: skis, boots, and poles for skiing and a snowboard and
boots for snowboarding. You need to wear warm clothing for
both sports. Also, both involve a degree of skill, strength, and
agility, and a good sense of balance is essential. Another similar-
ity is that both sports involve a trip to a ski area and the purchase
of an expensive lift ticket. For both sports the only way to get to
the top of the mountain is by chairlift or gondola. Finally, both
sports provide the exhilaration of the run down the mountain. But
there are differences between the two sports. One difference is in
the technique: in snowboarding the turn is made by twisting the
whole body, whereas in skiing the turn is achieved with a change
of weight and the upper body is relatively still. Skiing is the older
sport and has been around for a long time. Snowboarding, a
newer sport, evolved in the late eighties. Not surprisingly, it is
more popular with the younger generation. Some athletic and
energetic people succeed in mastering both sports.
Model: Comparison/Contrast Paragraph, Beginning
This paragraph tells all about cats, then all about dogs.
Cats and Dogs
Cats and dogs both make great pets. Cats are very easy to
take care of. You just have to make sure that they have plenty of
food and water. If a cat lives inside, it must have a litter box that
you have to keep clean. You can leave a cat alone in the house for
the day. It may miss you, but it will be OK. Cats don't need to
exercise much, either. Having a dog is a bigger job. You cannot
leave it with a supply of food or it may eat it all at once. You have
to feed it twice a day and make sure it has water. Some dogs get
lonely if they are alone and will bark and bother the neighbors. If
you go away, you have to take the dog to the kennel. Also, dogs
have to be exercised and taken for walks. Before you get a pet,
think about which kind is best for you and your family.
CHAPTER EIR EE, URE OSE: Ek PYRE SiO WRI TING

Model: Comparison/Contrast Paragraph, Advanced
This paragraph illustrates the most advanced technique by
making a point-by-point comparison.
Sailboats versus Motorboats
Some people who live near the sea or by a lake need to use
boats as a means of transportation. Sometimes it is difficult to
decide between a sailboat or motorboat. There are advantages
and disadvantages to each. First, there is convenience. A motor-
boat is surely the most efficient way of getting from place to
place. A sailboat is dependent on the wind and weather. Another
difference is in the skill required. Most people can learn to run a
motorboat within a few days. Of course, if the boat is large, they
may need to take a coastguard-sponsored safety course. But
learning to sail a boat skillfully may take years. Another factor is
the boat's effect on the environment. The gasoline or diesel fumes
that emanate from the exhaust of a motorboat pollute the air and
discharge oil into the water. The noise of a speedboat can be a
pollutant as well, destroying the peace of the waters and affect-
ing wildlife. On the other hand, a sailboat leaves no mark on our
precious air and water and the only sound is the wind in the rig-
ging and the gurgle of the wake. For many people a motorboat is
a practical necessity, but for purely recreational purposes, a sail-
boat is surely preferable.
Transitions for Comparison/Contrast Writing
Comparing Contrasting
Both By contrast
Also On the other hand
Too Unlike
A similarity But
Another similarity Instead of
Yet another similarity Another difference
Have in common Yet another difference
Share the same The main/most important difference
62 WRITING SKILES TEACHERS HANDBOOK

Topics for Comparison/Contrast Writing
Beginning
Two Streets
Two Sports
Two Stores
Two School Subjects
Two Seasons
The Sun and the Moon
A River and a Lake
Fruits and Vegetables
Cats and Dogs
Chopsticks and a Fork
Intermediate
Two Restaurants
Two Musical Instruments
Two Teachers
Two Video Games
Two Methods of Transportation
A Story and a Poem
Urban Life versus Rural Life
Videos versus DVDs
Advanced
Two Forms of Government

Two Jobs
Two Books
Two Characters
Two Schools
Two Magazines
Two Cities
Mountain Bikes versus Ten-Speed
Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Algebra and Geometry
GHAPTER THREE “3 PUI OSE ire Dae BlS "OO VW Isr TING
Description
Description animates writing. If a writer can describe a place well enough,

the reader will feel as if he has been there. An insightful description of a
person will make the reader feel as if he knows that person. In expository
writing, description must serve a particular purpose. Student writers should
use description to make an important point, whether it is to paint a clearer
picture of their subject, support a belief, persuade the reader to draw a spe-
cific conclusion, or help the reader feel a particular emotion.
A good way to teach students to write descriptively is through sensory
details. Begin by making a list of the adjectives and phrases that will convey
the feelings of the five senses. What does a particular place look like? How
does it feel, smell, and sound? You may want to go back and review adjec-
tives and adjective phrases; students will find these useful when writing
descriptions of all kinds.
Some students may have trouble organizing their descriptions. Use
only the best, most powerful, and appropriate details. It often helps, when
describing a scene, to follow a particular order: go from left to right, near
to far, or up to down, in order to help the reader picture the place.
Descriptive writing can be practiced in isolation. Encourage your stu-
dents to be creative in observing and describing their world. This is where
their innate creativity and originality will shine.
Descriptive writing can be practiced in isolation.

Encourage your students to be creative in observing
and describing their world.
As with the other types of writing, descriptive models are provided

here. I encourage you to also use books as models. Select passages from
classroom reading and encourage your students to share examples trom the
books they have at home.

Model: Description Paragraph, Beginning
My Pet Turtle
A turtle can be a lot of fun. My turtle is green and scaly. He has

a funny mouth. It always looks like he is smiling. He sleeps on a
rock and when he wakes up he dives into the water. It makes a
loud splash. | like to watch him through the clear glass of his tank.
Model: Description Paragraph, Advanced
Rancho La Brea
You can smell the acrid odor of tar even before you arrive at
the Rancho La Brea. These bubbling tar pits were formed over
40,000 years ago, when crude oil seeped to the surface and the
lighter elements evaporated, leaving a deep pool of sticky
asphalt. The Rancho La Brea, or “tar ranch,” located five miles
west of downtown Los Angeles, is one of the most famous fossil
sties in the world. Many prehistoric animals became immobilized
in the warm asphalt. When hungry carnivores saw their struggles
and entered the area, they also became trapped. Preserved in the
tar are the bones of thousands of dire wolves, saber-toothed cats,
Columbian mammoths, camel llamas, mastodons, and about 230
other vertebrate species. Scientists are still excavating fossils
there. Visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits can observe excavations in
progress or watch scientists clean, identify, label, and repair the
fossils they have found.
Topics for Descriptive Writing

My Street A Scary Place A Flea Market
A Treehouse The Ideal Pet A Photograph
My Home A Skyscraper A Painting
My Best Friend The Beach in Summer A New Car
An Animal An Old Barn A Mall
A Haunted House A Busy Department Store A Snowstorm
An Arcade A Walk in the Rain A Forest
A Bowling Alley A Football Game A Busy Hallway
An Unusual Day A Hair Salon A Bus Ride
A Snowstorm The Circus Someone You Admire
CHARTER THREE * PURPOSES

THE TYPES OF WRITING
Narrative Writing
Narrative writing is required of students throughout their entire careers.
Young students are often asked to “Tell about a time...” or write “What I
did on my summer vacation.” For the high school student, a job or school
application will probably require a personal essay. Most state assessments
include a narrative task.
Students will write best about what they have experienced, and though
they will enjoy making up fantastical stories about outer space, their best
writing will be based on their real-life adventures. Begin narrative writing
with topics that students are likely to be familiar with. Though standardized
tests will often ask students to write about events they have riever experi-
enced or are unfamiliar with, the more practice the student has in writing
narratives, the better he is likely to perform on narrative tasks of all kinds.
There are many proven benefits to narrative writing. One benefit to
practicing narrative writing is a greater understanding of order and organ-
ization. The beginner should write narratives in chronological, or time,
order, but the more advanced writer can be taught to begin just before the
climax and to fill the earlier events later. The use of dialogue or descriptive
detail to make writing more vivid are other topics to pursue.
Students’ best writing will be based on

their real-life adventures.
When beginning narrative writing with young students and with strug-
eling writers, ask them to first write down the main points, or five Ws. You
can use the figure below as a checklist if students are having particular
difficulty remembering. You may prefer to teach the five Ws in a different
order, such as when, where, who, what, and why.
The Five Ws
Who was involved?

What happened?
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
Why was it important?

As is the case with descriptive writing, models are provided, but |
encourage you to seek examples from student texts and literature, as these
are often the most effective models for the student writer.
Model: Narrative Paragraph, Beginning

The Maple Syrup Factory
Last week we went to the maple syrup factory in Ottawa. The

guide told us all about maple sugar. We saw maple trees and the
plastic pipes they use now instead of buckets. We saw the sap
being boiled in very large tanks. The guide gave us each a sample
to taste, and | bought a jar to take home to my great-grand-
mother. | learned a lot of interesting things about maple syrup.
Narrative writing is an essential skill in writing reports. Summaries and

biographies are often assigned to students in the middle grades, and
require ordering and organizational skills.
Model: Narrative Paragraph, Intermediate

Opal Whitely
By the time she was five years old, Opal Whitely had lost both
her parents and was sent to live with a foster family in an Oregon
lumber camp. When she learned to write, she began to keep a
journal. She made her entries on the backs of envelopes a neigh-
bor had given her. When another child found the journal in its
secret hiding place, she tore it to shreds. Opal kept the scraps of
paper in a box. When she was twenty, a publisher expressed
interest in her work, and Opal painstakingly pieced her book back
together. The task took nine months. Today her diary is available
in bookstores.
Research
While the full-length research paper is beyond the scope of this book, stu-
dents can begin to write research paragraphs and short essays in response
to subject matter assignments.
Do not hesitate to give writers topics to investigate. Teach them to take
CHAPTER THREE * THE TYPES

PURPOSE: OF WRITING 67
brief notes. From the notes, they can make and organize lists, or, depending
on the length and complexity of the composition, an outline. Struggling
writers often lack the confidence to write directly from their notes and often
wind up copying texts. Encourage students to write research compositions
without referring back to their sources. This will help develop their memory,
independence, and will form good habits of original writing.

Chapter Four
The Essay
As students advance through school and into college, they will write essays
with increasing frequency. The essay is one of the best ways of demonstrat-
ing not only what they know, but how well they have learned it. We must,
then, give them every advantage. Direct instruction, good modeling, and
constant practice in essay writing will give students the opportunity to best
“show what they know.”
Once a student has mastered paragraph writing, expanding his ideas
into a full-length essay is a relatively easy transition, for the patterns are
similar. The topic sentence becomes the thesis statement. Each one of the
supporting sentences becomes a supporting paragraph. Finally, the con-
cluding sentence is expanded into a concluding paragraph. See the figure
below.
Paragraph / Essay Map
Paragraph Essay
Topic sentence Introductory paragraph including thesis statement
Supporting sentence Supporting paragraph
Concluding sentence Concluding paragraph
Purpose plays a very important role in essay writing. The more familiar
students are with the different types of writing, the better equipped they
will be to adapt them to any purpose. The kinds of essays are the same as
the kinds of paragraphs (page 44). Narrative, persuasive, and com-
parison/contrast essays are commonly required by state exams. Essays
explaining processes are required in intermediate and upper level science
courses, and reason essays are common in the social studies curriculum.
It becomes important at this stage to understand that the types of writ-
ing often overlap. Persuasive essays will almost always include reason
GHAR TER TOUR = TEE BSsscnan 69

paragraphs, and comparison/contrast will usually contain several types of
paragraphs. Example paragraphs are still likely to be a part of most kinds
of writing.
The Introductory Paragraph

In an essay the topic sentence, called the thesis statement, is the most dif-
ficult to write. It must reflect not merely a fact, but also an opinion.
The thesis
statement is the argument that the writer plans to make and that he will
support in the paragraphs that follow. The statement should be bold and
definite. “In-my-opinion” and “I-think-that” sentences are to be avoided.
It is understood that the writer thinks or believes what she writes.
Writing thesis statements is an important skill and requires some practice.
Be sure to provide good models. The following are examples of ineffectual
thesis statements and ways to improve them.
La Vista is a restaurant in our town.
e Don't miss La Vista, the new restaurant on Main Street.

¢ The best Italian food in town is served at La Vista.
| had a job washing dishes last summer.
¢ | learned a lot from my job washing dishes.

¢ The worst job | ever had was washing dishes in a cafeteria.
In some families both parents work.
¢ Only if both parents work can they support a family.

¢ Children in families of working parents learn to be responsible
and independent at an early age.
| want to take a year off before starting college.

¢ There are several reasons why | plan on taking a year off
before starting college.
°A year off before college can teach a young person a lot
about life.

Susan is a good worker; she has worked for me for years.
¢ | have no hesitation in recommending Susan to the position

of office manager.
e Susan has several qualities that make her the ideal employee.
In the introductory paragraph the thesis statement should be followed

by a concise plan of development, listing the supporting points in the order
in which the writer will present them.
e La Vista is the best restaurant in town. The food is delicious, the

atmosphere peaceful, and the service excellent.
e The worst job | ever had was washing dishes at a cafeteria.

| had to work late into the night, the kitchen was unbearably
hot, and the customers showed me no respect.
e Children in families of working parents learn to be responsible

and independent at an early age. They have to assume a share
of household chores. They have to manage their homework
assignments without parental supervision. They have to be
responsible and trustworthy when in the house alone.
¢ A year off before college teaches young people a lot about life.
If they move away from home, they have to learn the cost of
rent, utilities, and food. If they have a job, they must learn to
show up on time, to dress appropriately, and to respect their
supervisor and fellow workers. If they travel, they can learn more
about the world and appreciate its diversity.
e Susan has several qualities that make her the ideal employee.
She always comes in early. Her attitude is cheerful and upbeat.
She is unfailingly courteous to customers as well as coworkers.
GCHAPTER FOUK TEE Soy

Introductory Techniques
In addition to the thesis statement and the plan of development, the intro-
ductory paragraph should contain a lead-in, in the form of some kind of
introductory remarks designed to arouse the reader’s interest. This part of
the paragraph is often difficult to compose. Some writers prefer to add it
atter the rest of the essay has been finished. It may be useful to work with the
student on a whole series of introductory paragraphs without necessarily
completing the essays for which they were designed. Sometimes articles
from newspapers or popular magazines are a good source of material for
discussion. You and your students can collect samples of each of the
following categories to illustrate possible forms of introductory remarks.
Teach your students that there are many ways to begin an essay. The
most common lead-in begins with general remarks on the subject and then
narrows it down with specific details. A paragraph can begin with a question
or a series of questions. An impressive fact or statistic often intrigues the
reader to read more. An explanation about why the subject is important to
the reader is a good way to appeal to a particular audience. An appropriate
quotation is a great way of arousing a reader's interest. Another powerful
way to attract the reader’s attention is to begin with a statement that is the
opposite of the point the writer plans to make. The lead-in can be a well-
known proverb, a quotation from Shakespeare, a poem, or any other
work—or it may simply be something a parent, teacher, or friend once said.
Finally, the writer can use an anecdote or incident. Journalists use this
device frequently. The writer must be sure that the anecdote relates directly
to his topic and adds something interesting to the discussion.
General Remarks
It is really only since World War II that women have entered

the work force. Before then, it was usual for a mother to stay
home to manage the household. She cared for the children and
did the laundry, shopping, cooking, and household chores. Her
husband usually went to work, sometimes early in the morning,
and seldom returned before suppertime, especially if he had a
long commute. But these days, in most households both parents
work outside the home. Both my mother and father have full-
time jobs, and we were raised to be responsible and independent.

A Question
What happens to the stacks of paper that people collect for

recycling in offices, schools, and at home? Recycled paper has an
interesting life cycle. Follow the steps below to learn how your
homework, memos, shopping lists, and newspapers go from the
recycling bin to the plant and back into your office, classroom, or
home.
An Opposite Idea
Teaching is an easy profession. Teachers have the longest

vacations—almost three months of the year. They work only until
three in the afternoon. Often teachers have aides or assistants in
the classroom to help them run lessons, prepare materials, and
grade papers. It may sound easy, but it's not. Teachers are often
overworked and underpaid. In the course of one day, a teacher
may deal with difficult children, concerned parents, anxious
administrators, and time-consuming bureaucratic tasks.
A Fact
At 6,695 kilometers, the Nile is the longest river in the world.

It begins in Burundi, south of the equator, and flows through
northeastern Africa before draining into the Mediterranean Sea.
The river has three principal streams: the White Nile, Blue Nile,
and Atbara. It flows through nine countries altogether and has
been providing life to northeastern Africa for hundreds of thou-
sands of years.
An Explanation
Being well prepared for an interview can help you get the job
you want. First, be sure to bring several copies of your resume.
Find out more about the company you want to work for. Have a
list of questions ready for your interviewer. You may want to
practice your responses to some common questions. Finally, be
sure you know how to get there and arrive on time. If you are
well prepared, a job interview can be an exciting experience.
CHAP TER HOWIR Te SEE Ero sane

A Quotation
“Without Elvis, none of us would have made it,” said Buddy

Holly in a Billboard magazine article. Elvis Presley has had over
one hundred songs on the top one hundred list and has sold over
one billion records worldwide. But his greatest achievement is the
profound effect he has had on the rock-and-roll musicians who
followed him. Many of our greatest artists, including John
Lennon, Mick Jagger, and Bruce Springsteen, credit Elvis for his
influence on their music.
An Anecdote
When the Olympic games came to Los Angeles, Marion Jones

was nine years old. When she watched the races on television,
she knew that she wanted to be “the fastest woman in the
world." Though some people know when they are very young
what they want to be when they are older, most people do not.
There are many places to find guidance. Book and Internet data-
bases are a great source for quick information. Career counselors
often offer free services at high schools, colleges, and career fairs.
Friends and relatives are also a great resource and can help you
explore a world of career options.
Supporting Paragraphs
Three or more supporting paragraphs form the body of the essay. They are
arranged in the order in which they have been mentioned in the plan of
development at the end of the first paragraph. They perform the same
function as the supporting sentences in the basic and expanded para-
graphs that the student has already practiced. Each one must support the
thesis statement. Usually these paragraphs are arranged in chronological
order or in order of importance (from least to most important). Each para-
graph will begin with a topic sentence of its own, contain details and infor-
mation, and end witha concluding sentence. Furthermore, the paragraphs
need to be linked in content and with transitions in order for the essay to
have unity and cohesion.

Transitions
Transitions are they key to cohesive writing. Encourage your writers to
include a transition in the first sentence of every supporting paragraph they
write. Students who have worked their way through the writing process
will already be familiar with the more common transitions, but the follow-
ing list will be useful when writing essays. Have students copy these into
the their notebook, or post them on the wall of your classroom. Only with
constant practice will students be able to select these transitions automati-
cally. If you can point out transitions when students are using their text-
books, they will be quicker to realize their importance and to begin using
them in their own writing.
Transitions
Example Writing Process Writing Classification Writing
For example To begin The first
Another example First The second
The last example Also The third
For instance At this point One kind
Yet another example Next Another kind
A final example Then The last type
When The last kind
Finally
Reason and Persuasion Comparison/Contrast Concluding Paragraphs

Writing Writing
As a result
The first reason In the same way Therefore
The second reason Like Finally
The third reason AS Lastly
The final reason Also In conclusion
The last reason But In summary
Another reason However To sum up
Still another reason Otherwise
Yet another reason Yet
The main reason On the other hand
The most important reason Still
First Although
Second Even though
CHAPTER O UK ae TE Eis Sin

Concluding Paragraph
The conclusion of an essay needs to consist of a paragraph rather than a
single sentence. Generally, the concluding paragraph will have two parts: a
summary and a conclusion. The summary reviews for the reader the main
points made in the course of the essay. It refers back to the thesis statement
and plan of development in the introductory paragraph. But a mere repeti-
tion of the points covered—those that have already been stated in the plan
and expanded in the supporting paragraph—is likely to fall flat. What is
needed is some fresh perspective.
The conclusion is more difficult to write than the summary and requires
careful thinking. It is the final thought with which the writer will leave the
reader, and any writer will want it to be powerful, thoughtful, and effective.
One teacher | know used to compare an essay to a fancy hotel: the con-
cluding paragraph is the piece of candy that you find on your pillow at the
end of the day. Just what does the writer want the reader to know, to
believe, to feel, or to do, as a result of having read the essay? If the essay is
written in order of importance, with the most important point at the end,
there may be no need for further conclusion.
Just as there are several ways of beginning an essay, there are several
ways of ending one. An essay may conclude with a discussion of something
the writer has learned, something the reader may learn, or with a final
evaluation of the topic, which usually requires the student to think critically
about and analyze the points she has made.
What the Writer Has Learned
The tropical fish's living conditions, temperature, food, and

environment must be perfect. We have to spend a lot of money
on the tank and supplies and a lot of time caring for our fish. We
have to also read about tropical fish and their requirements. Our
tropical tank is a thing of beauty, but | never expected that such a
little fish would be such a big responsibility.
What the Reader Can Learn
If you are looking for a way to spend some free time, consider
volunteering. There are many places that are always looking for
help, such as the Red Cross, American Library Association, and
Big Brother/Big Sister. You can also visit local organizations to help

in your community. Though you will not receive any money, you
will enrich your life.
An Evaluation
Computers are the best learning instruments available. The

Internet is a virtual library that is always open. Word processing
programs make writing papers a breeze. Some students even
complete their homework and take exams on the computer.
Every classroom should have at least one.
This method of dealing with essays in a structured fashion—five para-

graphs, set introductions, and conclusions—is not meant to set limits, but
rather to give the struggling writer the tools needed to organize and pres-
ent her thoughts effectively. Obviously an essay can be developed in many
different ways, any thesis statement or topic sentence can have more than
three supporting details, and there are countless ways of beginning and
ending a piece of writing. The purpose of this structure is to form a frame-
work that will enable the writer to get started and to cope confidently with
his writing assignments.
Student Sample: Five Paragraph Narrative Essay, Intermediate
The Ropes Course

The ropes course has high ropes and low ropes. This year | had
the pleasure of the high ropes. | was and still am very afraid of the
high ropes. | made it through alive, but just barely.
| was the last one to go in my group. | was the last one by
choice. The first element consited of climbing up a latter that
wobbled. | made it to the top. But when | had to climb around a
tree to get to the next element | frose. | could not move and
when | finaly started to move all that | could do was cry.
So | was up in this tree, horrified, crying, and every single per-
son in my class was just staring right at me. | felt like a complete
moron. | thought that everyone would just and think “what a
fool." But | was wrong.
To my surprise | found that people were cheering me on,
telling me what to do. It was great, it felt great. | found that | had
to courage to go on. | was timid at first but as more cheers came,
my confidence grew. | was unstoppable.
CHAT
LE RAE OUR Se SEE ES Say
ae
| guess the moral of this story is when in doubt, turn to your
friends. They are always there. That time at the ropes course |
found that | have more friends than | thought. | am greatful for
that and for them.*
* In this essay, spelling and grammar have not been corrected. Remember that writing is
an exercise in thinking, not in spelling. After the student has written his first draft, have her
go back to correct spelling and grammar errors. See the chapter on revising and proof-
s. f Cc [2 c
reading for tips.

\

Chapter Five
Standards and Assessments
Forty-nine states have a system of academic standards. Most of these

states have an accompanying system of assessment, and most of these
assessments include a writing sectionThe . National Association of Educa-
tional Progress, a division of the Department of Education, conducts a
national writing assessment as well. The latest data shows that students’
average scores increased between 1998 and 2002, but there is still signifi-
cant work to be done.
Whether we like it or not, standards and assessments often cuide
instruction, and many teachers find themselves“ teaching to the test.” This
can be detrimental to the student, and is especially dangerous where writing
is concerned.
The compromise, of course, is to provide students with excellent writ-
ing instruction in the classroom and also be aware of what is expected of
them on standardized tests. Teachers should familiarize themselves with
state frameworks and requirements. Take a look at sample assessments.
Previous tests are often made available on the Web sites of state education
departments.
Help students understand what they will need to do in order to succeed.
Provide checklists. Individualize instruction for students who struggle in
particular areas. Make this part of the revising and editing process. See
Chapter 6 for suggestions.
And of course, practice. Writing for assessments is a very different
type of writing from what students have learned. They are given only a
limited time. There is space for only one draft. Planning becomes all the
more important. Though Oregon and Kentucky assess portfolios com-
pleted throughout the year, most states depend entirely on on-demand
writing, i.e. prompts.
If you teach in a state that assesses writing, it is helpful to practice the
various types of prompts with your students. You will thereby familiarize
them with the types of writing they will be asked to do. This chapter
includes lists of prompts adapted from state tests, organized by grade and
CHAPTER FIVE * STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS

79
by type of writing; it is important to familiarize yourself with the tests your
students will be taking.
Fortunately, tests assess student writing for aspects covered in this text.
If you give your students the confidence to express their ideas and the tools
with which to organize and present them, they will succeed on standard-
ized tests.
Writing Prompts for Grades 3-4

Example/Description
e Your school is having a writing contest about people who are

special. A special person might be a friend, relative, teacher, or
someone else. Write a paper for the contest. Tell about a special
person and tell why he or she is special to you.
e Think about someone you admire. The person can be someone

you know, someone you have read about, or someone you have
heard about. Describe the person you have chosen and give three
examples of admirable qualities or admirable things that person
has done.
Narration
e All of us have had a special time or adventure in our lives. It could

be anything such as a a party you went to, or a game you
watched or played, or it could be something completely different.
Write a story about a special time or adventure you had. Give
details in your story to show what it was like and what made it so
special.
¢ Imagine that you suddenly wake up and find yourself a player on

your favorite sports team. Fans are cheering for you. Tell why
they are cheering, and write a story about what happens next.
Persuasive
¢ You have received some money as a gift. Your parents say you
may spend it, but they must approve your idea. Decide how you
want to spend the money and write a letter to your family to
persuade them to approve your idea.

¢ Many public places do not permit skateboarding, bicycling, or
rollerblading. Do you agree or disagree with this rule? Write a let-
ter to your community leader persuading him or her to support
your opinion.
¢ Many boys and girls play the same sports. How do you feel about
having girls and boys on the same team? Convince the coach of
one particular sport that boys and girls either should or should not
be able to play on the same team.
Narration
¢ Imagine every clock in your town ran backwards for twenty-four

hours. Write about the adventures resulting from how your back-
wards days was different from a normal day.
e You are shipwrecked on an island for a month with only your

backpack. Tell about how the items in your backpack help you
Survive.
Description
e Each season offers special sights and sounds. Select one season
and describe its unique qualities.
Reason
¢ Identify an activity, such as a hobby or sport, that you enjoy or do

well. Explain what you do and why you chose the activity.
e We all have a hero or heroine, a person whose qualities or achieve-

ments we admire. Choose a person you consider to be your hero
or heroine. Explain why you choose this person.
* Many people believe that we appreciate something that we earn

more than something we are given. Explain to your classmates
why this statement is true and tell how it might relate to them.
Description/Reason
e You are a designer for a company that creates rides for carnivals,
fairs, and amusement parks. Describe the ride you designed and
explain why people will like it.
CHAPTER FIVE * STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS Sl

e Learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, riding a skate-
board, or cooking a meal, can be challenging. Write a narrative
about a time you learned a new skill or taught someone else a
new skill. What happened? Why was this experience a challenge?

Narrative
¢ Imagine that in the year 2020 the world's technologies suddenly

stopped working. Write a story about a day in the life of a person
if this occurred.
Persuasive
Your principal wants to reward your class by taking students on a

field trip to some place in your state. Think about what place you
would choose. Write a letter to your principal explaining why the
place you have chosen is the best place to visit. Give convincing
reasons that support your opinion and address the concerns of
those who would argue against your position.
Description
Your class had decided to bury a time capsule that teenagers will
open in the year 3000. You plan to contribute one item that rep-
resents teenage life today. Write a letter to the teens of 3000 stat-
ing what your item is and what it tells about teenagers today.
Reason/Example
Everyone has a favorite type of music. Think about your favorite
type of music. It may be rock, rap, country, classical, or another
kind. Explain in an essay why this type of music is your favorite.
Support your choice with examples and details.
The Postal Service has honored many individuals, from presidents

to artists to cartoon characters, by placing their images on postage
stamps. Whom you would nominate to honor with a postage
stamp? Write an essay to tell the reader whom you would choose
and explain why. Support your ideas with examples and details.

Example
¢ Consider the role automobiles play in our culture. What are the
most important effects they have had? Write an essay explaining
the influence the automobile has had on our culture.
Example/Reason
From computers to entertainment to communication, technology

effects everyone. Identify one advancement in technology that
you could not do without and explain why.
High school is a time when some students begin to look for part-
time employment. What is a good part-time job for someone
your age? Why would this job be appropriate for a teenager?
High school students are faced with making decisions about the
world of work. Choose a career that interests you. Explain why
you would consider it, what preparation you would need, and
what skills you would have to have in order to be successful.
Narrative
New beginnings can take many forms. For many, a new begin-
ning comes with the start of a new school year. For others, it
could be moving to a new city or making a new friend. Write a
narrative about a time you experienced a new beginning.
You have just won a contest in which you get to spend a day with
a famous person. Write about what you did and what you
learned about the famous person you chose.
Persuasive
You have just learned that NASA will select a student to accom-
pany astronauts on their next space flight. Persuade NASA that
either you or one of your classmates would be the best choice.
Some state officials want to make the school year longer. Your
local newspaper supports this idea. Decide whether you agree or
disagree with this idea and write to the editor of the newspaper
stating your opinion.
CHAPTER FIVE * STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS

Your city owns some land that it wants to use to benefit the com-
munity. What would you advise the county to do with this land?
Write a letter to the mayor suggesting how the land be used.
Many schools require all students to perform some type of com-

munity service, such as volunteering time at a nursing home,
museum, or hospital. Think about how you would feel if you
were required to perform a community service. Write an essay in
which you persuade the reader that students should or should not
be required to perform community service. Defend your position
with several detailed reasons. Develop those reasons with sup-
porting examples.
Imagine that your school district has proposed to save money by

eliminating extracurricular sports programs. Think about the
possible effects of eliminating sports from school. Decide whether
you are for or against this proposal and write an essay in which
you persuade the reader why this is or is not a good idea.
Consider carefully the following statement: Some situations that

at first appear simple turn out to be complicated. Do you disagree
with this statement? Write an essay in which you convince your
reader of your opinion. Support your position with examples from
current events, science, literature, history, or your own experience.

