Tag Archives: Assessment(s)

PARCC Prep: Research Simulation Task Writing Lesson Cycle UPDATED 2-2-2020

[The original version of this post can be found here.] In New Jersey, where I live and work, the state’s most recent test specs for NJSLA (formerly known as PARCC and quite honestly the same test with a different name) … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, DBQ Approach, Nonfiction, PARCC, Punchy Insights, Research Writing, Resources, Rubrics, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PARCC Prep: Literary Analysis Writing Lesson Cycle UPDATED, 1-28-2020

[The original version of this post can be found here.  I’ve added some new resources and updated explanations.] As many of you know, I have written numerous posts on how to teach literary analysis writing HERE. You will want to … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, Demo Lesson, Lesson-planning, Literary Analysis Writing, Note-taking, Organizing an Essay, PARCC, Rubrics, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources, Writing, Writing Feedback | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

PARCC RST Prep: How to Connect Note-taking to Sentence Writing

Whether you are in the throes of “test prep season” or not, it’s important to teach students how to take effective notes (i.e., brief and suited to the question at hand) and turn those notes into sentences (then paragraphs and … Continue reading

Posted in ELA Common Core Standards, Instruction, Lesson-planning, Note-taking, Paragraph writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Test Prep, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How to Use Rewordify.com to Make Your Life Easier

I’ve mentioned Rewordify.com before here. Now I’d like to emphasize how useful this Website can be! If you want to use a text that might be too much of a stretch for some students to read independently, you could copy … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), TLC Website Resources, Vocabulary, Vocabulary in Context | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Techniques and Tools for Vocabulary Instruction

When it comes to vocabulary instruction, teachers have many, many questions. Here are just a few: “How can I fit vocabulary in with everything else I have to do? How should I pick the words? What should my quizzes look … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Curriculum, Demo Lesson, ELA Common Core Standards, Instruction, Lesson-planning, TLC Website Resources, Vocabulary, Vocabulary in Context | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PARCC ELA Prep Checklist

As a former high school English teacher who loves literature and loves to write, I do not believe in doing test prep 24/7. I believe tests are a genre, the same way that drama is a genre and poetry is … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), PARCC, Resources, Test Prep, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

PARCC Releases 2017 Items!

Apparently PARCC recently released 2017 ELA materials. To be honest, I’m not sure when they did this because I have not received their newsletter in months (in fact, I’m not sure they still send out newsletters). So I found out … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Literary Analysis Writing, Narrative Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Designing ELA PARCC Prep Materials That Fit in Your Curriculum”– SIGN UP NOW!

I’ll be presenting at NJPSA/FEA in Monroe Twp., NJ, all day on January 25! Here’s the blurb: Designing ELA PARCC Prep Materials That Fit in Your Curriculum Date: Jan 25, 2018 Time: 9am – 3pm Location: FEA Conference Center Presenter: … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Lesson-planning, Literary Analysis Writing, PARCC, Presentations, Professional Development, Research Writing, Resources, Unit-planning, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Literary Analysis Writing DEMO LESSON

As I’ve noted in posts about the PARCC Narrative Writing Task Lesson Cycle, the PARCC Literary Analysis Lesson Task Cycle, and Research Simulation Task Lesson Cycle, it’s really important to provide and explain models of the work we expect. That … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, Demo Lesson, Literary Analysis Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Resources, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: More ELA Test Items Released

In case you don’t follow the PARCC newsletter, PARCC announced on Jan. 30, 2017 that they have released more high school test items. It appears that since their previous announcement on Dec. 2, (which I blogged about here), they also … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment(s), Literary Analysis Writing, Narrative Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Resources, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment