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Archive for October, 2015

Grammar Toolkit

The Grammar Toolkit (Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Worksheets) has the diagnostic assessments and corresponding remedial worksheets that upper elementary, middle school, and high school teachers need to help their students catch up to the rigorous grade level Common Core grade-level Language Standards.

Here’s what teachers are saying about the Grammar Toolkit…

This is an amazing product. It makes individualized instruction a breeze!

Shawna Pounds

Instructional Components

Diagnostic Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Assessments

Comprehensive and reliable whole-class diagnostic assessments with recording matrices for efficient progress monitoring.

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Worksheets

40 grammar and usage worksheets and 32 mechanics worksheets, aligned to each skill tested in the diagnostic assessments (CCSS L.1, 2). Worksheets include definitions, examples, skill practice, and writing hints about how to apply the skill within authentic writing. Students self-correct to learn from their own mistakes (also saves teacher grading time) and then complete a short formative assessment to determine skill or concept mastery. Students complete only those worksheets which the diagnostic assessments determine to be un-mastered skills. That’s assessment-based instruction.

Language Worksheets

21 language worksheets to apply the Knowledge of Language Standards (CCSS L.3). Worksheets include remedial practice in subjects and predicates, sentence types (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex), sentence structure (fragments, run-ons, and complete sentences), as well as writing domains (genre), unity, coherence, and parallelism.

Independent Editing Resources

Grammar, usage, and mechanics independent reference resources to help your students revise and self-edit their own writing. Plus writing style and editing marks references formatted for classroom posters.

Management Plan for Individualized Instruction

Every resource in the Grammar Toolkit has been designed for efficient, independent learning with the teacher serving as “writing coach.” In brief, students select and complete an un-mastered Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Worksheet (takes about 10 minutes). Next, students self-correct and self-edit from the answer sheets. After correction and editing, students take a brief formative assessment and then mini-conference with the teacher to determine whether the skill has or has not been mastered. Twice per week, 15-minute sessions will enable all of your students to “catch up” on the key Common Core Language Standards. Students, parents, and principals love seeing the measurable progress on the progress monitoring recording matrices.

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Syntax Programs

Pennington Publishing Grammar Programs

Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and High School) are full-year, traditional, grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics programs with plenty of remedial practice to help students catch up while they keep up with grade-level standards. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep lessons in print or interactive Google slides with a fun secret agent theme. Simple sentence diagrams, mentor texts, video lessons, sentence dictations. Plenty of practice in the writing context. Includes biweekly tests and a final exam.

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Interactive Notebook (Grades 4‒8) is a full-year, no prep interactive notebook without all the mess. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep grammar, usage, and mechanics lessons, formatted in Cornell Notes with cartoon response, writing application, 3D graphic organizers (easy cut and paste foldables), and great resource links. No need to create a teacher INB for student make-up work—it’s done for you! Plus, get remedial worksheets, biweekly tests, and a final exam.

Syntax in Reading and Writing is a function-based, sentence level syntax program, designed to build reading comprehension and increase writing sophistication. The 18 parts of speech, phrases, and clauses lessons are each leveled from basic (elementary) to advanced (middle and high school) and feature 5 lesson components (10–15 minutes each): 1. Learn It!  2. Identify It!  3. Explain It! (analysis of challenging sentences) 4. Revise It! (kernel sentences, sentence expansion, syntactic manipulation) 5. Create It! (Short writing application with the syntactic focus in different genre).

Get the Diagnostic Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Assessments, Matrix, and Final Exam FREE Resource:

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Reading Fluency and Comprehension Toolkit

The Reading Fluency and Comprehension Toolkit (eBook plus Links to YouTube Modeled Readings) provides 43 expository animal fluency articles and 43 corresponding animal comprehension worksheets, along with user-friendly, no teacher prep support materials. Here’s what teachers will use in this must-have eBook toolkit:

Get 43 expository animal fluency articles, each marked with words per line to help students monitor their own fluency progress. At last! Quality fluency practice in the expository (not narrative) genre. Reading experts agree that students need extensive reading practice in the expository domain to internalize the text structure and multi-syllabic vocabulary of social studies and science textbooks. Not to mention the expository articles found on standardized tests. Yes, fluency timing charts are provided. Plus, each of the 43 fluency articles has been recorded at three different reading speeds to provide the appropriate challenge level for each of your students. This toolkit provides the YouTube links to these 129 modeled readings.

Each of the 43 articles is composed in a leveled format: the first two paragraphs are at third grade reading level, the next two are at the fifth grade reading level, and the last two are at the seventh grade reading level. Slower readers get practice on controlled vocabulary and are pushed to read at the higher reading levels, once the contextual content has been established. Faster readers are challenged by the increasingly difficult multi-syllabic vocabulary. This format is perfect for differentiated fluency instruction. Both developing readers and reading intervention students who read at a variety of reading levels will benefit from this fluency practice. What a great add-on resource for phonics-based Response to Intervention tiered instruction!

This toolkit also provides 43 corresponding animal comprehension worksheets with content-specific comprehension questions listed in the margins next to the relevant text. These low-higher order thinking questions ask readers to summarize, connect, re-think, interpret, and predict (the SCRIP comprehension strategy) to promote reader dialog with the text. Students practice self-monitoring their own reading comprehension as they read. This “talking to the text” transfers to better independent reading comprehension and retention.

The animal fluency and comprehension articles each describe the physical characteristics of the animal with a color animal photograph–no drawings or cartoon characters inappropriate for older children or teenagers. Articles contain paragraphs detailing each animal’s habitat, what the animal eats, the animal’s family, interesting facts, and the status of the species (endangered or not). The writing is engaging and students will enjoy learning about both common and uncommon animals.

Each featured animal corresponds to the colorful set of digital Animal Sound-Spelling Cards. The sounds of each animal name represent each of the phonetic components. For example, erminearmadillo, and orca represent each of the r-controlled sound-spellings. Each of the cards contains the most common spellings of the animal card sound to reinforce the reading-spelling connection. A full set of consonant blend cards complements the Animal Sound-Spelling Cards and can be used for phonics practice and games.

Additionally, get digital comprehension posters, bookmarks, and context-clue practice.

Also included are an individual fluency assessment and a kid-tested, teacher-approved plan to differentiate fluency instruction in your classroom. Note: This Reading Fluency and Comprehension Toolkit is a “slice” of the comprehensive reading intervention curriculum, The Science of Reading Intervention Program 128 pages

Preview This Book

Check out the introductory video.

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Teaching Grammar and Mechanics

Teaching Grammar and Mechanics for Grades 4-High School

Teaching Grammar and Mechanics Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and High School Programs

Teaching Grammar and Mechanics is the comprehensive grade-level (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school) curriculum that helps teachers significantly improve student writing and test scores through both explicit, systematic instruction and individualized practice. Completely aligned to the Common Core Anchor Standards for Language, this full-year interactive program provides all the resources teachers need to be the best grammar teacher on campus.

Here’s what teachers are saying about the full-year Teaching Grammar and Mechanics Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school programs:

“The most comprehensive and easy to teach grammar and mechanics program. It’s got everything! I’m teaching each grade-level Standard in the Language Strand and students are filling in the gaps from previous grade level Standards. This program is written by teachers for teachers and their students. You can tell. Takes no prep and hardly any correction. Both veteran teachers like me and new ELA teachers will really appreciate the scripted grammar lessons.”

Robin Moore

Program Description

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (CCSS L.1,2,3) Lessons and Unit Tests

Each of the grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Teaching Grammar and Mechanics programs provides 56 (64 for high school) interactive language conventions lessons, designed for twice-per-week direct instruction in the grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics standards. The scripted lessons (perfect for the grammatically-challenged teacher) are formatted for classroom projection. Standards review, definitions and examples, practice and error analysis, simple sentence diagrams, mentor texts with writing applications, and formative assessments are woven into every 25-minute lesson.

Students annotate the full text of the lesson on accompanying student worksheets (included in the program). The worksheets include a practice section, a simple sentence diagram, a mentor text which applies the grammatical lesson focus, and a brief writing application. Students complete two sentence dictation formative assessments and then self-correct from the projected display.

Biweekly grammar, usage, and mechanics unit tests require students to define, identify, and apply their knowledge of these Language Standards in the writing context.

Individualized Assessment-based Instruction

Teaching Grammar and Mechanics also includes all resources for teachers to meet the diverse instructional needs of individual students. Perfect for English-language learners, special education, and students who need extra help! The program provides diagnostic grammar and mechanics assessments to determine the specific remedial needs of your students. The assessments are administered whole-class and mastery recording matrices allow the teacher to organize instructional materials and to monitor the progress of individual students at a glance.

Teachers individualize instruction according to the results of the diagnostic assessments with targeted grammar, usage, and mechanics worksheets. Each worksheet includes definitions, examples, writing hints, and a practice section. Students self-correct each worksheet to learn from their mistakes and then and complete a short formative assessment. The teacher corrects the formative assessment to determine mastery.

All New! Syntax in Reading and Writing

This function-based, sentence level program will help your students understand syntactic complexities in reading and apply them in more sophisticated writing.

*****

Syntax Programs

Pennington Publishing Grammar Programs

Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and High School) are full-year, traditional, grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics programs with plenty of remedial practice to help students catch up while they keep up with grade-level standards. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep lessons in print or interactive Google slides with a fun secret agent theme. Simple sentence diagrams, mentor texts, video lessons, sentence dictations. Plenty of practice in the writing context. Includes biweekly tests and a final exam.

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Interactive Notebook (Grades 4‒8) is a full-year, no prep interactive notebook without all the mess. Twice-per-week, 30-minute, no prep grammar, usage, and mechanics lessons, formatted in Cornell Notes with cartoon response, writing application, 3D graphic organizers (easy cut and paste foldables), and great resource links. No need to create a teacher INB for student make-up work—it’s done for you! Plus, get remedial worksheets, biweekly tests, and a final exam.

Syntax in Reading and Writing is a function-based, sentence level syntax program, designed to build reading comprehension and increase writing sophistication. The 18 parts of speech, phrases, and clauses lessons are each leveled from basic (elementary) to advanced (middle and high school) and feature 5 lesson components (10–15 minutes each): 1. Learn It!  2. Identify It!  3. Explain It! (analysis of challenging sentences) 4. Revise It! (kernel sentences, sentence expansion, syntactic manipulation) 5. Create It! (Short writing application with the syntactic focus in different genre).

Get the Diagnostic Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Assessments, Matrix, and Final Exam FREE Resource:

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TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE

Pennington Publishing's TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE

TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE

TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE is a comprehensive curriculum designed to help teachers teach the essay components of the Common Core Writing Standards. This step-by-step program provides all of the resources for upper elementary, middle school, and high school teachers to teach both the writing process essays and the accompanying writing strategies. The print version includes a digital copy (PDF) of the entire program for classroom display and interactive practice.

The TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE program includes the following resources:

Eight Writing Process Essays

The program includes the writing prompts, resource texts, graphic organizers, response, revision, and editing resources to teach eight Writing Process Essays. The first four essays are in the informative/explanatory genre (Common Core Writing Standard 2.0). The last four essays are in the argumentative/persuasive writing genre (Common Core Writing Standard 1.0). Accompanying resource texts include both literary and informational forms, as prescribed by the Common Core Reading Standards.

Diagnostic Assessment and Differentiated Instruction

This essay curriculum is built upon comprehensive assessment. Each of the eight Writing Process Essays begins with an on-demand diagnostic assessment. Teachers grade this writing task according to relative strengths and weaknesses on an analytical rubric.

Teachers differentiate writing instruction according to this diagnostic data with mini-lessons and targeted worksheets. Remedial resources include lessons in subject-predicate, sentence structure, sentence fragments and run-ons, essay structure, paragraph organization, types of evidence, transitions, essay genre, writing direction words, proofreading, introduction strategies, and conclusion strategies. Advanced resources include lessons in fallacious reasoning, logic, coherence, unity, sentence variety, parallelism, grammatical sentence openers, and writing style.

Formative and Summative Assessment with Essay e-Comments

TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE provides the tools for interactive formative assessment. This program includes a downloadable essay e-comments bank of 438 comprehensive and prescriptive writing comments. Teachers who have their students submit their essays electronically can insert these comments into a student’s essay with a click of the mouse. The essay e-comments cut writing response and grading time in half and give students all the tools they need to revise and edit effectively.

Comments cover writing evidence, coherence, essay organization, sentence structure, writing style, grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling—all with concise definitions and examples. Teachers can also add in content links and their own personalized comments with text or audio files. Students revise and edit with Microsoft Word “Track Changes,” then re-submit revisions and edits for peer and/or teacher review. Just like professional writers do with their editors! Teachers enter the results of their formative and summative assessments on the analytical rubric. Works on all Windows versions.

Essay Strategy Worksheets

To master the essay strategies detailed in Common Core Writing Standards 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0, students complete 42 Essay Strategy Worksheets. Students move from simple three-word paragraphs to complex multi-paragraph Common Core Writing Standard 1.0 and 2.0 essays, using a time-tested numerical hierarchy for essay organization. This “coding” takes the mystery out of how to organize and compose coherent and unified essays. Students learn and apply the essay writing rules, essay structure, introduction strategies, evidence and argument, conclusion strategies, and all of the common grammatical sentence models in the context of authentic writing practice.

