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Quill Connect - Free Sentence Structure Activities

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Quill Connect - Free Sentence Structure Activities

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Quill Connect - Free Sentence Structure Activities

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Help your students advance from fragmented and run-on sentences to complex and well-structured sentences with Quill Connect.

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(NEW!)

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Student Assessment Home | Student Assessment Directory | Contact Student Assessment

The STAAR Alternate 2 Curriculum Framework documents list the reporting categories, knowledge and skills statements, and student expectations tested by STAAR in each grade and subject or high school course. TEA summarizes each knowledge and skills statement into an essence statement that serves as the connection between the grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the online system. The Curriculum Framework documents also list access points in the form of prerequisite skills that link to the students expectations on the Vertical Alignment documents for each grade and subject or high school course.

Teachers can use the Curriculum Framework to target instruction for the ten essence statements assessed each year. Teachers can determine where each individual student is performing on the framework document for each essence statement and focus instruction to move him or her to the highest student expectation he or she can attain for a given year.

To see all available STAAR Alternate 2 resources, visit the STAAR Alternate Resources 2 webpage. The links below open PDF (Portable Document Format) files.

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STAAR Alternate 2 TEKS Curriculum Framework Documents

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Student Assessment Home | Student Assessment Directory | Contact Student Assessment The STAAR Alternate 2 Curriculum Framework documents list the reporting categories, knowledge and skills statements, and student expectations tested by STAAR in each grade and subject or high school course.

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lead4ward resources reflect the TEKS eligible for assessment in the current school year. lead4ward resources for the new Science TEKS will be made available prior to the implementation school year of 2024-25. Side-by-sides are available on the Instructional Tools tab.

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for TEKS K-8

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from an NYOS Teacher

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Teachers Use Photo Prompts to Spark Writing - National Writing Project

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"The exciting thing about online communities is these challenges that people start creating," said Bonnie Kaplan, co-director and tech liaison of the Hudson Valley Writing Project (NY) and founder of Photo Fridays. "The nice thing is you can do it or not do it. You can come one week or not.

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How to Teach With Our Picture Prompts (and Other Times Images)

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We’re introducing a new, accessible, image-driven feature for the school year. Here are several ways you can use it, with English language learners or with any students for whom Times articles can be challenging.

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(Google Drive/Word Docs)

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Birdville ISD

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how to sew, I would need to show you on a sewing machine. a. To illustrate b. Eventually c. Hence d. Furthermore

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Teaching students to use transition words helps them improve their writing. Transition words help stories flow more smoothly, by providing logical organization and improving the connections between thoughts.

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Teaching students to use transition words helps them improve their writing. Transition words help stories flow more smoothly, by providing logical organization and improving the connections between thoughts.

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and, or, semicolon

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(Accessible!)

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Conjunction Game for Kids

Enjoy this great conjunction game for kids and have fun while learning more about sentence structure. The practice exercises involve understanding the correct use of conjunctions (joining words) such as but, so, and or, while, because, since, after, if and although. Complete each compound sentence by finding the right conjunction, read the sentences carefully, click the bubbles and find out if you were correct. This interactive English language activity offers perfect practice exercises for students.

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Conjunction Game for Kids - Sentence Structure Practice Exercise Activity

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Conjunction Game for Kids Enjoy this great conjunction game for kids and have fun while learning more about sentence structure. The practice exercises involve understanding the correct use of conjunctions (joining words) such as but, so, and or, while, because, since, after, if and although.

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(UK English)

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Why use sentence combining?

It teaches students to use a variety of sentences in their writing.

It helps improve the overall quality of the writing by increasing the amount and quality of the revision

The process encourages interesting word choices and transition words.

How to use sentence combining

Teachers should guide students through the sentence combining process. When introducing the skill, begin by asking students to combine two sentences. Move to using three or more sentences once students have more experience. As students develop skill working with sentences provided by the teacher, they can learn to combine sentences within their own writing.

