Watch an overview by Gretchen. "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 <ul>
<li>Crunchtime is a practical grab-and-go resource for teachers. </li> <li>Crunchtime strategies are engaging and fun for students. </li> <li>Crunchtime is especially effective in helping struggling writers, including English language learners. </li> </ul>
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 resources: 4-week planner, writing prompts, and reproducibles.

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

Reference

Bernabei, Gretchen

Hover, Jayne

Candler, Cynthia

Words, Language & Grammar

Heinemann

"If students used structures that more closely tracked the movement of their mind, weaving their own slaloms between the twins of knowledge and experience, readers would be more inclined to lean in and vicariously experience that movement of the mind. Wouldn't they?" Gretchen Bernabei and Dorothy Hall In their signature easy-to-implement style, Gretchen Bernabei and Dorothy Hall offer new options for teaching expository writing that more realistically match the way readers actually think and writers actually write. While many state assessments as well as the Common Core ask students to write about their opinions, the goal in The Story of My Thinking is to help teachers take their kids through the various stages of the writing process (from generating ideas to publication) in a way that breaks down the barrier between "academic" writing and "creative" writing and helps kids produce vibrant nonfiction with voice and conviction. The Story of My Thinking provides 13 writing activities for familiar teaching situations, with step-by-step lessons that help you bridge the gap between narrative and informative writing. Using the same classroom-tested strategies that made Crunchtime a bestseller, the authors give the flexibility of dipping in and out of the lessons as you need them. For example, "If you want them to explore topics for deep development and systemic growth," use Gretchen's "Inner Streams/Gritty Life" activity along with the tools that help students plan their thinking. Choose the lesson that matches your teaching situation today, and then another one tomorrow. When authentic, personal experiences replace canned, pre-written topics, and students are provided with structures that reflect how readers read, their writing transforms from formulaic to passionate. And when students have plenty of chances to write about topics that are meaningful to them, in a variety of ways, for a variety of situations, then they will be ready for any writing assignment.

The Story of My Thinking: Expository Writing Activities for 13 Teaching Situations

Hall, Dorothy N

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

The Writing Process Forms of Writing The Tools of Language Basic Grammar and Writing

Great Source Write Source: Student Edition Grade 7 2012

Children's Books

Kemper, Dave

Sebranek, Patrick

Meyer, Verne

Education & Reference

Great Source Education Group, Inc.

This colorful photo essay shows how dance is at the heart of many cultures and traditions. Simple text reinforces basic action words.

Let's Dance!

Tinajero, Josefina Villamil

Short, Deborah J.

Tatum, Alfred W.

Moore, David W.

National Geographic School Pub

This historical account sensitively explains Hitler's campaign against the Jews during World War II. Easy to read text reinforces words about World War II.

The Children We Remember

This biography describes the life of noted environmentalist Rachel Carson. Detailed illustrations present vocabulary for plant and animal words.

Rachel Carson

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

The Good Writer's Guide engages struggling writers with student-friendly text and real-world connections to their lives. It broadens students' identity as writers in various roles -- from the consumer to the entertainer. The guide also teaches the process and traits of good writing with concrete solutions to common writing problems. Included are clear layouts, graphics, and multiple examples.

The Good Writer's Kit: The Good Writer's Guide (Softcover)

Sticky-note prompts, checklists, and other supports guide students as they write to apply lesson concepts. The finished book becomes a valued portfolio of the student's growth in writing.

The Good Writer's Kit: Writer's Workout (Practice Book)

This includes an array of assessment tools, including benchmark tests, section and chapter Tests, and effective measures as well as rubrics, scoring guides, and tracking forms.

The Good Writer's Kit: Assessments

The Good Writer's Kit: The Good Writer's Guide (Hardcover)

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Books by Bernabei, Gretchen