The first two books of this series teach writing as a 5-step process (Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and Publishing). The step-by-step lessons use examples and easy-to-understand concept maps that teach brainstorming, planning, editing, and revising. Each lesson is followed by practice that includes a simple, time-saving scoring rubric. The third book teaches students techniques to strengthen their writing skills.
Level 1 teaches narrative (personal and story), opinion, and informative/explanatory writing for Grades 3-5.
Level 2 teaches argumentative, narrative, and informative/explanatory writing for Grades 6-7.
Essential Tips & Techniques This book teaches students techniques to strengthen their writing.
In order to express thoughts clearly and precisely to make writing come alive, the students will:
- Use vivid verbs, specific nouns, and strong adjectives
- Spot unnecessary adjectives and adverbs
- Recognize and correct pronoun antecedent confusion
- Use the active voice rather than the passive voice
- Be careful of qualifiers
- Correct issues with point of view
- Show, not tell
- Use sensory details
To write more interesting sentences that make writing flow in a logical manner, the students will:
- Vary sentence types: simple, compound, and complex
- Vary sentence beginnings
- Use effective transition words and phrases
- Use appositives to add meaning to sentences
To make writing more appealing to readers, students will use the following literary devices:
- Similes
- Metaphors
- Hyperbole
- Alliteration
- Repetition
- Personification
- Anthropomorphism
- Onomatopoeia