Chapter S1x
Proofreading and Revising
Most of the mistakes students make in their writing are the kind that can
be corrected when they learn to revise and proofread. What students
should know, even when beginning a first draft, is that there is always an
opportunity to revise their compositions. This will relieve struggling writers
of some of their writing anxiety.
Revising, as opposed to proofreading, deals with a composition on a
larger scope. At first, revising may be difficult for struggling writers, who are
often reluctant to revisit their writing once they believe it is done. If they
have learned to write in the step-by-step fashion described here, their
compositions will usually be focused and well supported from the start.
Revision, then, is merely a matter of rereading for clarity, audience, and
purpose. One of the best ways to teach students to revise is with a checklist.
Even on high-stakes assessments, where students have a relatively short
time to plan, compose, and revise their writing, students should know to
check the most important elements. Some states, such as New Jersey,
provide students with such checklists in their test booklets. In the NEAP
exam, students received a “planning and reviewing” brochure.
Revision Checklist
Paragraphs
4 Is your audience and purpose clear?
4) Do your paragraphs contain an introductory sentence, at least
three supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence?
4 Is your opening interesting? Will it make your reader want to
read more?
4 Do your details give clear, interesting information about your
topic? Are there any details that you should add? Are there any
that you should delete?
4 Does your conclusion express an opinion or attitude?
Did you use complete sentences and a variety of sentence
types?
CHAPTER SIX # PROOFREADING AND REVISING 85

_) Are your adjectives and adverbs vivid?
_] Is your paragraph in your best spelling and handwriting?
Essays
L) Is your audience and purpose clear?

I Does your essay contain an introductory paragraph, at least
three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph?
“) Does your introductory paragraph contain a thesis statement
and a plan? Does your thesis statement express an idea or
opinion?
Do your supporting paragraphs provide clear, interesting
details? Are there any details that you should add? Are there
any you should delete?
U Does your concluding paragraph sum up the ideas in your
essay? Does it express an idea or opinion?
U Did you use complete sentences and a variety of sentence
types?
LU) Are your adjectives and adverbs vivid?
U1 Is your essay in your best spelling and handwriting?
When teaching students to proofread, a useful exercise is to place a dot

in the margin of the work for every error. Then challenge students to
examine their writing and find and self-correct as many as possible. Circle
the dots when the student has self-corrected an error. Often students dis-
cover that only three or so of the fifteen errors on a page are “unavoidable”
mistakes, and this may inspire them to do more careful proofreading.
You will be surprised by the extent to which some students seem
unable to see their mistakes—when asked to read what they have written,
they may repeatedly read what they think they have written, even omitting
or inserting words and endings at will. The following activities have also
proved helpful in eliminating unnecessary errors.
Proofreading and Revising Tips

1. Students should always skip lines when writing. This makes
the visual image clearer and the line above can be used for
corrections.

2. Have student read their writing aloud, keeping their place with
a finger or pencil.
3. Have struggling spellers underline or circle every word as they
check it.
4. Ask students to read their papers backwards—from the con-
clusion to the introduction. This slows them down and makes
them less likely to skip over a misspelling.
Remember, spelling and grammar instruction should be interesting

and ongoing, especially for students who struggle with spelling. See
Chapters 1 and 8 for grammar and spelling instruction and activities for
students of all ages and abilities.
CHAPTER SIX *® PROOFREADING AND REVISING 87

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Chapter Seven
Working with Groups
Remember, writing is an exercise in thinking—not in spelling or in hand-

writing. When working with the struggling writer, scribing can help to
remove the burden of spelling and handwriting worries. It frees the student
to concentrate on his ideas rather than on mechanics.
Begin by talking to the student and discovering her interests and
concerns. You may need to have a conversation several minutes in length
before you hit on the right topic. Once you have found a topic that excites
your student, begin talking about it. As the student talks, make a list.
Together, decide which items would be the best to include in the paragraph.
Help your student formulate a topic sentence, then help her dictate the
supporting sentences.
Scribing for students will help them realize that they are capable of
writing and that their ideas are valuable. When they are more confident and
are not hindered by handwriting, spelling, or grammar, try more interactive
writing assignments. Write a topic sentence and turn the paper over to the
student to add supporting details. When sharing the writing task, the
student and teacher should use different color pens. To reinforce paragraph
structure, highlight or underline the supporting sentences as you write. You
can, of course, do all of this on a computer.
Many structured writing exercises can be done interactively with your
entire class. This works well at any grade level and can be used at any stage
of writing, whether it be development of a basic five-sentence paragraph,
an expanded paragraph, or even a five-paragraph essay. Scripts for each of
these follow.
Notice that in all the exercises there is plenty of room for individual
students to use their creativity. It is only the basic structure that the teacher
has to keep modeling.
Script 1: Basic Paragraphs for Young Writers

Agree on a topic about which all students will have ideas. Then, begin a list
on the blackboard, whiteboard, or overhead projector (you may hook your
CHAPTER SEVEN * WORKING WITH GROUPS 89

computer up to one of these). Accept all ideas from all students, and be
interested in and enthusiastic about them.
Interactive List
Things to Do on a Rainy Day
watch T.V.
play computer games
bake cookies
read
play board games
clean my room
play with my brother
draw or color
go for a walk in the rain
invite a friend over
sail boats in the puddles
Next, ask for suggestions for a topic sentence. Initially, students may
produce titles, and will need to be reminded that what they need is a whole
sentence. Write their suggestions on the board, and ask for their ideas as to
which one might be the best choice.
Topic Sentences
Rainy days are fun for me.

| hate rainy days.
¥ There are lots of things you can do on a rainy day.
¥ You never have to be bored on a rainy day.
We have had a lot of rainy days lately.
Once you have agreed on a topic sentence, have all students write on
their own papers. Have them write a title, skip a line, indent, and write their
topic sentence. Then have them look back at the list and select three or four
items of their choice. They will have to turn these into sentences before
adding them to their individual paragraphs.
Finally, ask for suggestions for possible concluding sentences. Remind
students that the concluding sentence should not merely restate the topic

sentence, but should add a thought or feeling of their own to the para-
graph. Have them finish their paragraphs by choosing the best concluding
Sentence.
| am never bored on rainy days.
My family always finds things for me to do when it rains.
A rainy day can be just as much fun as a sunny day.
| love a rainy day.
Script 2: Basic Paragraphs for Older Writers

Older students who struggle with writing will also benefit from interactive
writing. The topics will be different, but the process is the same.
Interactive List
Ways to Help the Environment

recycle plastic bottles
recycle newspapers
walk or ride your bike instead of driving
pick up trash wherever you see it
use public transportation instead of driving
buy energy-efficient appliances
plant trees
plant grass to stop erosion
buy things made from recycled materials
compost your garbage
use cloth towels instead of paper towels
use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones
Again, you would ask for suggestions for topic sentences, have students
pick three of four items from the list to turn into supporting sentences for
their paragraphs, and brainstorm for appropriate concluding sentences.
CHAPTER SEVEN * WORKING WITH GROUPS

Script 3: Expanded Paragraphs for Young Writers
Again, begin with a list, although you could also start with a prewritten
basic paragraph and expand it.
interactive List
Things to Do at the Beach
swim
boogie board
collect shells
fly kites
make sandcastles
look for crabs
bury a friend
read a book
play Frisbee
Begin by composing appropriate topic sentence(s) as before. Then have

students decide on the three best items from the list. Write the word“ first,”
add a comma, and write the first sentence. Then instruct students to write
all the information they can think of about this activity. When students
have written all they can about that topic, they are ready for the next item
they have chosen from the list. Write the word’ next,” add a comma, and
write the next sentence. Have students write details about this idea as well.
Then write the word” last,” add a comma, and write the last sentence. Tell
students to add all the details they can about this last item.
Supporting Sentences
First, you can collect shells. The best ones are usually at
the edge of the water and you will probably have to
get your feet wet. Do not take live shellfish because
you need to let them live. The biggest shells I have
found are called conches. If you hold them up to your
ear, it sounds like the sea. Some of the tiny ones are
brightly colored and you can make holes in them and
string them together as beads. Shells cost nothing
when you find them and they make great souvenirs.
9? WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Next, you can fly kites. There is usually a breeze on the
beach and lots of open space With no trees to tangle
the string. It is the perfect place for kite flying. Some
people have huge kites. My favorite kite is small and
portable. I got it last year from the kite shop on the
boardwalk. It has a long tail that flutters in the
breeze. It can fly higher than most of the seagulls.
Last, you can build sandcastles. It is best if the sand is

damp so that it stays put. You can use a shovel to dig
out the moat and pile up the sand. You can use a
bucket or even paper cups to put towers on top. You
can decorate your castle with shells and seaweed. If
the tide is coming up, your moat will fill up with water.
If you build your castle too close to the shore, the sea
will wash everything away and you will have to start
all over.
Last, help students generate concluding sentences by brainstorming.

Write the choices on the board and have students decide which is most
effective for their paragraphs.
Script 4: Expanded Paragraphs for Older Writers

This process is exactly the same as for younger writers; the chief difference
is in the level of sophistication of the subject matter and language. Also, at
this stage, students will have learned more about transition words and are
able to use a greater variety.
Interactive List
Keeping in Touch
phone
cell phone
mail
fax
e-mail
instant messenger
carrier pigeon
telegram
CHAPTER SEVEN & WORKING WITH GROUPS

Begin by composing and choosing appropriate topic sentence(s). Add
three supporting sentences to which students can add detail. Compose and
choose concluding sentences as well. Remember, if a student chooses to list
his most important idea last, he may need to add an additional conclusion.
With more advanced writers you may also do some categorizing before
writing. Ask students how they might group their list items. As they
develop these categories, color-code the separate items (or use symbols or
numbers). Talk about order: an expanded paragraph or essay should go
from the least to the most important. Students will have individual ideas as
to the relative importance of the categories. You want them to feel free to
use their creativity and to feel ownership of what they write. If a student
wishes to concentrate on an unconventional aspect of their idea, let it be.
Shared Essay
Keeping in Touch
It is important to keep in touch with friends, especially if they
are away for extended periods of time, or if they move to a dif-
ferent part of the country. There are many ways to keep in touch
with friends, and each has its own advantages.
Writing letters used to be the most common form of commu-
nication. Letters often take a couple of days to arrive and, if your
friend answers by mail, it may be a week before your letter is
answered. On the other hand, finding a letter in the mailbox and
recognizing the handwriting as your friend's is always exciting.
You might tear it open immediately, or perhaps take it to your
room where you can read it in peace. A letter can be kept and
read over and over again. After all, some famous books are just
collections of letters. Letters written by Cicero, back in Roman
times, have survived. Writing a letter makes you think about
yourself, your activities, and your feelings in a thoughtful way.
You choose your words carefully, for they will be on paper for
some time.
A faster way of keeping in touch is by phone. If you miss your
friend, you may be able to leave a message on the machine.
Phoning has the advantage of letting the caller hear a friend's
voice and is a more intimate form of communication. Also, it is
instantaneous; you do not have to wait for a reply. These days,
many people carry cell phones and keep in touch constantly.

Phones do have one disadvantage in that people do not always
know what to say. Sometimes the moment they hang up they
think of things they wish they had said. People can quarrel over
the phone and even hang up angrily. Later they may regret hav-
ing done so. Of course, if you love phoning, getting the phone
bill may come as a terrible shock, especially if you have been
doing a lot of long-distance calling.
Nowadays, anybody who has a computer has access to e-mail.
E-mail has some of the advantages of both letter writing and
phoning. It is immediate—no waiting for postal delivery, and the
receiver can reply without delay. The e-mail can be printed and
preserved. E-mails can be opened at leisure: there is no need to
rush to the phone. Attachments can include other documents,
greeting cards, and photos—although you need a scanner for the
latter. Even better, it is far cheaper than phoning—the only cost is
the monthly subscription to the service provider. No wonder so
many of us love communicating by e-mail!
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Chapter Eight
spelling
While some students will never become reliable spellers, it is important to

continue teaching spelling. A spell-check program is not of much use to a
student whose spelling remains at a second or third grade level.
Unfortunately, skills learned in isolation do not necessarily transfer to a stu-
dent’s writing. The student’s mind is engaged in composing ideas, not in
spelling them correctly.
For many students, spelling skills are difficult to acquire. There are
several reasons for this. Most English words are derived from one of three
sources: Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, Latin, or Greek. Later on, students will
also be challenged by French words. Thus, when we are teaching English,
we are involved with at least three languages, each of which has its own
phonology.
The Germanic words, which make up less than one percent of our
language, are the most frequently used. They are also the least phonetic.
Students learn these words early in life and often practice misspelling
them for years. Errors such as wus, thay, whith, whitch, siad are particularly
difficult to eradicate. These words also contain vowel teams, e.g. boat, great,
and growth, which students find particularly confusing. Latin-based words
are generally more phonetic, although students will benefit from an
understanding of assimilated prefixes and connectives—especially the 7
pronounced as a long e before a vowel suffix, as in insomnia and anomalies
such as /sh/ spelled ti or ci, as in nation and suspicion. Greek words, once
students have mastered the basic code that involves the use of ph, ch, and
so forth, are relatively phonetic.
In reading, most letters or digraphs have one, two, or at most three
possible pronunciations (e.g. yellow cow, eat bread with steak). But when it
comes to writing, the student is often faced with many more choices. For
example, there are seven ways of spelling /er/: her, bird, hurt, work, dollar,
early, and journal. Moreover, schwa vowels, especially in longer Latin-based
words, make it extremely difficult for students to select the correct spellings.
There are obvious advantages to starting work with a young child who
has not been frustrated by years of misspelling. On the other hand, older
CHAPTER EIGHT + SPELIEING oF

students will have better visual and auditory discrimination, fewer sequenc-
ing difficulties and reversals, and they will be intellectually equipped to learn
spelling rules and patterns. The intermediate student has a better chance of
learning to spell, especially if the instruction is structured and multisensory.
If their visual recall is weak, students who have trouble spelling will
continue to misspell words no matter how frequently they have seen them
in their reading. Two other avenues for spelling—the auditory and kines-
thetic—stand a better chance of success.
English is a Germanic language and most English words are phonetic.
The auditory sense can be trained. Auditory discrimination and recall do
respond to training, provided the language is broken down into its compo-
nent parts (single sounds) and provided these parts are built into longer
sequences gradually and in logical fashion. Training in phonics is always
worthwhile.
The kinesthetic sense involves the feeling of movement as the hand
writes the word. Grace Fernald taught young children to read and write
only by tracing, and it worked. However, it is not an ideal method, and had
she not been hearing impaired, she would doubtless have used phonics in
her teaching.
Another less appreciated form of kinesthetic involvement is that of the
movement of the speech organs. Naming the letters aloud as one writes,
the Orton-Gillingham S.O.S. or Simultaneous Oral Spelling, reinforces
language in two ways—through the kinesthetic sense as the student feels
the movement of the speech organs and through the auditory sense as he
hears the word spelled.
It is important to explain this principle to students, who are less likely
to resent being asked to write a word five or ten times if they understand
the purpose of the exercise—that “your hand will tell your brain how to
spell it.”
Much of spelling is logical and involves making the correct choice from
two or more possibilities in accordance with rules and generalizations.
Learning how to make correct choices can be fun for both teacher and
student. Most spelling rules have few exceptions—many have none—and
they are well worth teaching. Even more useful is the series of generaliza-
tions that deals with correct choice of diphthongs (ow/ou, oi/oy, au/aw, etc.)
and of long-vowel spellings.

