Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment Test: Four Steps to Better Scores for Teachers of All Levels

by Jane Bell Kiester

"The Same Classic You Love – Now Expanded and Updated for 2006 Test Requirements! NEW Third Edition In just four easy steps, Jane Bell Kiester gives you all the tools you need to teach your students how to respond to any fiction or non-fiction prompt with superior and creative writing that incorporates solid writing-craft principles. The expanded Third Edition allows you •simplify the planning process for writing with several graphic organizers; •help students use and retain vivid vocabulary with entertaining, classroom-proven activities; •encourage and explicitly teach strategies that foster well-organized and elaborated writing that reveals the writer's voice; •teach students how to recognize genre—a difficult skill for many students to master on assessments—with twenty passages from familiar and beloved children's fiction and non-fiction literature; •provide students with practice in all genres with more than 200 practice prompts, plus the newest test addition—quote analysis; •assess writing quickly and confidently using the ninety reproducible, student-written responses to descriptive, expository, narrative, and persuasive writing prompts that include rubrics and teacher notes; and •conform to your state's scoring system using either holistic or domain scoring (explanations provided with the student samples)."

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Jane Bell Kiester is an American educator and author best known for her Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle series, which uses humor and storytelling to make grammar instruction more engaging. Her popular titles include Giggles in the Middle and The Chortling Bard, designed for middle and high school students. She also wrote Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment Test and Teach Spelling So It Sticks!, offering practical strategies for writing and spelling instruction. Kiester has conducted workshops nationwide, helping educators improve language arts instruction through creative and effective methods.