Crunchtime: Lessons to Help Students Blow the Roof Off Writing Tests--and Become Better Writ ers in the Process

by Gretchen S. Bernabei, Jayne Hover, Cynthia Candler

"Our schools should be accountable, but do they have to become joyless halls of drudgery? I'm not against measuring student achievement and learning. But can't we develop lessons that use the best of what we know about learning and about children, lessons informed by research and results, lessons that include color, life, conversation and laughter?" -Gretchen Bernabei In this eagerly-anticipated teacher resource, master teachers Gretchen Bernabei, Jayne Hover, and Cynthia Candler share writing lessons that are healthy for kids, promote lifelong literacy, and, coincidentally, will help your students blow the roof off of their state test scores. Organized around the writing process-selecting topics, crafting drafts, and polishing finished pieces-explicit lessons engage student writers while shoring up the gaps between learning and testing. Growing out of their own work in Title I schools, Gretchen, Jayne, and Cynthia's strategies have proven to be especially effective in helping ESL and special education students, not only pass the test, but achieve commended performance. In addition to providing classroom-tested strategies, this practical teaching resource provides a wealth of crunchtime tools (rubrics, reproducibles, and writing samples) minilessons, and lesson plans that will help you teach strategically and position your students for success on their state writing tests and beyond. Crunchtime includes the following downloadable , , and .

Genres: Professional Development

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

Reviews

[Lisa Gusewelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernabei and Wilhelm are my favorite writers of teaching English. I can easily hear their years of experience with working with children and teenagers and elevating their skills. What I like most is how I'm able to adapt whatever activity to fit in with what resources I already have or curriculum restrictions that I have to deal with.

[Evelyn B. Schwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve had this book for years and promised myself to read it this summer. Should have skipped it. Not enough in it for me to use in classroom with high schoolers. Focused mainly on personal narrative writing. Better resource for elementary writing teachers.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have used several ideas from this book in teaching writing in my classroom. My co-worker, Tenille, found this wonderful resource and shared it with me.
This book would definitely be a good book to go and buy if you have never taught writing in Texas to the 4th Grade. The lessons are easy to follow and they motivate the students in ways that are unimaginable.
The lessons could be used for various age groups and levels.
The author refers to Barry Lane's, After the End, and it sounds like I may need to add this one to my "to read" list.

[Tenille Shade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gretchen Bernabie is a Barry Lane protegee, and I love her books! This title was published in the fall of 2009, and it made a huge difference in my students' writing this year. I had five of my fourth graders get a 4 point score on their TAKS compositions because she has magically found a way to combine the planning and drafting stages of the writing process. I would reccomend this book to any Texas teacher charged with helping students learn how to organize their thoughts before tackling written expression. A must read for anyone who has ever struggled to teach kids how to write!

[Mary Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be completely USEABLE! Not just theory here, but practical advice on moving your writing from where they are-- to the next step.

Enjoyed it so much I took one of her workshops after-- we now use her ideas daily. Nice correlation to 6 traits, as well.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Gretchen's approach to writing- kid friendly, fun strategies. This is an excellent book for those last minute lessons right before TEST TIME.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. It's for elementary ages but it definitely is applicable to middle school. Got a lot out of it.

[Thebuffywilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 10 stars if I could. The author presents a fabulous way of getting your students ready to take a State writing test while still staying true to Writing Workshop

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and full of practical ideas. As a fourth grade teacher in Texas, I can relate to a lot in this book!

[Emily Sorrells · Rating 3 out of 5]

not terrible but not what I was looking for. definitely aimed more toward elementary or middle school students.

[Jiselle Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ideas that are simple and easy to implement!!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of ideas!