What makes for an effective spelling program? Certainly the weekly
spelling test is inefficient. These ten or fifteen weekly words will pose no
problem for the natural spellers in your classroom, but the struggling
speller worries all week about Friday’s test—often spelling the words aloud
at the dinner table or in the car on the way to or from school. Even if he
passes the test on Friday, he is likely to forget the words by the following
Monday. Furthermore, most spelling lists contain words from all three
groups: those that are phonetic, those that are governed by certain rules,
and those that are non-phonetic. The teaching—and learning—procedure
for each is different.
What makes for an effective spelling program? Certainly

the weekly spelling test is inefficient. These ten or fifteen
weekly words will pose no problem for the natural spellers
in your classroom, but the struggling speller worries
all week about Friday's test.
Phonetic Words
Most students know the sounds of consonants because most letter names
contain their sound, e.g., ef, em, jay, kay, es.Vowels are more problematic.Io
begin with, vowels have both long and short sounds. These terms are in
themselves confusing. In working with some students, it may be best at first
to use the terms “sound” for “short” and “name” for “long.” Later you can
refer to them as “short sound” and “long name” and eventually use the
standard terminology. Long vowels are no problem; with few exceptions,
they simply say their name. Short vowels are much more difficult to
discriminate, even for older students. With young children, it helps to use
keywords. I have found the following useful, as each one can be related to
a letter sound, a gesture, and a picture. And because these are two syllable
words, the vowel can be readily isolated.
ECHAPTER EIG EIT st) *SPEMEING 99

Short Vowel Keywords
a apple /a/_ The mouth is wide open, ready to bite the apple, and
the hand pretends to hold the apple.
€ eddy /e/ The index finger forms the letter e and continues to
swirl, forming an eddy.
i itchy /i/ Hold up the index finger. The dot on the / is a
mosquito that just gave you an itchy bite on the
back of your hand.
O olive /o/ With thumb and index finger, form the letter o.in the
shape of an olive.
u upper /u/ __ Hold the index finger and thumb up to shape a u.
Move it upwards.
You may need to explain that an eddy is a swirl of water in a stream or

the shape of water running down a drain and that upper means toward the
top, as in the upper bunk. For a reproducible list of these sounds, keywords,
and picture cues, see the appendix.
Never tell students to “go study their sounds.” This is an in-class activ-
ity. Practicing this regularly in the classroom will help students remember
the sounds for these troublesome letters.
Do not despair if the short vowels prove a sticking point; tell your
students that these are the most difficult sounds in our language. Show
these students who continue to confuse e and i that short e is formed with
the lips relaxed and short i with the lips tense, as in a smile. Another activ-
ity is to label paper cups, either with all the vowels or with a pair they find
confusing. Then, as you call out a vowel, have the student drop a chip or a
penny into the right cup.
Older students will resist the keywords and gestures. Instead, teach
them a short sentence that contains the vowels in order: wax melts in hot
sun, or, even better, ask Ed“Is Oz up?” Drill older students with dictated lists
of three-letter nonsense or detached syllables. Having the student stop and
tell you the vowel sound first may help. Do not dwell exclusively on short
vowels, even for a day; they are tough and will require work over an
extended period of time.
If you find any problems with consonant sounds, address them as they
occur. For instance: /m/ is pronounced with lips together, /n/ with lips
parted, /b/ is made with the lips, /d/ behind the teeth. The /f/ sound is
unvoiced, while /v/ is voiced (have the student place his hand on his throat
to feel the distinction).

Students for whom English is a second language will have different
needs. Native Spanish and French speakers are likely to have problems
with /ch/, a sound that exists infrequently in their language, and with the
letter j, which is pronounced /h/. And of course Spanish, Italian, and
German vowels are quite different from American vowels.
Phonetic words are best practiced by the teacher’s dictating them with-
out previous study. Ideally, young children should be writing them on the
board. Have them face you, repeat the word you've dictated, finger-spell the
sounds (see note for procedure p. 100), then turn around and write the
word on the board.
Little fingers often get tired of writing, so spelling with manipulatives is
a good activity. Plastic letters are available at most educational publishers
and supply stores. An inexpensive method is to buy a set of poker chips, put
round sticky labels on both sides (you do not want students to waste time
turning them over), write the letters on each and underline them lightly so
as to avoid confusion with 0, d, p, q, etc. If you are working with a small
group, you need a set for each child. | usually save the red chips for vowels.
Each set can be stored in a plastic baggie or small storage box. In the begin-
ning, give young children about ten letters to work with. Eventually, they
will use the whole set, which they can arrange in two rows (a—m and 1-2).
Your script for young children might go something like this:
“Spell mat."
“Good. Can you change mat to sat?”
“O.K. how about hat?"
“Now, this is more difficult: change hat to ham"
“If | take away the h, what is the word?”
“O.K. Put the h back. Now, be careful, and change ham to him."
“Spell fan.”
“Change fan to fin."
“Can you change fin to fine?”
“How about fine to mine?"
This activity builds phonological awareness, essential for good spelling.

At first, when you ask students to change a word, they will put everything
back and start from scratch. It may be a while before, even with three-letter
words, they unerringly know which letter to remove. Once they are using
the entire alphabet, you will notice at first that they search all over the place
for the letter they need; later on, as their knowledge of the alphabet
GHAPTER EIGHT *% VSP EELING 101

improves, they will be quick to locate the needed letter. Most students, even
fourth graders, will enjoy this activity.
In the classroom, where instant feedback is crucial, you should follow
a slightly different procedure. Dictate words from the phonetic sounds
you are working with. Suppose you want to practice 00 as in moon. Dictate
the oo words one at a time, and ask a student to spell the word. For real
beginners, you might want to put lines on the board to show the number of
lettersi(eea2) for spoon). Have students spell the word on their paper,
then write the word on the board. Establish a rule: “If you misspell a word,
circle it and write the correct word next to it. If you do this, I will count the
word as correct.” This procedure will teach students the benefits of revising.
After they see the correct spelling, most students who have misspelled it
will correct their papers.
Three kinds of syllables make up about 95% of all English words. They
are open syllables, closed syllables, and silent-e syllables. Open syllables
end with a vowel and the vowel is long, as in no. Closed syllables end with a
consonant, and the vowel is short, as in not. Silent-e (or vowel-consonant-e)
syllables end with silent e and the vowel is long, as in note.
With older students, you may want to begin with dictation of open,
closed, and silent-e syllables to be placed in the correct column on the
board or on the students’ papers. The following procedure will make the
dictation of single syllables more fun, as well as less babyish. Prepare sheets
for the students with sophisticated words that are missing one syllable.
Then proceed to dictate the word for the student to fill in the syllable and
then write the entire word.
Syllable Practice for Older Students

Your dictation Students’ paper
1. alphabet 1. alpha___
2. demonstrate 2.____ onstrate
3. trifle 3.__fle
4. rotation 4.ro__ tion
5. porcupine 5. por___ pine
6. democrat 6. dem___crat
7. ventriloquist 7. Ventrilo
8. refreshment 8. re____ ment
9. intervene 9.inter_
10. promotion 10. pro____tion

When it comes to spelling, there are some important generalizations to
be learned about some troublesome pairs. In the first place, when writing
the /s/ sound, use c whenever possible, i.e. before e, i, or y. There is a similar
rule for the /j/ sound: g is much more common than j and should be used
whenever possible. Since s has a/z/ sound between vowels, you have to use
c in such words as rice, nice, office, etc.
Vowel Teams
After students have mastered open, closed, and silent-e syllables, they
can be introduced to the next three kinds of syllables: vowel syllables,
r-controlled syllables, and consonant-le syllables. Vowel-team syllables
include words such as boat, read, and moon. Technically, vowel pairs are
called vowel digraphs, but it is best to refer to them as vowel teams or
vowel/vowel combinations. Avoid the term diphthong, as it means some-
thing else entirely. In r-controlled syllables, e.g., car, fort, her, the vowel is
neither long nor short, but has a special sound. Consonant-le syllables
include words such as maple, apple, bugle.
By far, the most difficult of these is the plethora of vowel teams.
While languages such as German and Spanish have about four, there are
nearly thirty of them in English. Consider, for instance, only those
involving the letter o (04, oe, 01, 00, ow, ou, oy) or u and w (aw, ew, ow, aU,
eu, ue, ul). Clearly, there are many, and they must be organized in some
fashion for our students.
While the order in which these are introduced does not really matter,
many teachers begin with those that do not form a long vowel sound so as
to avoid confusion with the silent-e syllables. Thus we could start with:
oi as in boil
oy as in toy
00 as in food and good
ou as in house
ow as in brown
And continue later with:
au as in Paul
aw as in awesome
GHAPTER EIGHT * SPHEELING 103

You can make some wonderful posters for your classroom using these
key words. Mine have the following:
Boil the toy. (Witches are boiling a teddy bear.)

Food is good. (A delicious looking platter of fruit.)
Brown house. (Just that.)
Paul is awesome. (Paul can be a snowboarder or a weightlifter.)
When students are stuck on a sound, I watch their eyes go to the

posters. ;
For the three elementary—level spellings of /er/, my sentence is “Her
bird is hurt” and is appropriately illustrated.
Next, begin to introduce the long vowel spellings with key words that
lend themselves to illustration:
a, a-e, al, ay sail away

e, e-e, ee, ea see the sea
i, i-e, igh, y night sky
O, O-€, 0a, OW the boat is slow
u, u-e, ue, ew rescue a few
Using these key words will enable you to teach this story as a
mnemonic: “We sailed away to see the sea and the night sky. Although our
boat was slow, we were able to rescue a few.”
These spellings should be memorized as soon as possible and recited in
this form: “Open syllable a, a-consonant-e, ai, ay.” A word of caution: do
not teach “when two vowels go walking, the first does the talking,” for you
will be wrong 55% of the time. It is far better to teach children to regard the
pairs as vowel teams working together to make one sound.
Knowledge of these long-vowel spellings is the single most helpful
material older students can acquire. Many students know instinctively when
a word is wrong. A student who is sure of the range of possibilities and who
can take a moment to think and to write them out, will almost unerringly
choose the correct spelling, even when there are several possibilities.
That the vowel is used alone in an open syllable (open-syllable a, e, i, 0,
and u) will save a student from such errors as occaision, toetal, or sealect. In
each case the open-syllable spelling is a fairly clear-cut choice and it is only

the mid-syllable spelling that varies. If you stick with these four spellings,
you can begin to do this work even with third graders. The instructions in
phonics manuals such as Gillingham Manual are useful, but should be sim-
plified and adapted, as shown below, since the rare spellings included in
the manual are better postponed or omitted altogether (words with these
rare spellings are best learned in groups as the need arises). In each case,
make a chart with four columns.
Longa
open syllable mid-syllable choice end of word
a a-e al ay
baby safe sail play
Lists of words should be dictated for the student to place in the appro-
priate column. Always, she is asked to give a reason: open syllable,” “end
of word,” or “mid-syllable and it could be a-e or ai, but I think it is...” Note
that a-e is more common than az in the final syllable of a multisyllabic word
(e.g., migrate, separate, engage, brigade, and regale, although tain is used in
such words as contain, retain, and detain).
The long-o spelling follows the same pattern.
Long o
O o-e
as 0a ow
pony home — boat snow
Again, in the final syllable of a multisyllabic word, o-e is more common

than oa, as in postpone, erode, and envelope.
Long/
I-e igh y
spider pine night sky
CHAPTER BIGHT. « “SPELT EUNG: 105

The 7 pattern is the same, but igh is relatively rare and is usually found
in monosyllables ending in t (e.g.,5 light, fright, flight, bright, and sight).
Longe
open syllable —mid-syllable choice end of word choice

7.
e é-e ee” Ga
secret eve see. 86a
The e pattern is more complex. In the middle of a word, there is a three-

way choice (e.g., mete, meat, or meet), but in longer words, e-e is more likely,
hence complete, compete, extreme, sincere, and athlete. At the end of a word the
choice is between ea and ee, but long words always end in ee (e.g., degree,
employee, and committee).
In the four long-vowel spellings above, the combinations ai, 00, igh, and
ea occur for the most part in Anglo-Saxon (short and common) words. The
struggling speller often overuses these spellings.
Long u
open syllable = mid-syllable choice end of word choice
u u-e ue ew
music mule rescue few
The long-u spelling differs in that the choice occurs in the final spelling.
Note that ve is more common than ew. Until the student is thoroughly
familiar with these choices, the other possibilities should be postponed.
Wait at least a month before introducing the rare spellings.
By the time students are in middle school or high school, you might
want to use complete charts that include all possible spellings.