Sadler (2005) provides a possible sequence of sentence-combining exercises. A few of the steps are listed here.

Inserting adjectives and adverbs

The girl drank lemonade.
The girl was thirsty.
The thirsty girl drank lemonade.

Producing compound subjects and objects

The book was good.
The movie was good.
The book and the movie were good.

Producing compound sentences using conjunctions (for example: and, but)

The weather was perfect.
The girls were playing soccer.
The weather was perfect, and the girls were playing soccer.
See "conjunction ... junction" example >
After several modeled and shared lessons, encourage students to combine sentences from their own writing. Take a minute or two at the end of your writer's workshop to ask students to share any sentences they combined. Discuss ways the revision improved the quality of the writing.

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Sentence Combining | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets

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Combining sentences encourages a writer to take two or more short, choppy sentences and combine them into one effective sentence. By learning this skill, students enhance their writing style. Sentence combining skill is something that will develop over several short practice sessions and should be considered as one component of an overall writing program.

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(8 pg. summary)

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4th Grade Writing Resources

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I would love to come work with your team! I have presented both writing and grammar workshops for teachers of grades PK through 8. If you are interested in having me come do a workshop, send an email to texasteachingfanatic@gmail.com.
BOOKS
If you are looking to purchase any books by Gretchen Bernabei, head on over to QEP Books to get the best prices. They will do bundle deals and give discounts for bulk orders. If you need to give them a call, ask for Catherine and tell her I sent ya. 😉
Resources for the Writing Scope & Sequence
Writing Scope & Sequence: This is a comprehensive scope & sequence that gives a unit overview for each unit, a calendar with daily activities, notes to the teacher for each week, and pages with resources.

Writing Process Battle Game: This is a game that allows students to practice memorizing the steps of the writing process in a fun way. Played just like the traditional card game of "War" or "Battle," students use the word cards to battle until one player has all the cards.

Narrative & Expository Rubrics: This product comes with 4 rubrics (1 teacher and 1 student for both genres) and a scoring guide.

Narrative Revision Stations: This product has 4 stations with questions designed to train students how to add details to their writing.

Listing: This post has lots of pictures of the lists I do with my kids to generate ideas for writing.

Planning Page This is a newer version of the planning page I use with my students when planning for Narrative OR Expository writing. We like this one the best!Helpful Idioms Chart

Color It Up: The very first lesson from Fun Size Academic Writing.

Narrative vs. Expository: A concrete way to explain the differences and similarities between narrative and expository writing.

Flipbooks & Kernel Essays: These are some pictures (and explanations, of course) of how some of our flip books and kernel essays worked in our classroom.

Writer's Celebration Page: For those who like the idea of having students go around and make comments on others' writing (rather than having the traditional read to everyone in the room).

The Whole Process: This is a post that explains how we go from an idea to a published piece.

Expository and Narrative 11-minute Essays: Yes, you CAN use the 11-minute essay for more than Expository! Each genre has a separate post.

Adding Icons: This blog post shows one way to help your students add icons (AKA: REVISE) to their writing.

**Also check down at the bottom of this page for additional resources from Gretchen Bernabei!!**
Resources for the Grammar Scope & Sequence:
Grammar Scope & Sequence: This product is made EXACTLY like the writing scope, with an overview, calendar with daily activities, notes, and resources.

Keepers 101 Chart: This is a 4th grade version of the Keepers 101 chart that you can use to hold students accountable for the rules they have learned.
Some Other Things:
Test Specs: This is a document from TEA that explains what skills are tested on the editing and revising section of the test. They haven't changed...
Practice Using STRONG Adjectives
Went is Gone: A list of other words that can be used other than "went."

Said is Dead: A list of other words that can be used other than "said."