Writing Openers and Quick Writes

TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE includes a full year of Sentence Revision (sentence combining, sentence manipulation, and grammatical sentence models), Writing Style Openers, and Rhetorical Stance Quick Writes to help students practice writing dexterity and writing fluency (Common Core Writing Standard 10.0). These 10-minute “openers” require no advance preparation and no teacher correction.

How much class time does it take per week?

The complete TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE program takes 90 minutes per week of class time. The resources in this book are user-friendly. External links to wall posters of the key essay writing terms and instructional strategies used in the program are also provided. Absolutely no prep time is required to teach this curriculum.

View the product description here and check out lessons samples in Preview This Book.

The Pennington Manual of Style Preview

RUNLAW Preview

Essay Strategies Toolkit Preview

Preview the introductory video.

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Differentiated Spelling Instruction

Pennington Publishing's Differentiated Spelling Instruction

Differentiated Spelling Instruction

Differentiated Spelling Instruction (eBook) provides all the resources teachers need to truly differentiate spelling instruction. If you’re committed to explicit spelling instruction and individualized instruction to meet the needs of each of your students, this program is for you.

Program Overview

Everything a teacher needs to know about the program components and how to differentiate spelling instruction is found in the Learn How to Teach This Program in 10 Minutes section. It’s that easy. In brief, students take a spelling pattern pretest, then self-correct, and personalize their weekly spelling list. Teachers explain the spelling pattern. Students complete the spelling pattern word sort for homework and self-correct in class. Students study their spelling lists and take the posttest. After seven weeks of instruction, students take a formative assessment. The teacher records the student data and assigns remediation as needed. Remediation consists of 64 sound-spelling worksheets, each with a short formative assessment. Simple and easy to individualize instruction.

Program Components

  • Diagnostic Spelling Assessment: a comprehensive test of each previous grade level spelling pattern to determine what students know and what they don’t know.
  • Diagnostic Spelling Assessment Mastery Matrix
  • 104 Remedial Sound-Spelling Worksheets Corresponding to the Diagnostic Spelling Assessment
  • Weekly Diagnostic Spelling Tests
  • Weekly Spelling Sort Worksheets for Each Spelling Pattern (with answers) formatted for classroom display. Students self-correct to learn from their own mistakes.
  • Syllable Transformers and Syllable Blending formatted for classroom display and interactive instruction
  • Syllable Worksheets (with answers) formatted for classroom display
  • Four Formative Assessments (given after 7 weeks of instruction)
  • Summative Assessment

Spelling Teaching Resources

  • How to Study Spelling Words
  • Spelling Proofreading Strategies for Stories and Essays
  • Syllable Rules
  • Accent Rules
  • Outlaw Words
  • The 450 Most Frequently Used Words
  • The 100 Most Often Misspelled Words
  • The 70 Most Commonly Confused Words
  • Eight Great Spelling Rules, Memory Songs, and Raps (with Mp3 links)
  • Spelling Review Games
  • Formative and Summative Spelling Assessment Mastery Matrices

Why Other Spelling Programs are Ineffective and Why Differentiated Spelling Instruction (DSI) Makes Sense

  • Others use “themed” spelling word lists, grouping words by such themes as animals, months, holidays, or colors.
  • DSI uses developmental spelling patterns for its word lists, providing sequential, research-based orthographic instruction.
  • Others use practice worksheets that focus on rote memorization, such as word searches, fill-in the-blanks, or crossword puzzles.
  • DSI provides spelling sorts/word parts worksheets to help students practice recognition and application of the spelling patterns.
  • Others de-emphasize structural analysis.
  • DSI emphasizes word study: syllables, accents, morphemes, inflections, spelling rules, pronunciation, and derivational influences.
  • Others do not integrate vocabulary instruction.
  • DSI integrates homonyms, common Greek and Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes, and other linguistic influences.
  • Others minimize the reading-spelling connection.
  • DSI reinforces the decoding-encoding connection with an instructional scope and sequence aligned with systematic explicit phonics instruction. The DSI program includes five years of seamless spelling instruction (Grades 4 through 8)—perfect for grade-level classes, combination classes, and flexible homeschool instruction.
  • Others ignore spelling irregularities.
  • DSI includes “Exceptions” throughout the program, providing problem-solving strategies that build student (and teacher) confidence in the English orthographic spelling system.
  • Others use spelling tests solely as summative assessments.
  • DSI uses spelling tests as diagnostic and formative instruments to help teachers differentiate instruction. Recording matrices enable teachers to keep track of mastered and un-mastered spelling patterns for each student—simple record-keeping and minimal paperwork.
  • Others provide one-size-fits-all instruction.
  • DSI provides the resources for true differentiated instruction from remedial to grade-level to accelerated spellers.
  • Others use visual-only spelling strategies.
  • DSI uses multi-sensory instructional practice, including songs, raps, games and phonological awareness activities—perfect for students with auditory processing deficits and a “must” for effective Response to Intervention (RtI) instruction.
  • Others have no writing-spelling connection.
  • DSI requires students to develop weekly Personal Spelling Lists that include commonly misspelled words from their own writing.
  • Others provide no review activities for unit spelling tests.
  • DSI provides ample review activities, including Word Jumbles for each sound-spelling pattern, web-based songs and raps, and entertaining games.
  • Others take either inordinate teacher preparation or require too much class time.
  • DSI is “teacher-friendly” and requires only minimal prep time. And the flexible DSI resources will not eat up excessive instructional minutes.
  • Others are overly expensive and require consumable workbooks.
  • DSI requires only one worksheet each lesson, per student—truly economical.