Chart of All Possible Spellings
Common Rare
a-e ai ay ea el eigh
e-e ea ec ie el
i-e igh y yre
O o-e oa ow oe
u-e ue ew eu
Patterns and Rule Words
Spelling rules need to be kept to a minimum and taught in as simple a form

as possible. Many patterns can be introduced casually as the need arises
and practiced and drilled as needed.
Spelling Rules
¢ If you hear a at the end of a word, write ay (play, day, delay).

elf you hear o at the end of a word, write ow (snow, window,
throw).
* Never end a word in v (have, give, live, love, expensive).
e Never write s after x (the letter x takes care of that sound).
e Always put u after g (quit, queen, quiet).
e When you hear z write s except in some special words (zoo, zip,
zoom, fuzz, buzz, jazz).
e If you hear g, write cu (peculiar).
e If you hear k, write ca (education).
e If you hear m orn write en or em (envy, employ).
¢ If you hear r, write ar (argument).
e If you hear x write ex (expect).
e If you need an /er/ sound after w, use or (word, work).
e W and qu make a sound like o (was, watch, quality, quantity).
e End nouns with us, adjectives with ous (fungus, dangerous).
Other rules require more formal teaching.
Chere RSE EG Hal eS PES WING 107

Long Spelling after Short Vowel
This is a useful rule with four applications. In the charts below,
V stands for vowel and C stands for consonant. Note that if a
consonant precedes the /ch/, /j/, or /k/ sound or C-/e syllable,
the short spelling is used regardless of the quality of the vowel
(e.g., punch, bilge, milk, and rumble). The last one deals with
the consonant-/e syllables.
V+ tch VorC+ch
catch coach
hitch teach
notch bench
hutch slouch
fetch starch
V+ dge VorC+ ge
bridge huge
wedge wage
dodge large
fudge bilge
badge stage
V + ck VorC+k
tack take
snack snake
pick pike
deck milk
smock smoke
V +CCle VorC+Cle
saddle bridle
riddle brindle
ripple rifle
raffle rumble

First have the student tell you in which column to place a word until you
are sure she understands. Then, dictate words for her to place in the appro-
priate column. At first, avoid exercises that require the student to insert tch
or ch in a word that is partly written because such exercises are confusing.
Use dictation or exercises that require the student to write the entire word.
For instance:
Our team has a helpful (coatch/coach)

| like to ride my (bike/bick)
Get your glove; let's have a (catch/cach)
To cross a river you go over a (brige/bridge)
Lemonade is a great (drinck/drink)
At the park, you can sit on a (bench/bentch)
On the edge of the road is a (ditch/dich)
A kind of long coat is a (cloack/cloak)
On the bottom of the curtain is a (frindge/fringe)
Food stays cool in the (fridge/frige)
Three rules have to do with the changes that occur when a suffix is
added. Begin by teaching two kinds of suffixes: vowel suffixes and conso-
nant suffixes, then teach the rules that follow next.
Vowel Suffixes Consonant Suffixes

(begin with a vowel) (begin with a consonant)
-ed -ly
-ing -ful
-er -ness
-est -less
-OUS -ment
ayy,
Silent-e Rule
For words ending in silent-e:
Drop the e before a vowel suffix.

Keep the e before a consonant suffix.
like + ing = liking

like + ly = likely
CHARTER EGE Va (SIRE ING 109

The doubling rule, termed the “one-one-one” rule is often presented
as in “words of one syllable ending in one consonant after one vowel, dou-
ble the final consonant before a vowel suffix.”Itis complicated because it
involves the student’s checking four things. The following is a simpler way
of presenting this rule and can be more easily learned and remembered by
}
younger and struggling students.
The Doubling Rule

Step 1: Teach the student to identify CVC words, those ending in
consonant-vowel-consonant. At first, they may need to label the
last three letters; later they can just use their eyes. Practice this for
a few days.
hop lead : help
ship trap strap
run boat rip
drop fish yelp
lend need stop
read spout shout
crab scrap melt
fog drip trip
sun lead loop
rain slip drip
win stamp shop
Step 2: Now you are ready to teach the rule “Short CVC words
double before a vowel suffix.”
Students can place check marks before each element in exer-
cises like this. Have them ask themselves: Is the base word CVC?
Is it a vowel suffix? If both answers are yes, they can place two
check marks, which means they should double the consonant.
Doubling the Consonant

run /+ ing Y= running
stop /+ ed Y= stopped
read + er = reader
wet /+ est /= wettest
wet + ness = wetness
fog /+ y Y= foggy
hot /+ er “= hotter
hot + ly = hotly
WRITING SHILES TEACH

ER’ S ELAND BOOK
Unless you have students who are spelling at a high school level, do
not bother to teach the so-called extension of the doubling rule, which
involves multi-syllabic words accented on the last syllable (e.g. referring
and propelled).
Another rule not worth teaching is the one involving the choice
between ie and ei. The latter includes many exceptions and is best taught by
having students learn groups of words as the need arises. Moreover, mis-
spellings involving these two rules are errors that a spell-checker will catch
instantly.
Y Rule
Never drop the y. Either keep it or change it to /.
For vowel + y, keep the y:

employ + er = employer
employ + ing = employing
employ + ment = employment
employ + able = employable
For consonant + y, change the y to / unless the suffix begins with /:

carry + ed = carried
carry + ing = carrying
happy + ness = happiness
happy + ly = happily
study + ed = studied
study + ing = studying
The y rule is the most difficult for students. The silent-e rule and the
doubling rule can be taught to second and third graders, but may well need
to be re-taught and introduced in subsequent grades. After giving students
practice in putting rules together, the next step is to dictate words and ask
students to take them apart, as this is what they must do when writing on
their own.
nervous slipped prettiest
What is the base? What is the base? What is the base?

What is the suffix? What is the suffix? What is the suffix?
Which rule will you use? Which rule will you use? Which rule will you use?
What will you do? What will you do? What will you do?
CHAPTER EG Til we “SPI ATING

Ad
As well as improving spelling of these words, a knowledge of the suf-
fixes involved serves as an introduction to morphemes, the smallest units of
meaning. All prefixes, suffixes, and roots are morphemes and a knowledge
of these forms the basis of the advanced language study that is the next
step for students. Students encounter these words beginning in the fourth
erade, when they begin to work regularly in textbooks. The sooner they
become familiar with these Latin elements of meaning, which form 55% of
our language, the better.
Non-Phonetic Words and the Personal Spelling Pack

These tricky, nonphonetic words are sometimes referred to as “red words”
or “spelling demons.” Mostly of Germanic origin, they appear frequently
(all the words on the Dolch list fall into this category). They usually contain
vowel teams and silent letters, and are an endless source of trouble in
spelling.
One of the reasons why many struggling writers are accused of being
careless spellers is that they often misspell most readily the common sim-
ple words but spell longer words correctly. The trouble is that errors such as
thay, wus, whith, whitch, siad, and frome were learned very early, when the
perceptual processes were at their least mature, and they have been prac-
ticed this way ever since.
These commonly misspelled words can be corrected by using a per-
sonal spelling pack. Place these difficult words on three-by-five index cards
for practice over a long time. They should be written repeatedly, used in
sentences, and dictated until they have been spelled correctly on at least
three successive occasions. They should then be reviewed from time to time
throughout the year. Words selected from students’ own writing will be
more useful than those taken from any list. The words in students’ active
vocabularies are the ones they most need to know.
Words for spelling should be written in felt-tip pen on the unlined side
of the card. Grouping similar words is helpful, as is any picture cue or
mnemonic device. Keep the words in a box or small expanding envelope.
Words should be marked with a check for correct or with an X for incorrect
each time they are dictated. Make the marks across the top of the card, from
left to right. After a word has been spelled correctly three times in a row, it
can be retired. Draw a vertical line after the third check to indicate that a
word has been retired. These words can be placed in a box designated as

the “graveyard,” where they may rest in peace except for periodic review.
Students will take pride in the number of cards that they have retired. If you
are working with a large group or a class, students can pair off and take
turns dictating one another's spelling pack words.
Latin-Based Words
Latin-based words, which, incidentally, came into the language not with
Julius Caesar, but with the Norman French beginning in 1066, form 55% of
our language. Begin by teaching a few of the more useful prefixes. Place
these on cards with the prefix on the front and, on the back, a keyword
followed by the meaning. When shown the card, you want the student to
read it, give the keyword and then the meaning. The keyword is crucial to
fixing the word in the memory. To the student, there is no reason why sub-
should mean under, unless they can see it in context in submarine. A few of
the easier prefixes and their meanings follow:
Common Latin Prefixes
Prefix Keyword Meaning

sub submarine under
con connect together
trans transcontinental across
inter international between
ab absent away
ex exit out
pre preheat before
ob object against
ad advance towards
Some prefixes have two meanings and students have to master both:
in- can mean both not and in (insane and invade); re- can mean both again
and back (repeat and reverse); and dis- can mean both not and apart (disagree
and dismiss).
When students have mastered these, introduce a few common roots
so that students can begin combining prefixes and roots. Use the same
procedure of having students repeat the key word and then the meaning.
CHAPTER EIGHT ~ SPELLING 113

Common Latin Roots
Root Keyword Meaning

port portable to carry
ject eject to throw
aud audience to hear
fid confidence to trust
mit transmit to send
rupt erupt to break
spect spectator to look
duct conduct to lead
cred credible to believe
cur current to run
Some roots have more than one form because they were derived from
different forms of the verb. For example, mit (to send) also has the form
miss, as in mission, which derives from the past participle. Vid (to see) also
has the form vis as in visible, also derived from the past participle of the verb.
Later, or for older students, you can introduce more roots and prefixes
as well as the assimilated or “chameleon prefixes” that result in innumer-
able double letters in Latin-based words (see the chart above). This work
will benefit not only spelling, but also vocabulary and word knowledge.
It is not worth having students memorize the meanings of suffixes
because their main function is to determine part of speech. It is helpful to
introduce them, however, and to discuss their meanings.
Common Latin Suffixes
Noun suffixes
-ment (experiment, monument, document)

-ence (experience, difference, preference)
-tude (attitude, platitude, multitude)
-ity (activity, complicity, density)
-or (actor, doctor, inspector)
Adjective suffixes
-able (marketable, portable, reasonable)

-ible (possible, visible, edible)

-ive (active, expensive, inventive)
-Ous (famous, perilous, miraculous)
-al (final, local, instrumental)
Verb suffixes
-ize (realize, rationalize, sympathize)

-ate (eliminate, confiscate, elevate)
-fy (identify, solidify, ratify)
-ate (educate, proliferate, deliberate)
Later, students can be introduced to some of the other complexities of

Latin-based words, such as the spelling of /sh/ as ci, ti, and si (suspicion,
nation, and tension), the connective 7 pronounced long e (medium, insomnia),
and the syllables du pronounced /joo/ as in graduate, and tu pronounced
/choo/ as in actual. Practice with these and other advanced elements is
provided in books suggested in the Reference section.
Greek Words
Even elementary students run across words derived from the Greek, such
as school, echo, ache, gym, cycle, phone, and photo, although it is not until high
school science that these words come flooding in. Tell young students about
these words, explain that they come from the Greek language (find Greece
on the map) and have fun teaching them the Greek code. Some of your stu-
dents might enjoy looking at the Greek alphabet and using it to spell their
names or other short words.
Greek Codes
The /f/ sound is spelled with ph (photo, philosophy).

The /k/ sound is spelled with ch (echo, stomach).
Y is used for both short and long i (gym, cyclone).
Sometimes the letter p is silent (pneumonia).

Sometimes m is silent (mnemonics).
CHAPTER EIGHT * SPELLING 15

The Dictionary and Computer Spell-Check
One of the problems with using a dictionary is that if you cannot spell a
word, you can’t look it up. Various dictionaries have been devised for strug-
gling spellers, but their use is limited. For one thing, the authors cannot
possibly conceive all of the creative ways in which a student can misspell a
word. Another problem is that the really poor speller seldom knows what
to look up. She cannot tell which words are wrong, and, short of looking up
every single word—a hopelessly slow process—she has no recourse.
A word bank provided by the teacher or smalhspelling dictionaries are
the most useful for struggling writers (see the Resource section for infor-
mation).”Just sound it out and use your invented spelling,” may work for
the child who has good phonological awareness, but many struggling
spellers are still developing those skills. Other students are inhibited in the
writing process because they are unwilling to write a word they cannot be
sure of spelling correctly.
Until a student can spell at a fifth or sixth grade level, there is not much
point in having him struggle with a large dictionary. It is better to simply
supply the words he needs or have him form the habit of writing on with-
out worrying about spelling. Moreover, for the student who has sequencing
problems—the very student most in need of a dictionary—the system of
alphabetical arrangement can be an overwhelming obstacle. The most use-
ful spelling dictionary for such students is the smallest and most practical.
EPS publishes A Spelling Dictionary for both beginning and intermediate
writers, both of which are good resources.
When the student is ready for the dictionary, practice looking words up
by referring to the guide words at the top of every page. Teachers can devise
exercises for this skill by creating several pages headed with guide words.
The student is then supplied with words written on post-it notes and asked
to stick them on the appropriate page.
While a computer with a spell-checker is indeed the salvation of many
students, it is not always the answer. Some high-school students often have
difficulty in choosing the correct spelling from the list the computer gives
them. And, even worse, the spell-checker may not always be able to rec-
ognize their misspellings. Teaching students to remove prefixes and suffixes
and to pronounce the word they want slowly and carefully may help them
come close enough for the spell-checker to help. Of course, a frequent prob-
lem they encounter is confusion with homophones or similar words, such
as our and are or where and were, whose misuse the spell-checker will not

recognize. Students should double-space their work and use a large font, at
least for the first draft of their papers, thereby providing themselves with a
more recognizable visual image.
Finally, voice recognition applications, such as Dragon Speak and Viva
Voce, are often troublesome and inaccurate, but are improving steadily.
Eventually, this may be the best bet for the speller who continues to struggle.
Conclusion
Spelling is endlessly fascinating, and you can make it fun for your students,
once you move beyond the mere memorization of lists. The more you, the
teacher, can learn about the English language, the better you will be
equipped to make the subject interesting for your students and to teach it
in such a way that they become intrigued. There is a great deal of material
available, some of which is listed in the Reference section, to help you and
your students along this path. Spelling does not have to be boring.
CHAPTER BIGHT x SPELLING sald

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Chapter Nine
Handwriting
According to current research, handwriting and writing skills go hand in

hand, and the teaching of handwriting is as important as ever, especially for
struggling writers. Handwriting plays a crucial role in writing fluency. “If
the formation of letters becomes automatic,” cites a report from the
University of Washington, “the child has more mental resources available
to think about what to say and how to say it during composing.”
Students with good handwriting skills achieve higher scores on stan-
dardized tests and on classroom work. In fact, handwriting affects every
grade a student receives, for written assignments are not read by machines
but by tired teachers, often at the end of the day or late at night, and the
poorly handwritten paper inevitably receives less credit. Rapid, legible, and
comfortable handwriting is important for success in all grades and for all
students, but especially for young students beginning to write.
Too little attention is paid to handwriting skills in schools. Few teachers
are trained to teach it, and often just ask students to recopy their work
repeatedly. Students with handwriting problems are commonly referred to
the Occupational Therapy personnel at school, or never receive help at all.
It is important to begin early—writing difficulties often begin before
first grade, when some children get a fist grip on the pencil (and who on
earth decided that their tiny hands should be equipped with those huge
pencils?). In Montessori programs, much attention is paid to activities that
prepare the hand for writing. The correct tripod grip needs to be established
as early as possible. Students should be taught to pinch the pencil between
the thumb and first finger. One useful exercise for strengthening these
muscles is one that can be practiced even at a later stage by opening and
closing an old-fashioned clothespin—the kind with a spring. Children
could do this while watching television. Then too, the horizontal shape of
the paper commonly used in elementary grades makes it impossible for the
elbow to pivot, and digital muscles become overused from the beginning.
In the first grade, many students learn to form the letters incorrectly. It is
interesting to note that young children often draw a person by beginning
CHAPTER NINE *® HANDWRITING 179

with the feet and working upwards; they'll to the same with letters,
particularly manuscript letters, which do not begin on the line. The tech-
nique, still in use in some places, of forming the letters a, }, d, g, p, and gq with
two strokes, sticks and balls, exacerbates matters. As one young student
remarked to me, “a, b, c, d—they’re all the same!” As far as he was con-
cerned, they were.
In most schools, cursive writing is not introduced until the middle of
third grade. The rationale is, of course, that the early introduction of cursive
writing would confuse children, since they would be dealing with two sets
of symbols. I might have believed this but for the fact that my first teaching
job was at the Ruzawi School in Southern Rhodesia. There, I taught the first
form of seven-year-old boys. They already knew how to write, having been
taught mostly at home. Their cursive writing was of a form and size that we
would expect of our fourth graders—and they didn’t even use double-lined
paper. European students learn elegant cursive writing in the early grades
before they ever learn to print. They show no signs of confusing manuscript
and cursive-letter forms, nor should they, for writing is a kinesthetic
process, dealing with the feeling of movement, whereas reading is visual,
looking at the words.
There is then no reason why cursive writing should not be taught to all
students from the beginning—they could learn to print in fifth grade when
they need to make maps and charts and fill out forms. For students who
have difficulty with language skills, however, there are several reasons for
insisting on cursive. To begin with, in cursive writing there is no question as
to where each letter begins—it begins on the line. The confusion with
forms is not merely a left-and-right reversal as with b/d and p/q; it is also an
up-and-down reversal as with m/w and n/u; hence the uncertainty as to
whether a letter begins at the top or bottom. Another reason for cursive is
that correct spelling is fixed more firmly in the mind if the word is formed in
a continuous movement rather that in a series of separate strokes with the
pencil lifted off the paper between each one.
Most of our adolescents still print, generally in an admixture of uppercase
and lowercase letters. When the transition was made to cursive, they never
picked it up. Cursive is often barely mastered by the end of third grade; the
summer intervenes, and the fourth-grade teacher is too busy with subject-
matter curriculum requirements to spend time on handwriting. Even students
who do write in cursive are prone to some odd formations, especially letters
such as a, d, g, p, and q made with the circles going in the wrong direction.

