Marzano provides an in-depth exploration of what he calls one of the most powerful weapons in a teacher's arsenal. An effective standards-based, formative assessment program can help to dramatically enhance student achievement throughout the K-12 system, Marzano says. Drawing from his own and others' extensive research, the author provides comprehensive answers to questions such as these:* What are the characteristics of an effective assessment program?* How can educators use national and state standards documents as a basis for creating a comprehensive, topic-based assessment system?* What types of assessment items and tasks are best suited to measuring student progress in mastering information, mental procedures, and psychomotor procedures?* Why does the traditional point system used for scoring often lead to incorrect conclusions about a student's actual knowledge?* What types of scoring and final grading systems provide the most accurate portrayal of a student's progress along a continuum of learning?In addition to providing teachers with all the tools they need to create a better assessment system, Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work makes a compelling case for the potential of such a system to transform the culture of schools and districts, and to propel K-12 education to new levels of effectiveness and efficiency.

    

    The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach. The model, also known as The Hochman Method, has demonstrated, over and over, that it can turn weak writers into strong communicators by focusing on specific techniques that match their needs and by providing them with targeted feedback. Insurmountable as the challenges faced by many students may seem, TWR can make a dramatic difference. And the method does more than improve writing skills. It also helps: Boost reading comprehension Improve organizational and study skills Enhance speaking abilities Develop analytical capabilities TWR is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There's no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt the TWR strategies and activities to their current curriculum and weave them into their content instruction. But perhaps what's most revolutionary about the TWR method is that it takes the mystery out of learning to write well. It breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.

    This work contains components of the model, which include staffing models and strategy, staffing support systems (legal compliance, planning, job analysis and rewards), core staffing systems (recruitment, selection, employment), and staffing system and retention management.

    In this book-length essay, he offers a full range of notes and gives rare insight into a veteran writer’s process by inviting the reader to watch over his shoulder as he creates the short story “The Governor’s Ball.”“This is a story of a story,” he begins, and proceeds to offer practical advice for creating a great story, from the first glimmer of an idea to the final sentence. Carlson urges the writer to refuse the outside distractions—a second cup of coffee, a troll through the dictionary—and attend to the necessity of uncertainty, the pleasures of an unfolding story.“The Governor’s Ball”—included in its entirety—serves as a fascinating illustration of the detailed anatomy of a short story.

    Telling True Stories presents their best advice—covering everything from finding a good topic, to structuring narrative stories, to writing and selling your first book. More than fifty well-known writers offer their most powerful tips, including: • Tom Wolfe on the emotional core of the story • Gay Talese on writing about private lives • Malcolm Gladwell on the limits of profiles • Nora Ephron on narrative writing and screenwriters • Alma Guillermoprieto on telling the story and telling the truth • Dozens of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists from the Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and more . . .The essays contain important counsel for new and career journalists, as well as for freelance writers, radio producers, and memoirists. Packed with refreshingly candid and insightful recommendations, Telling True Stories will show anyone fascinated by the art of writing nonfiction how to bring people, scenes, and ideas to life on the page.

    This is why both teachers with struggling students and those with AP students have embraced the book through 15 printings. Each chapter is divided into two sections: concepts that show how professional writers develop their art and lesson strategies to implement these concepts in the classroom. New and expanded concepts in the second edition include:an introduction to grammatical chunksexpanded discussion of the five basic brush strokes and examination of advanced brush strokes presentation on the nonfiction modelexplanation of the character wheel-a visual aid that helps students to write both a nonfiction and fiction character sketch. Plus, the updated and expanded CD includes customizable files of the 60+ strategies; reproducible handouts; images and quotes for projection in the classroom; and dozens of weblinks.

    Through a series of out-of-the-ordinary lessons, each with its own takeaway points and recommended readings, Douglas Wilson provides indispensable guidance, showing how to develop the writer s craft and the kind of life from which good writing comes.

    Opening with an introductory chapter on how to read philosophy, the book then moves into the basics of writing summaries and analyzing arguments. It provides step-by-step instructions for each phase of the writing process, from formulating a thesis, to creating an outline, to writing a final draft, supplementing this tutorial approach with model essays, outlines, introductions, and conclusions. Skills essential to evaluating arguments, citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, detecting fallacies, and formatting final drafts are dealt with in detail. The final two chapters serve as a reference guide to common mistakes and basic skills in sentence construction, writing style, and word choice. Employing a rulebook format similar to that of the classic Elements of Style (by Strunk, White, and Angell), Lewis Vaughn distills helpful writing advice into simple rules that students can easily remember and apply--and that instructors can refer to when reviewing student papers. These rules cover essay organization, sentence structure, documentation styles, plagiarism, grammar, usage, and more. Written in a clear and engaging style and incorporating samples of student writing, Writing Philosophy is an indispensable resource for virtually any philosophy course.

    It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.Writers are just like everyone else—except for one big difference. Most people go through life experiencing daily thoughts and feelings, noticing and observing the world around them. But writers record these thoughts and observations. They react. And they need a special place to record those reactions.  Perfect for classrooms, A Writer’s Notebook gives budding writers a place to keep track of all the little things they notice every day. Young writers will love these useful tips for how to use notes and jottings to create stories and poems of their own.

    Learn how to interpret questions and how to plan, structure and write your assignment or report. This free course, Essay and report writing skills, is designed to help you develop the skills you need to write effectively for academic purposes.

    Now, in The Writing Strategies Book, Jen Serravallo does the same, collecting 300 of the most effective strategies to share with writers, and grouping them beneath 10 crucial goals.You can think of the goals as the what, writes Jen, and the strategies as the how. From composing with pictures all the way to conventions and beyond, you'll have just-right teaching, just in time. With Jen's help you'll:develop individual goals for every writer give students step-by-step strategies for writing with skill and craft coach writers using prompts aligned to a strategy present mentor texts that support a genre and strategy adjust instruction to meet individual needs with Jen's Teaching Tips demonstrate and explain a writing move with her Lesson Language learn more with Hat Tips to the work of influential teacher-authors. She even offers suggestions for stocking your writing center, planning units of study, celebrating student writing, and keeping records.Whether you use Writing Workshop, 6+1 Traits, Daily 5's Work on Writing, a scripted writing program, the writing exercises in your basal, or any other approach, you'll discover a treasure chest of ways to work with whole classes, small groups, or individual writers.I am convinced that helping kids to articulate clear goals for their work, writes Jen Serravallo, and supporting them with strategies and feedback to accomplish those goals, makes a huge difference. With The Writing Strategies Book you can make that kind of difference with your writers every day.

    The Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2, the sequel to the best selling Self Publishing Manual describes how to use new techniques to write your book even faster, use new technology to publish it for less, and how to use social media for promotion.

    As she begins to question their relationship and herself, Celeste is haunted by painful memories: of her past in well-heeled, blue-blooded Connecticut; of the friends and family who seem to have disappeared from her life; and of Nathan, for whom Celeste still carries a lingering passion. At last coming to terms with the lies and illusions that have propelled her forward for years, Celeste must take responsibility for the choices she has made. She decides to be true to herself -- and so challenges her fiancé, her family, and the very society in which she's steeped.

    Problem-sets build both foundational and advanced skills. Includes online access to simulated practice exams and bonus bank of Sentence Correction questions. Includes most up-to-date test information.