2013 TCTELA_Young_STAAR Writing_4-7: A PowerPoint presentation by Victoria Young about student performance on Writing STAAR.
WRITING SAMPLES & Explanations:
Be sure not to forget about the many blog posts I've tagged as Writing Tips & Tools. There are numerous writing samples, both narrative and expository, along with detailed explanations of how my students move from an idea to a published copy. You can always find this tab on the right-hand side of the page under Categories. There are several pages, so be sure to scroll through to find just what you are looking for.

A large part of these posts is about how my students are using Gretchen Bernabei's tools in their writing. Here is a quick breakdown of some posts you might like:

**Click on the blue words to visit the posts relating to the content**

Various Writing Samples: These are SOME of the writing samples we did throughout the year. Be sure to look at the date to see when they were written. You'll notice...the more the year progressed... the better the writing became!

Narrative vs. Expository: This post has been one of my most popular posts, and the picture has been pinned on hundreds of Pinterest boards. "Grandma" is my way of explaining the difference between narrative and expository writing in a concrete way.
Revising & Editing Practice:
Revising and Editing RULES: A list of revising and editing rules that students need to know for the 4th grade Writing STAAR Test

Don't forget to visit my TpT store to find lots of revising and editing/grammar activities...for a really reasonable price! There are also several other activities for other subjects and school in general. You can click here to see for yourself!

Resources from Gretchen Bernabei:

***Over 70 Truisms***: Use these "Lightning in a Bottle" writing prompts to get your students writing...and THINKING! These are PERFECT for 11-minute essays!

Text Structures for Writing: Use these text structures to help your students write with meaning and with a purpose!

STAAR Genre Text Structures: More text structures to help around test time.

Literary Text Structures: Literary text structures.

Reproducibles from Crunchtime: These are pages that you can print and use with your students as they are writing.

Icon Glossary: Wondering how to get students to write better with more details? Check out the icons listed here.

Grade 4 Remediation Packet: This was put together by Gretchen Bernabei to get kids ready to take THE test. This is a link to her blog post where you can download the file. We love this resource, too!!

I have used all of these resources with my students, and their writing DRASTICALLY improved. Think using text structures is too hard for your students? It's not!! ALL of my students have been successful with using them....and their understanding of what writing is and how authors organize their writing improved, too!

For more information about an amazing writing teacher and presenter, go to www.trailofbreadcrumbs.net or www.bernabeiwritingtools.blogspot.com.

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I would love to come work with your team! I have presented both writing and grammar workshops for teachers of grades PK through 8. If you are interested in having me come do a workshop, send an email to texasteachingfanatic@gmail.com.

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7th Gr. resource page

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Students will only test one day and they will only write one essay. That one essay will be an EXPOSITORY essay. The other modes of writing will still be tested through the revise and edit passages.

The 2014-15 testing year saw the advent of the new STAAR-A exam. This version is offered on-line and provides many accommodations that can benefit 504 and special ed students. The essay component is typed into a box on the computer, and the revising passages have the text-to-speech option. (Editing passages do not have text-to-speak options.)
With the new testing situation (Pearson lost the account and ETS won the bid for the testing,) the actual look of STAAR A, and the regular STAAR for that matter, will not be released to the public until the spring.
Your thesis statement is your promise to the reader.

It focuses and controls the essay.
ABCs of an Effective Thesis Statement
A- The thesis statement ASSERTS. It makes a point.

B- The writer of the thesis statement must BE an insider. Writers should make a point about an aspect of the topic that they have personal insight on.

C- The thesis statement must be CLEAR. Strong thesis statements are usually simple and straightforward.
Your Thesis Statement Must Include
your topic and the point you want to make about your topic

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Students will only test one day and they will only write one essay. That one essay will be an EXPOSITORY essay. The other modes of writing will still be tested through the revise and edit passages. The 2014-15 testing year saw the advent of the new STAAR-A exam.

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Deconstructing the STAAR Writing Rubric _1_

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(Scroll to find Writing)

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(A few trends we've seen)

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Gretchen Bernabei

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Writing Strategies - Trail of Breadcrumbs

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(Main Page)