Often they never master the capitals. Teachers sometimes cannot under-
stand why students fail to capitalize, but the fact of the matter is that they
are never quite sure of capital letter formations.
It is almost always worth the trouble to go back and develop good cur-
sive writing skills with students at any age. True dysgraphia is rare, although
the diagnosis is often made. With older students, dramatic progress can be
achieved with a short period of intensive training, and the results repay the
effort. Even a week of daily work can make enough difference to encourage
a student to continue with what may have initially seemed a pointless exer-
cise or an awkward change of position, and two or three weeks of work will
almost always produce clear, legible script—the requisite speed will come
with further practice. However, it must be a period in which he is writing
only under the supervision of a teacher or tutor. If he spends an hour a day
with his teacher, then proceeds to revert to his old habits during the rest of
the day, the expected results many not be achieved. It is sometimes worth-
while to find the time during a school vacation period, or to make a special
arrangement with the school to work one-on-one with students who are
really struggling.
Grip, Position, and Posture

So where do we begin? In teaching—or re-teaching—handwriting, the
place to begin is with position, posture, and grip, rather than with letter
formation. During the period when new habits are being established, students
should practice scribbling exercises for ten minutes or so at a time.
Paper position is crucial. The paper must be slanted at a forty-five
degree angle—no more and no less. The hand must be able to swing across
the paper using the elbow as a pivot. If the paper is slanted too much, the
words will fall below the line; if not enough, they will fly off it. You can
attach strips of tape to the desk like train tracks to help students maintain
the proper position, or you can tape a \“ onto the desk as a guide.
Another trick, invented by a student of mine, is to turn under the corner of
the paper. The resulting fold is then kept parallel to the edge of the table.
Paper position is especially important to left-handed students, where
improper position may cause them to develop an uncomfortable and
ineffective hooked position, even by the end of first grade.
CHAPTER NINE *®* HANDWRITING 191

Paper Position
Right-Handed Left-Handed
Posture is important as well. Students must sit up straight. They spend

hours in school sitting at desks, often hunched over in a position that
inhibits their breathing. Both elbows should be on the table at all times
while writing. The elbows and the head form a triangle. This position sta-
bilizes the head and there is less head
movement during reading. Correct Posture 1
At first, you may need to tell your stu-
dents often about correct posture. Touching
their elbows lightly is often enough to
remind them. When working one-on-one,
the teacher should sit at a forty-five degree
angle to the student. Right-handed stu-
dents should be on the teacher’s right; left-
handed students should be on the teacher’s
left. In this position she can easily observe
the student's writing.
Teacher Position
Student Student
Teacher Teacher

Too often neglected are the size and height of |Correct Posture 2
the table—less than five feet by three feet is too
small. The student’s feet should be on the floor;
use a box or stool if necessary. Young children can-
not be expected to learn to write properly on a
table that comes up to their chins or seated on a
chair that leaves their feet dangling.
Pencil grip must be properly established.
Because the thumb and index fingers are the
strongest, they should grip the pencil. The third
finger forms a ledge below. The pencil rests in the
hollow between thumb and forefinger, and, if correctly positioned, will
point towards the shoulder. If the thumb is left sticking out, or tucked under
the index finger, or if some other incorrect grip is established, there will be
less control of the pencil. Students compensate for this by tightening up
their muscles, resulting in cramping and fatigue. The wrist should be kept
straight and fairly flat so that some of the movement can come from the
arm muscle.
Correct Pencil Grip
There are various pencil grips on the market, none of which are entirely
satisfactory, though they may be worth trying. Some pens and mechanical
pencils with shaped grips will work well for older students but may be
expensive.
CHAPTER NINE * HANDWRITING

(ee)
Pre-writing Exercises
With the foregoing established, you are ready to begin a series of exercises.
The first of these, which students have named the “windshield wiper,” is to
swing the pencil back and forth across the page. As the student does this,
the non-writing hand rests at the top of the paper and moves it upward
between two imaginary tracks. The hand serves the same function as the
roller on a typewriter, moving the paper upward so that the writing hand
can remain in the same position. Too often we see students trying to write
with one hand on their heads or in their laps and the paper sliding around,
or writing to the bottom of the page with arm dangling off the edge of the
desk. Both elbows should be on the table at all times.
Standing behind your student, place your hand over his hand, helping
him position his wrist and fingers correctly. Get him to close his eyes and
feel the proper position of arm, wrist, and fingers. As soon as he can do
this, continue the series of scribbling exercises called the “wind tunnel,”in
whatever direction seems easier. During this exercise the digital muscles
should be merely holding the pencil; the large arm muscle does most of
the work to create large, overlapping circles within the line. This exercise
can be difficult; the arm and posture need to remain relaxed—sometimes
closing or averting the eyes helps. Students can also listen to music when
practicing pre-writing exercises. Continue with other patterns, encouraging
and eventually establishing proper slant. For descriptions, models, and
applications of these exercises, see the Cursive Writing student books.
The Left-handed Writer
The left-handed writer often starts with an added handicap, that of writ-
ing with a hooked wrist. This position is always worth correcting, even ina
young adult. Sometimes it is reasoned that “his writing looks fine, so why
bother?” However, this position, which forces the tendon to stretch over
two joints, ultimately creates strain and tension. It is true that many adults
write in this fashion. Often at restaurants and in stores, I watch waiters or
clerks struggle to write up my check or sales slip with hooked wrist and
I’m tempted to say, “I could show you ...” The rapid writing required of
students in college or high school requires a speed and facility that cannot
be achieved in this position. Once at summer camp, a young counselor
watched us work and changed his writing of his own accord. When he
returned the following summer, he said, “For the first time, I’ve been able

to take all the notes I needed.” This faulty wrist position should be
corrected immediately from the first—not gradually. Once the correct
position has been established, the student should not be allowed to revert,
even briefly.
The position of the paper for the left-handed student is the mirror
image of that for the right-handed. Always the writing should slant back-
hand, away from the body. The initial scribbling exercises should be done
backhand as well.
Some right-handed students should also write with a backhand slant.
Often this can be decided on the basis of the initial scribbling exercises, but
there are a couple of other considerations. First, some students who are
right-handed but left-eyed will do better writing backhand. Then it is often
a good idea, even as a temporary corrective measure for those right-handed
students who have developed the habit of writing by flipping their wrists
back and forth so that their writing develops an excessive forward slant.
Writing backhand will force them to bring another set of muscles into play.
Persuading an older student to change his writing slant is not usually
difficult. Careful observation of school papers, especially those written
hastily, will often provide the necessary clues as to the most natural and
comfortable slant. A student whose writing slopes in various directions, or
one who has not succeeded in establishing a right-hand slant, despite years
of practice, may well be more comfortable writing backhand. Sometimes
straight-up-and-down writing may be the most comfortable and legible.
The three criteria for good handwriting—legibility, speed and comfort—
must always be kept in mind.
Formation of Lowercase Letters

In working with young children, letters should be introduced slowly, one at
a time. They need to be practiced on a vertical surface, which has the advan-
tage of using large muscles and the pull of gravity to strengthen the image.
Also, on a board, the eye, hand, and writing surface are lined up—some-
thing that children are comfortable with. Have you ever noticed small chil-
dren almost crawling up onto a table as they draw in order to achieve this
alignment?
Make use of sand trays, shaving cream, and other media for tracing.
Keep the activity interesting by varying the material, e.g. pasta bits, lima
beans, salt, sugar, colored sand, rice, etc. You can probably acquire old
CHAPTER NINE ®* HANDWRITING

samples of carpeting at little or no cost. Other nice surfaces for tracing are
velvet, fur, or textured wall paper (educators can usually get last year’s for
free at any decorators shop). Avoid sandpaper or any rough texture try it
and you'll see why. Note that two fingers should always be used for trac-
ing. Do this: write your name ona surface with your index finger. Now do
the same with index and middle fingers. Could you feel the difference?
When working on a whiteboard or blackboard, the steps are as follows.
Trace the model—which you should make about a foot high—several
times, perhaps using different colored chalk or markers for each tracing.
Copy several times. Erase or cover what the child has written and have her
try it from memory. Finally, and this is very important, she should do it with
eyes closed or averted. Writing that involves just the brain and the hand is
called kinesthetic writing. This technique is important for copying from a
board later on. Skilled writers copy from’the board with only an occasional
glance at the paper to position the hand.
It was Katrina de Hirsch who first taught me how closing down one of
the senses makes the others more acute. She used to tell the story of a little
girl who had difficulty in learning how to put on a coat. When she was
blindfolded, she quickly mastered the movement, and was always able to
do it after that. If we want to listen carefully, to judge the direction of a
sound, to tell whether or not someone is lying, or even to listen to music,
we instinctively close or avert our eyes; as though we know instinctively
that shutting off one sense strengthens the others.
Teaching a child to write with eyes averted or closed not only strength-
ens the motor pattern, but it also relaxes the muscles. Simultaneous Oral
Spelling (the Gillingham 5.O.S. device) provides another form of kines-
thetic reinforcement as the movement of the speech organs helps the
memory. As the student forms the letter, he says its name aloud—always
the name rather that the sound. Teachers often cannot be bothered to do
this, and older students are sometimes self-conscious, reluctant, or down-
right rebellious. But with some explanation and encouragement, most of
them will adopt the technique at least during tutorial sessions.
In Letters from an Actor, William Redfield says,” Most observers say to
actors: ‘How do you remember all those lines?’” and then he goes on to
quote Marlon Brando:
| am good when | forget. When | can sit on stage and think of

catching a fish. | have just sunk the hook, there's a tug on the end
of the line, and at that preoccupied moment | hear my cue. My
126 WRITING SKILES TBACHER S HANDBOOK

God, that is my line. And then | say my line, because the motor
memory will save you if you really believe. So | say my line, the
line | thought I'd forgotten, and it's good, man. It's really good.
This motor memory is indeed a powerful device, and one that we can-
not afford to deny our students if they are to learn to write, to spell, and even
to keyboard. Writing is not drawing, nor is it a visual process, but rather a
movement that must become fluent and automatic in order to be usefull.
Teaching Cursive to Young Children

Young children love writing with their eyes closed. Once the technique has
been introduced, they will say, “Can I try it with my eyes closed?” and are
thrilled at their success.
With beginners, explain that all cursive letters start on the line and end
with a finish stroke or “little smile.” Then use the “trace, copy, erase or
cover, and eyes closed” technique already described, and have children
name the letter as they form it. Especially with the more difficult letters, it
is important to give the child verbal cues. See the chart on pages 128-129.
Start with the four easy letters i, t, e, and |. As soon as students have
learned these four, begin writing words containing these letters (they have
to wait to the end to dot the i and cross the #). It is important that they learn
trom the very beginning not to raise the pencil off the paper until the word
is finished. I say to them, “Don’t lift up.” Then go on to m and n. Add u
(two 1’s without the dot) and p (swing up, go all the way down, backtrack,
and come around and finish), and practice with words. Then add the letters
that start like c (start on the line, climb around till they get to two o'clock,
stop, and go back around). Some teachers call them the “clock climbers.” In
this group are c, g, d, and q. At this point you'll have done fourteen of the
twenty-six letters and are well on your way. Continue practicing the old
words, always with simultaneous oral spelling, naming each letter as it is
formed.
Next comes r with a flat top like a table—never teach anything fancier
or the letter will end up looking like wu. Teach j, which starts like i and ends
like g. Add the easy letter y, which starts just like uv and then ends like g. At
this point your students know a, c, d, e, g, i,j, | mn, p, g,1,t,u, and y
and can write at least seventy words.
The next letter is f It is the only letter that goes both up and down.
(Start like |, go all the way down and then come forward to loop, just as you
CHAPTER NINE * HANDWRITING

dN 4
Cursive Letter Formations
Letter* Verbal Cue
é Le
“We Vv “hump hump hump smile" and “hump hump hump smile"
Ad “just like two /'s without the dot"

