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English Standards of Learning

MIID DD DL LE E SC CH HO OO OL L

WRITING MODULES

IIN N S SU UP PP PO OR RT T O OF F

PR RO OJ JE EC CT T GR RA AD DU UA AT TIIO ON N

Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education

Richmond, Virginia 2008

Copyright ? 2008

by the

Virginia Department of Education P.O. Box 2120 Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120

All rights reserved

Reproduction of materials contained herein for instructional purposes in Virginia classrooms is permitted.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Billy K. Cannaday, Jr.

Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Patricia I. Wright

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Dr. Linda M. Wallinger

Office of Middle and High School Instructional Services Dr. Felicia D. Dyke, Director Tracy Fair Robertson, English Coordinator Karen Koory, Middle School English Specialist

Edited, designed, and produced by the CTE Resource Center

Margaret L. Watson, Administrative Coordinator

Bruce B. Stevens, Writer/Editor

Richmond Medical Park

Phone: 804-673-3778

2002 Bremo Road, Lower Level

Fax: 804-673-3798

Richmond, Virginia 23226

Web site:

The CTE Resource Center is a Virginia Department of Education grant project administered by the Henrico County Public Schools.

Notice to the Reader In accordance with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act and other federal and state laws and regulations, this document has been reviewed to ensure that it does not reflect stereotypes based on sex, age, race, or national origin.

The Virginia Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in employment or provisions of service.

Middle School Writing Modules in Support of Project Graduation

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. v

Prewriting Skills Deciding the mode.................................................................................................................................. 1 Identifying the audience and purpose .................................................................................................... 3 Asking questions to gather information needed for writing .................................................................... 5 Using brainstorming, freewriting, 5WH, and graphic organizers ............................................................ 6 Asking questions to elicit missing information and to clarify .................................................................. 8 Using the RAFTS strategy to unpack the prompt................................................................................... 9 Using graphic organizers and writing effective hooks .......................................................................... 11 Organizing ideas into categories and writing an outline ....................................................................... 12 Analyzing and planning persuasive writing .......................................................................................... 15 Developing and recognizing the features of written expression........................................................... 18 Using prewriting strategies for narrative writing, and then drafting ...................................................... 20 Using prewriting strategies for expository writing, and then drafting.................................................... 23 Using prewriting strategies for persuasive writing, and then drafting................................................... 25

Drafting Skills Writing effective paragraphs................................................................................................................. 28 Creating a brochure: informational writing............................................................................................ 29 Developing fluency, using drop-in words in a story .............................................................................. 32 Maintaining organization, clarity, central idea, and unity...................................................................... 33 Developing composing skills, lesson 1................................................................................................. 37 Developing composing skills, lesson 2................................................................................................. 39 Developing composing skills, lesson 3................................................................................................. 41 Developing written expression skills, lesson 1 ..................................................................................... 42 Developing written expression skills, lesson 2 ..................................................................................... 44 Writing effective dialogue ..................................................................................................................... 45

Revising Skills Revising writing..................................................................................................................................... 48 Adding specific vocabulary ................................................................................................................... 50 Elaborating with showing, not telling .................................................................................................... 52 Using specific vocabulary and elaboration ........................................................................................... 54 Combining sentences and embedding ideas by using modifiers ......................................................... 56 Adding sentence variety ....................................................................................................................... 58 Combining ideas into an effective sentence......................................................................................... 60 Forming complex sentences by using subordination ........................................................................... 63 Forming compound sentences by using coordination .......................................................................... 64 Combining and varying sentences ....................................................................................................... 65 Eliminating redundancy ........................................................................................................................ 66 Maintaining consistent point of view ..................................................................................................... 68 Using subject-verb agreement with intervening phrases and clauses ................................................. 69 Using pronoun-antecedent agreement, including indefinite pronouns ................................................. 72 Using adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs......................................................... 75

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Middle School Writing Modules in Support of Project Graduation

Using comparative and superlative forms of adjectives ....................................................................... 78 Including sensory details in descriptive writing..................................................................................... 79 Revising informational writing............................................................................................................... 82 Revising persuasive writing for voice and tone .................................................................................... 83 Applying knowledge of revision techniques to a persuasive draft........................................................ 85 Revising, editing, and publishing narrative writing ............................................................................... 87 Revising, editing, and publishing expository writing ............................................................................. 89 Revising, editing, and publishing persuasive writing ............................................................................ 91 Analyzing and revising one's own writing............................................................................................. 92

Editing Skills Using apostrophes in singular and plural possessive nouns ............................................................... 94 Avoiding run-on sentences ................................................................................................................... 96 Avoiding the use of double negatives................................................................................................... 99 Editing for correct use of commas ...................................................................................................... 101 Editing for usage and mechanics, lesson 1........................................................................................ 104 Editing for usage and mechanics, lesson 2........................................................................................ 106 Editing for correct use of quotation marks.......................................................................................... 108 Maintaining consistent verb tense across paragraphs ....................................................................... 109 Punctuating dialogue .......................................................................................................................... 110 Editing for errors in usage and mechanics ......................................................................................... 113 Using correct capitalization................................................................................................................. 115 Using homophones correctly .............................................................................................................. 117 Editing for differentiation of homophones........................................................................................... 121 Spelling frequently used words correctly............................................................................................ 124 Punctuating varied sentence structures ............................................................................................. 128

Miscellaneous Skills Creating, organizing, and using a writing portfolio ............................................................................. 131 Developing writing fluency.................................................................................................................. 136 Reviewing the steps of the writing process ........................................................................................ 138

Appendix A. Composing Rubric for Grade 8 SOL English Writing Tests ........................................................... 139 B. Written Expression Rubric for Grade 8 SOL English Writing Tests ............................................... 140 C. Usage/Mechanics Rubric for Grade 8 SOL English Writing Tests ................................................ 141 D. Revision Checklist Writing Portfolio ............................................................................................... 142

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Middle School Writing Modules in Support of Project Graduation

Acknowledgments

We wish to express our gratitude to the following individuals for their contributions to the Middle School Writing Modules in Support of Project Graduation:

Carolyn Perry Loudoun County Public Schools Allyson White Loudoun County Public Schools Rashida Johnson Alexandria City Public Schools Denise Fehrenbach Newport News City Public Schools Barbara Boyd Charlottesville City Public Schools Mary Ann Rogers Suffolk City Public Schools Dana Norman Bedford County Public Schools Rebecca Pierce Bedford County Public Schools Allie Hannon Chesterfield County Public Schools Suzanne Crawford Bedford County Public Schools Jennifer Presson Suffolk City Public Schools

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