Differentiated Spelling Instruction is a “slice” of the comprehensive grades 4-8 Grammar, Mechanics, Spelling, and Vocabulary programs. Please check out the product descriptions here.

Please check out our introductory video.

Differentiated Spelling Instruction Grade 4: Preview This Book

Differentiated Spelling Instruction Grade 5: Preview This Book

Differentiated Spelling Instruction Grade 6: Preview This Book

Differentiated Spelling Instruction Grade 7: Preview This Book

Differentiated Spelling Instruction Grade 8: Preview This Book

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The Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit

The Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit (eBook) provides systematic, efficient, and

Pennington Publishing's Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit

effective vocabulary instruction aligned to the Common Core State Standards. If you are looking for a comprehensive program to teach each of the grade-level Common Core Vocabulary Standards, the Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit is just what your students need. Each grade-level grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 program includes the following resources:

Vocabulary Worksheets

The 56 Vocabulary Worksheets include Multiple Meaning Words and Context Clues (L.4.a.); Greek and Latin Word Parts (L.4.a.); Language Resources (L.4.c.d.); Figures of Speech (L.5.a.); Word Relationships (L.5.b.); Connotations (L.5.c.); and Academic Language Words (L.6.0). Students learn ten Tier Two and Tier Three words (the words recommended in Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects) each week.

Each vocabulary word in the Vocabulary Worksheets has been carefully chosen from the most common Greek and Latin roots and affixes, the research-based Academic Word List, and the Tier Two and Three Words which are domain-specific to the Common Core grade-level English-Language Arts Standards. Answers are provided and an instructional scope and sequence is included at the end of each grade-level program.

Vocabulary Study Cards

Vocabulary game cards are provided for each of the weekly paired lessons for whole-class review, vocabulary games, and individual practice. Print back-to-back and have students fold to study.

Vocabulary Tests

Bi-weekly Vocabulary Tests assess both memorization and application. The first section of each test is simple matching. The second section of each test requires students to apply the vocabulary in the writing context. Answers follow.

Syllable Blending, Syllable Worksheets, and Derivatives Worksheets

Whole class syllable blending “openers” will help your students learn the rules of structural analysis, including proper pronunciation, syllable division, accent placement, and derivatives. Each “opener” includes a Syllable Worksheet and a Derivatives Worksheet for individual practice. Answers follow.

Context Clues Strategies

Students learn the FP’S BAG SALE approach to learning the meanings of unknown words through surrounding context clues. Context clue worksheets will help students master the SALE Context Clue Strategies.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Resources

Greek and Latin word parts lists, vocabulary review games, vocabulary steps, and semantic spectrums provide additional vocabulary instructional resources.

Students who complete each of the Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grades 4–8 grade-level programs will have practiced and learned much of the Academic Word Corpus and all of the skills of vocabulary acquisition. These students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of academic language and will be well-equipped to apply the skills of context clues strategies and structural analysis to read well and write with precision.

Each of the Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit grade-level programs is a “slice” of the comprehensive Teaching the Language Grades 4–8 programs.

Please check out our introductory video:

As a reference for our Pennington Publishing customers, following are previews of each of our grades 4-8 Common Core Vocabulary Toolkits. Please visit our Pennington Publishing Website for complete book descriptions.

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grade 4: Preview This Book

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grade 5: Preview This Book

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grade 6: Preview This Book

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grade 7: Preview This Book

Common Core Vocabulary Toolkit Grade 8: Preview This Book

 

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