“swing up, go all the way down, backtrack,
gs and come around and finish”
S >\ ce aS “start on the line, climb around till they get to two o'clock,
stop, and go back around"
“with a flat top like a table”
“starts like i and ends like g”
“just like u and then ends like g”
“start like /, go all the way down and then come

forward to loop, just as you did with q”
“slant forward, straight down and give it a fat tummy,
now swing forward over the same line to finish"
“start like /, then make a hump and finish”
“just like /, but then go in and out”
“just like /, except that you come up and

then make your bridge"
“start like u but end with a bridge”
“start like u and end like v"
“go up from the line at midnight, go back around

and make the bridge"
“start with a sort of hump and end like g or j"
le
ee
ee
Se
eR “start on the line like a snake, go back and cross it"
* For left-handed letter formations, see Cursive Writing for Left-Handed Students.
13s WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Practice Words
Sree eee
it, ill, ell, let, eel, tell

a es a ee ee ee eee
in, mill, net, met, men, mit, ten, teen, tin, mitten
nut, hull, mull, mum and mutt
up, put, putt, pull, pun, pin, pill, lip, tip, and peel
at, cat, mat, pat, egg, leg, act, pact, am, add, dad, dam, man, an, can, apt, tap, pat, lag, quit,
queen, quill
run, rum, Car, art, arm, rip, ripe, part, rim, rat, reel, tree
jig, jump, jar, jam, jut, jell
yet, yam, yeli, yak, gym, yap, yip, yin and yang, yippee
if, fan, fin, fun, full, fill, fall, flop, flip, off, cuff, muff, puff, huff, gruff, stuff
is, aS, Sat, sit, Sip, Same, some, sin, sing, mass, pass, miss, fast, last, list, fist, mist
hit, hat, hut, hill, ham, him, hum, has, hip, ship, shut, shot, shell, shall, fish
kit, kiss, kill, keg, kite, keep, keen, take, lake, make, like, (practice ck alone first) lick, lack, rack,
luck, lucky, truck
bill, bit, but, bun, bus, bat, ball, bass, (show how the bridge has to be a little deeper for
connecting with e), be, bet, bell, best, (joining with r is also tricky) bran, brim
vat, van, vet, give, have, live
will, was, wasp, wash, want, wall, what, where, when
on, lot, got, not, hot, of, off, out, shout, loud, sound, top, pop, (and with two difficult joins)
or, for, nor and toss, moss, boss
zip, Zap, ZOO, Zoom, jazz, fizz, buzz
axe, tax, fax, max, wax, fix, fox, exit
CHAPTER NINE *®* HANDWRITING $29

did with q). Next, teach s (slant forward, straight down and give it a fat
tummy, now swing forward over the same line to finish). The next two
letters, h and k, start with a loop that comes straight down to the line.
(For h, just make a hump and finish. For k, you start the same, but then
go in and out.) Show students that this part is like a capital R.
Now you are ready for the four “bridge letters” b, v, w, and 0. When you
join these, you start in the middle of the next letter instead of going down
to the line. Work with these letters one at a time. Next teach v and w. Point
out their similarities.
Finally, work on 0, the “midnight raindrop.” (Go up from the line as if
you were going to make a“ clock climber” but stop at midnight and go back
around.) This difficult letter is thinner at the top than at the bottom, and is
shaped like a raindrop.
Now there are only two letters left, *and x, which are uncommon and
found in very few words. (The letter z starts with sort of a hump and ends
like g or j. The last letter, x, starts on the line and looks like a snake.) You
have to go back and cross it after you finish writing the word. Show children
how it is just like printed x, except for the initial upstroke and the finish
stroke.
At this stage, children can work on paper and begin to write phrases
and sentences. They can start work in the Cursive Writing Skills student
books if they haven't already. You can enlarge the pages for them if neces-
sary. Postpone capitals, except for [and the first letter in their name. Capital
[is “the sailboat letter.” (Start on the line, swing backwards and up for the
sail, come down and make the little boat with a point as you swing forward.)
Students can continue to print their capitals until the lowercase formations
are fluent and automatic. Practice a couple of alphabets every single day for
a long time. As soon as possible, have them write the alphabet on two lines,
a through m and n through z.
Teaching Cursive to Older Students

In the case of older students who have a lot of difficulty, the procedure
might well be much the same as with young children. But for those who do
not have to struggle, or who have perhaps had some exposure to cursive
writing, the letters can be introduced far more rapidly, as described below.
Whenever students have difficulty with a particular letter, revert to the pro-
cedure described above: talk the student through the letter and practice
“trace, copy, cover or erase, and eyes closed,” working on the board as
much as possible.

Once students have established the correct grip, writing position, and
posture, it is time to work on letter formation. Older students do not need
to learn letters in small groups, nor do they need to use specially lined
paper, although they too may benefit from writing on the board. Skipping
lines is always helpful and should be continued for some time into the
remediation process.
For model letter forms and exercises, see the Cursive Writing student
books.
Formation of Capital Letters

Capitals are difficult. Only when lowercase letters have been well estab-
lished should they be tackled. Many students fail to capitalize because they
are uncertain of the formation of capital letters. A dyslexic adult once told
me that his most difficult year in school was seventh grade. Throughout the
first six grades, the black and white alphabet charts hung above the chalk-
board and he could always refresh his memory with a swift glance. Then in
seventh grade, they were gone.
Capital letters are difficult because their forms are convoluted and they
begin in different places. Only four capitals begin on the line, and two of
them swing forward (g and s) and two backwards (i and /). Students who
have directional difficulties find these letters extraordinarily confusing. All
students need to have these letters presented in groups according to
beginning upstroke (e.g. the cane letters: h, k, m, n, u, v ,w, and y). The
teacher should provide many practice sheets carefully prepared for left- or
right-handed students and, at first, marked with the starting place—
initially, a little arrow and later, a dot.
Troublesome letter formations may have to be traced first, using the
“trace, Copy, cover or erase, eyes closed” procedure and working on the
board. Once the formations have been established, an alphabet of capitals
should be practiced for months along with the lowercase alphabet. Never
have students alternate capital and lowercase letters (i.e. capital a, lower-
case a, capital b, lowercase J, etc.) Nor should students ever practice
alphabets with all the letters joined. Finally, students should practice capitals
writing words; this is important because although most of the capitals are
connected to the following word, several are not. In tutorials, a quick and
easy way of reviewing capitals is to have the student simply form them on
the table top. Letters should be formed with two fingers and be several
inches high. Writing the capitals in this fashion can be a relaxing exercise
and is a good method of making sure their formations are established.
CHAPTER NINE * HANDWRITING 134

Instruction in the correct formation of numerals should be included for
all children. Even older students often misform the two-stroke numerals 4
and 5 (the latter when formed in a single stroke looks like s and causes
trouble when students start algebra) and have a problem with 8 which they
make as two circles (correct by telling them it starts like s.) Once learned
incorrectly, such errors are difficult to eradicate because of the power and
persistence of the motor memory.
OO WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Chapter Ten
Keyboarding:
The Alphabet Method
Although it is not a substitute for writing, keyboarding is an essential skill.

It forms yet another avenue for kinesthetic reinforcement of the language.
Furthermore, studies suggest that using a word processor to write compo-
sitions has a positive effect on both the quantity and quality of writing.
Keyboarding skills are becoming increasingly essential to education.
Students should learn keyboarding as early as possible—as soon as their
hands are large enough to use the keys.
Conventional methods of teaching keyboarding, designed originally
for typewriters, required strengthening the fingers by teaching the home
key letters first. Far too many students fail to learn the conventional
methods in keyboarding courses, and the methods in general use are
poorly designed. This is unfortunate, for using the Alphabet Method, most
ten-year-olds can master the keyboard in about half an hour. Keyboarding
Skills works well for students at all ages and abilities. The student book
presents the Alphabet Method step-by-step, and can be started as soon as
the student is ready to type.
The Alphabet Method teaches an alphabetic sequence with simultane-
ous oral spelling. But it must be taught as a motor process, not a visual one.
Cover the keys with a wooden or cardboard box. If you can’t cover the keys,
have students fix their eyes on the monitor.
Begin by explaining to students the significance of a conditioned reflex.
Then tell them that every time their fingers hit a letter, they will name the
letter out loud in order to make a connection. If they do so faithfully over a
period of time, the mere naming of the letter will cause the correct finger to
move. Eventually, just thinking of the letter will produce the same response.
Explain that keyboarding is done with four fingers. Name them pinky,
ring, middle, and index finger. The alphabet will be taught in small, manage-
able segments. The first five letters of the alphabet are formed with the left
hand. Have the student position his hand on the home keys and teach “a,
reach for b” by moving his index finger from f to b. After touching b, the
CHAPTER TEN * KEYBOARDING:

THE ALPHABET METHOD ise)
index finger returns quickly to its home key. Practice this until it is easy,
perhaps ten or twenty times. The next sequence, cde, is done with the mid-
dle finger. Once this is mastered, do the entire sequence—abcde—always
naming each letter aloud. Continue adding a group of letters and practicing
until it has been mastered, then going back to the beginning of the alpha-
bet and putting the entire sequence together. Follow the chart below.
Alphabet Method Sequence

Left hand
ab a reach for b
Cice middle finger
fg index finger, side by side
Right hand
hi index finger over for h, middle finger up fori

jk 3 home keys in a row
mn index finger does both, but go home to j in between
O ring finger up
Both hands
pq pinkies
rst index finger r, home key s, index finger t (the most difficult
sequence of all, this may need extra time)
uv index fingers up and down
Ww Xx ring finger up and down (x is awkward but seldom used)
y reach with the right index finger
Z pinky down
It is important that students name the letters as they type them. Older
students may resist this, and you can use your best judgment as to whether
they may say them to themselves. However, younger and beginning key-
boarders must say the letters aloud. It is vital to the success of this method.
Posture and hand position are important. Students may strain and
frustrate themselves if their posture is wrong. Chairs should be fully
upright, their backs should be straight, and their wrists should be off the
keyboard so that they have full access to all keys. Suggestions as to correct
posture, wrist, and finger position are best made at the very beginning and

then incidentally as the need arises. Too many instructions at first can be
discouraging.
For students who are having difficulty using correct fingering, explain
that each finger “owns a column.” You may also place a pencil on top of the
keyboard or keyboard cover at an angle to show students the direction in
which they will move their fingers. Once a letter other than a home key has
been pressed, students should quickly return to the home keys. If students
are forgetting to return to the home keys, suggest that all the other keys
are “hot” and that the fingers must be removed quickly. Here is a
mnemonic to help students remember which fingers do what.
Keyboarding Mnemonic
Left Hand
Pinky a, reach for b,

same finger c, d, e,
side by side f and g.
Right Hand
Index finger h, reach up for i,

jk, / three in a row,
mand n side by side,
ring finger up for o.
Both Hands
Pinkies up forp and q,

r, 5, t tricky for you.
Up for u, down for v.
Left ring finger up and down;
press w and x without a frown,
reach up for y and down for z;
now you have them all, you see.
After students know the alphabet, teach the space bar (pressed by
either thumb), and have them type alphabets with spaces between letters.
Next teach them the period (ring finger down). Teach period-space, period-
space, etc., and have them type alphabets with periods between each letter.
Finally, teacn the comma (middle finger down). Teach comma-space,
CHAPTER TEN * KEYBOARDING: THE ALPHABET METHOD 135

comma-space etc., and have them type alphabets with commas between
each letter. Make sure they are returning to the ready position between
each period and comma so they learn where it is.
Once the spacebar, period, and comma are learned, intersperse alpha-
bet review. Alter your exercises to keep students’ interest. Try dictating the
letter units out of sequence (jkl, h up for i, wx, rst, etc.) Once they’re all
comfortable doing this, start to give them isolated letters slowly (e, |, m1, t,
etc.). For variety, try timed alphabets. You can also have them type an
alphabet on their own and raise their hands when they are done. This
gives you a sense of each student's progress; they tend not to judge their
classmates’ work.
Daily practice will develop speed and accuracy. Accuracy is best devel-
oped by practicing short words. Students tend to want to correct their
errors; however, it is better at first to encourage them to ignore mistakes
and to keep practicing a sequence until they have done it correctly a
number of times.
Also, save time for play. Allow students to write words of their own
choosing, compose e-mail messages, write letters, etc.
Tell your students to “go as fast as you can but as slowly as you have
to.”In the classroom, you need to constantly gauge the students’ progress
and move them along at a rate that suits the group as a whole. This means
that it’s completely acceptable to assign one student the task of review
while you move ahead with the rest of the group. Play an active role in
teaching keyboarding. Move about the room to encourage students and
view their progress.

Appendices
7
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Appendix 1
Resources
Carreker, Suzanne. Word Detective: Discovering the History of the English Language.
Houston, TX: Neuhaus Education Center. (713) 664-7676. www.neuhaus.org.
A fascinating resource that will enable any teacher to make spelling interesting.
Hurray, Gregory. A Spelling Dictionary

forBeginning Writers. Cambridge, MA:
Educators Publishing Service, 2002. (800) 225-5750. www.epsbooks.com.
Based on published studies and the author's research, this reference book contains
1,500 high-frequency words, giving children a means ofspelling words correctly
without depending exclusively on the teacher. A dictionary section lists words alpha-
betically and includes blank spaces for students’ entries.
Hurray, Gregory. A Spelling Dictionary
forWriters. Cambridge, MA: Educators
Publishing Service, 2002. (800) 225-5750. www.epsbooks.com.
A Spelling Dictionary for Writers includes 5,500 more words for intermediate
writers. Includes a dictionary section and thematic thesaurus with
content-area words.
Johnson. Kristin, and Polly Bayrd. Megawords: Multisyllabic Words for Reading,
Spelling, and Vocabulary. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service, 2001.
(800) 225-5750. www.epsbooks.com.
This series offers a systematic, multisensory approach to learning the multisyllabic

words encountered from fourth grade on. Word lists build sequentially on phonic
and structural elements.
King, Diana Hanbury. English Isn’t Crazy: The Elements of Our Language and How
to Teach Them. Baltimore: York Press, 2000. (800) 962-2763.
www.yorkpress.com.
Essential for any reading or writing teacher, this book traces the English language
from its origins to the complex and extensive vocabulary we use today.
King, Diana Hanbury. The Writing Skills Series. Cambridge, MA: Educators
The student books provide practice in the skills and concepts discussed in the
Writing Skills Teacher’s Handbook.
KBE ERENCES AND RESOURCES 139

Rudginsky, Laura Toby, and Elizabeth C. Haskel. How to Teach Spelling.
Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service, 1997. (800) 225-5750.
www.epsbooks.com.
This comprehensive resource manual and corresponding workbooks provide a struc-

tured and graded method to plan spelling lessons for one student or for an entire
classroom.
Slingerland, Beth A. Phonetic Word Lists for Children’s Use. Cambridge, MA:
Educators Publishing Service, 1982. (800) 225-5750. www.epsbooks.com.
This large-print student booklet gives practice in decoding phonetic words.
Slingerland, Beth A. Teacher’s Word Lists for Reference. Cambridge, MA: Educators
This book oflists provides lists of words to use for teaching a specific letter, letter
combination, or spelling rule. It is used to teach decoding for reading (the visual
approach) and encoding for spelling (the auditory approach).
Treanor, John H. Exercises in English Grammar Books 1 and 2. Cambridge, MA:

Educators Publishing Service. (800) 225-5750. www.epsbooks.com.
These books provide a convenient reference

for grammar rules and sets ofstudent
Appendix 2
Reproducibles
Sentence Starters
Pronouns Adverbs Prepositions
Anyone Always Below

He Quickly Beyond
Her Finally By
His First From
My Happily In
Nobody Never Into
Our Not only
She Once
Only
Slowly
Sometimes
Soon
Suddenly
Tomorrow
Yesterday
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REPRO DUCT BIIEES

141
after even if till

although how unless
as if until
as if in order that when
as soonas since whenever
as though so that where
because that wherever
before though while’
Relative Pronouns
that
what
which
who
whom
whose
Coordinating Conjunctions
and
but
Or
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Aq d s1oyeonpy SuTYst|qng
“OATS UOTSSIUL
st IA] pajuess
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WENO
DIE TB AL ES
Making Lists
Topic:
143
The Basic Paragraph Plan
1. Start with a list. Use the topic as a title.
2. Create a good topic sentence.
3. Check the three or four ideas on your list that you want to use to support
your topic.
4. Turn each of them into a supporting sentence. .
5. Add a concluding sentence.
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REPRODUGIBLES
Topic:
The Basic Paragraph Worksheet
145
The Expanded Paragraph Plan
1 . Write the title and the topic sentence.
. Write the first supporting sentence, preceded by the word first, fol-
lowed by a comma. Add information.
. Write the second supporting sentence, preceded by the word next,

followed by a comma. Add information.
. Write the last supporting sentence, preceded by the word finally,

followed by a comma. Add information.
. Write your concluding sentence, which you can also expand.
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The Expanded Paragraph Worksheet
Title:
ES.
So
Detail 1 ; 7
Detail 1
cee
Detail 1
Detail 1
So:
Detail 1
Detail 1
Cs
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REPRODUCIBLES
147
The Five-Paragraph Essay
|. Introduction. This first paragraph has three parts and is the most diffi-
cult part of an essay to compose.
A. Introductory statements. These are designed to get the reader's

attention and to make him or her interested in your essay. If you
are writing a literary essay, the introductory statements establish
the identity of the author and the work to:be discussed.
B. Thesis statement. In a paragraph, the most important sentence is

called a topic sentence. In an essay, it is called a thesis statement.
You need to state as clearly andvas carefully as possible the point
that you wish to make or argue.
C. Plan. Mention briefly each of your supporting ideas in the order

in which you intend to introduce them. Doing this can help keep
you on track as you write.
ll. First supporting paragraph. This paragraph, and each of the supporting
paragraphs that follow, will add information in support of your thesis
statement. Supporting paragraphs will have their own topic sentences,
supporting sentences, and concluding sentences.
Ill. Second supporting paragraph.
IV. Third supporting paragraph.
V. Conclusion. In your concluding paragraph, review the main points you

made about your topic. Then, try to emphasize your thesis statement.
You can mention a personal experience, state an opinion, propose a
solution to a problem, or give the reader something to think about
after he or she has finished reading.
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The Formal Outline
Title or Topic:
|. Topic sentence: _
(l. First idea: =
A. Detail:
B. Detail:
C. Detail:
Ill. Second idea:
A. Detail:
B. Detail: -
CG Detail...
IV. Third idea:
A. Detail: _
B. Detail: _
C. Detail:
V. Concluding sentence:
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REZ ROO
Gh Bie ES:
149
Transitions
Example Writing Reason and Persuasion Writing
For example The first/second/third reason

Another example The final/last reason
The last example Another reason
For instance Yet another reason
Yet another example The main reason
A final example The most important reason
Therefore
Process Writing
As a result
To begin Another consideration
First
Comparison/Contrast Writing
Also
In the same way
At this point
Like/as
Next
Also
Then
When
But/yet/although
However
Finally
Otherwise
Classification Writing On the other hand
The first Even though
The second Concluding Paragraphs
The third
One kind As a result
Another kind Therefore
The last type Finally/lastly

The last kind In conclusion
In summary
To sum up
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yysuddo> payejoid
Aq sioyeonpy Sutysiqng
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REPRODUCIBLE
Why
Who
Narration
What
When
Where
The Five Ws
at
Revision Checklist for Paragraphs
_} Is your audience and purpose clear?
I] Do your paragraphs contain an introductory sentence,

at least three supporting sentences, and a concluding
sentence?
UL) Is your opening interesting? Will it make your reader want

to read more?
4 Do your details give clear, interesting information about

your topic? Are there any details that you should add?
Are there any that you should delete?
_) Does your conclusion express an opinion or attitude?
_] Did you use complete sentences and a variety of sentence

types?
_) Are your adjectives and adverbs vivid?
Is your paragraph in your best spelling and handwriting?
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Revision Checklist for Essays
UIs your audience and purpose clear?
_| Does your essay contain an introductory paragraph, at least

three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph?
J) Does your introductory paragraph contain a thesis state-

ment and a plan? Does your thesis statement express an
idea or opinion?
1 Do your supporting paragraphs provide clear, interesting

details? Are there any details that you should add? Are
there any you should delete?
U Does your concluding paragraph sum up the ideas in your

essay? Does it express an idea or opinion?
U Did you use complete sentences and a variety of sentence

types?
L) Are your adjectives and adverbs vivid?
UIs your essay in your best spelling and handwriting?
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REPRODUCIBLES
ioe
Letter Format
49 South Main Street, Heading

Amenia, NY 12501
March 4, 2004 Greeting
Dear Aunt Sally, =
Thank you for sending me a copy of

Charlotte's Web. I can’t wait to start reading noe
have already looked at all the pictures.
I had a wonderful birthday. Three of my best
friends came and we played hide-and-seek in the
yard. Then Mom barbecued some hot dogs. After
we ate, we roasted marshmallows. Later we went
inside and had birthday cake. ,
Sincerely,
Closing
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yysiddo> payajoid
Aq s1oyeonpy sulysyqn‘adtAIa¢
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REPRODUGIBLLES
Short Vowel Visual Cues
fae)
References
Allen, Rick. “Expanding Writing’s Role in Learning: Teacher Training Holds Key
to Change.” ASCD Curriculum Update, 2003, Summer, 1-8.
Allen, Rick. “Handwriting Mastery: Fluent Form is Crucial for Expression.”

ASCD Curriculum Update, 2003, Summer, 6.
Berninger, Virginia, Robert Abbott, et al. “Treatment of Handwriting Problems in

Beginning Writers: Transfer from Handwriting to Composition.” Journal of
Educational Psychology, 1997, 89(4), 652-66.
Jago, Carol. Cohesive Writing: Why Concept is Not Enough. Portsmouth, N.H.:
Heinemann, 2002.
The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges. The

Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution. Princeton, N.J.: College
Entrance Examination Board, 2003.
National Council of Teachers of English and International Reading Association.

Standardsfor the English Language Arts. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English and International Reading Association, 1996.
The National Writing Project and Carl Nagin. Because Writing Matters: Improving
Student Writing in Our Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. The

NEAP 2002 Writing Report Card for the Nation and the States. Washington D.C.:
National Center for Education Statistics, 2003.

Index
Alphabet Method, The, 133-134 interactive writing. See groups, working

applications, 45, 47, 51, 66 with
assessment, 79-84, 119 introductory paragraph, 70-74
audience, 54-55 Keyboarding Skills student book, 133
auditory sense, 98 keyboarding, ISB = 36: accuracy, 136;
clauses, 18; adjective, 24-25; adverb,
The Alphabet Method, 133-134:
23-24; main, 18; noun, 25-26; mnemonic, 135; position, 134-135;
subordinate, 18-19 posture, 134-135; speed, 136
chronological order, 46 kinds of writing, 43-68; classification,
classification writing, 49 49; comparison/contrast, 59-63, 70;
cohesion, 53 definition, 58-59: description, 64-65;
comparison and contrast writing, 59-63, 70 example, 44-46, 70; persuasion, 54-57;
concluding paragraph, 69, 76-77 process, 46-48; research, 67-68; reason,
coordinating conjunctions, 20-21 51-53, 69
Cursive Writing Skills student books, 124, kinesthetic sense, 98, 133
130,134 lead-in, 72
definition writing, 58-59 lists, 33-35
description writing, 64-65 memory, motor, 126-127
dictionaries, 15, 116 narrative writing, 66-68
essay, 67-78, 94-95; ational Assessment of Educational
concluding paragraph, 68, lard a
76-77; Progress (NAEP), 13, 79
concluding techniques, 76-77; Nation’s Report Card, the, 13, 43, 85
introductory paragraph, 69, 70-72; National Commission On Writing In
introductory techniques, 72-74; America’s Schools And Colleges, 43
supporting paragraphs, 69, 74-75; National Council Of Teachers Of
thesis statement, 69; transitions, 75 English/International Reading
example writing, 44-46, 70 Association (Nete/Ira) Standards, 43
expository writing, 43 outlining, 59-60
feedback, 14, 102 paragraphs, 33-42; concluding sentences,
tive Ws, the, 66 37; the five-sentence (basic) paragraph,
fluency, 11, 12 33, 38-39, 89-91; expanding, 39-42,
formatting, 39 92-94; supporting sentences, 35; topic
grammar, 13, 15, 41, 51; advanced, 23; sentences, 36; types, 44
for struggling writers, 29-31 parts of speech, 16-18; adjectives, 16, 64;
groups, working with, 89-95; with older adverbs, 16; nouns, 16, 26-27;
writers, 91, 93-94; with young writers, prepositions, 16; verbs, 16-17
89-91, 92-92 pencil grips, 123
handwriting, 119-132; capital letters, 121, personal spelling pack, 15, 112-113
131; cursive, 120; exercises, 119, 124; persuasive writing, 54-57
erip, 123; left-handed students, 121-123, phonics, 99-107
124-125; lowercase letters, 125, 127- phonological awareness, 101
128; with older children, 130; position, point of view, 47
121-122; posture, 122-123; verbal cues, prefixes, 113
128; with young children, 119-124 prewriting,C 33-35
Cc
INDEX
iS?
process writing, 46-48 standards, state, 13, 43-44
prompts, 79-84; descriptive, 80-82; struggling writers, 29-31
example, 80, 82-83; narrative, 80-83; subordinating conjunctions, 19
persuasive, 80, 82-84; grades 3-4, 80; suffixes, 109; Latin, 114-115
grades 5-6, 80-82; grades 7-8, 82; supporting paragraphs, 69, 74-75
grades 9-12, 83-84 syllables, 102
proofreading, 85-87 thesis statement, 69
purpose, 43-68, 69 topics, 34, 66; for classification writing, 50;
reading comprehension, 85-86 for comparison/contrast writing, 62-63;
reason writing, 51-53, 69 for definition writing, 59; for descriptive
relative pronouns, 19 writing, 65; for example writing, 46; for
research, 67-68 persuasive Writing, 57; for process
revising, 85-87; checklists, 85-86 writing, 48; for reason writing, 53
roots, 97-113-115; Latin 113; Greek, 115 topic sentences, 36
rubrics, 44 transitions, 42, 75; for classification writing,
run-on sentences, 21-22 49; for example writing, 46; for process
scribing, 89 writing, 48; for reason writing, 52
semicolon, 20-21 Vail, Priscilla, 29
sensory details, 64 verbals, 27-28; gerunds, 28; infinitives, 28;
sentences, 11-31; complex, 22; compound, participles, 27
20-22; diagramming, 16; quality, 12; voice recognition software, 117
structure, 18, 20-23; predicate, 18, 20; word sorting, 30-31
simple, 20; starters, 12, 20; subject, 18, Writing Skills student books, 13
20; variety, 12
short-answer questions, 12-13
Simultaneous Oral Spelling (S.O.S.), 126
speech-to-print. See voice recognition
software
spell-check, 116-117
spelling dictionaries, 15, 116
spelling, 13-15, 97-117; consonants, 100;
doubling rule, 100; Germanic/Anglo-
Saxon words, 97; Greek words, 115;
Latin words, 113-115; long vowels, 105-
106; mnemonics, 100, 104; nonphonetic
words, 112; personal spelling packs, 15,
112-113; phonetic words, 99-107;
phonological awareness, 101; prefixes,
113; roots, 97, 113-115; rules and
patterns, 107-112; short vowels, 99-100;
silent-e, 109; suffixes, 109; tests, 99;
vowel teams, 103-104, y-rule, 111

In this comprehensive guide, Diana Hanbury King
provides an essential foundation in teaching writing skills to
students at all levels of ability. Models, exercises, and strategies
for explicit instruction are especially designed for struggling,
at-risk, or beginning writers, while advanced grammar and writing
instruction helps proficient writers excel.
Special sections on spelling, handwriting, and keyboarding ae
build fluency and accuracy, and a chapter on standardized testing
provides practice prompts at various grade levels. Interactive
exercises allow teachers to share in students’ progress and make
writing a whole-group activity.
In coordination with the Writing Skills student books, the
Teacher's Handbook is ideal for differentiating writing instruction
in the classroom while addressing all the necessary components
of a complete, effective writing program.
The Writing Skills series includes the Writing Skills Teacher's
Handbook and seven student books:
Writing Skills Book A
Writing Skills Book 1
Cursive Writing Skills for Right-Handed Students
Cursive Writing Skills for Left-Handed Students
Keyboarding Skills
TSBN Dea 8a>e25bN-4
\e
EPSI
|

800.225.5750
www.epsbooks.com 80838"825

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EDUCATORS PUBLISHING SERVICE

Digitized by the Internet Archive

Book design: Joyce C. Weston and Karen Lomigora

Printed in the U.S.A.

From the Foreword to the First Edition

About the Author

Chapter One The Sentence

Chapter Two The Paragraph

Chapter Three Purpose: The Types of Writing

Chapter Four The Essay

Chapter Five Standards and Assessments

Chapter Six Proofreading and Revising

Chapter Seven Working with Groups

Chapter Eight Spelling

Chapter Nine Handwriting

Chapter Ten Keyboarding: The Alphabet Method i

Thanks to William Van Cleave for his sugegestions in the chapter on

My heartfelt gratitude to Theresa Trinder, Sethany Rancier, and Sheila

WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Writing is thinking in slow motion. We see what at normal speeds escapes

—Walter Kaufman, Tragedy and Philosophy

—The National Commission on Writing

WRITING SKILES TEACHER'S HANDBOOK

10 WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

It is important that the initial writing assignments be designed to build the

Writing fluency—the uninterrupted transfer of ideas—

GHAPTER ONE * THE SHNITENGE ple

Pronouns Adverbs Prepositions

Anyone Always Above

Many of these exercises should be done orally first, especially with

WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Who is the principal of our school?

Grammar and Spelling

CHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE 13

14 WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Student should learn a grammatical concept, then

GHAPTER ONE 3. LEE SEN TENGE

Suddenly, | jumped (out of bed).

As each part of speech in introduced, assign practice sentences to reinforce

Then vary the noun.

Do the same with adverbs.

WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

Then vary the verb.

she slept quietly

Later, try this exercise with prepositional phrases.

they walked (into the woods)

they walked (around the city)

they walked (across the tightrope)

Then vary the object of the preposition.

they walked (into the store)

they walked (around the park)

they walked (on the boardwalk)

CHAPTER ONE * THE SENTENCE

Present Past Future

Perfect Past Perfect Future.Pertect

Present Past Future

Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

WRITING SKILLS TEACHER’S HANDBOOK

after even if till

Subordinate Clauses with Subordinating Conjunctions

whenever | hear the phone ring

Relative Pronouns Subordinate Clauses with Relative Pronouns

Have students practice identifying and writing main and subordinate