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    FAQ Page

    How can students find answers to their questions?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Inquiry Process
    Questioning
    Planning
    Researching
    Creating
    Improving
    Presenting

    FAQ Page

    How can students share what they find?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Project-Based Learning
    Writing Project
    Graphing Project
    Web Project
    Performing Project
    Audio-Visual Project
    Community Project
    Inquiry Process

    FAQ Page

    What is project-based learning?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Project-Based Learning
    Inquiry Process

    FAQ Page

    How can I improve the quality of students' questions?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Inquiry Process
    Questioning
    Planning
    Researching
    Creating
    Improving
    Presenting

    FAQ Page

    What are literacy skills?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Literacy Skills
    Succeeding in School
    Studying
    Reading to Learn
    Building Vocabulary
    Writing to Learn
    Taking Tests
    Information Literacy
    Media Literacy
    Technology Literacy
    Visual Literacy
    Financial Literacy
    Succeeding in the Workplace

    FAQ Page

    How can students judge sources from the Internet?

    FAQ Page

    What is inquiry?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Inquiry Process
    Questioning
    Planning
    Researching
    Creating
    Improving
    Presenting

    FAQ Page

    What kinds of inquiry experiences can I use?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Inquiry Process
    Project-Based Learning

    FAQ Page

    Where can I see PBL in action?

    21st Century Skills: 
    Project-Based Learning
    Writing Project
    Graphing Project
    Web Project
    Performing Project
    Audio-Visual Project
    Community Project
    Inquiry Process

    FAQ Page

    What are the qualities of writing?

    English Language Arts: 
    Qualities of Writing
    Structure
    Ideas
    Conventions

    Student Writing Model

    A Lesson to Learn

    Eddie, a seventh grader, wrote a brief journal entry about his little brother’s annoying habit of asking questions all the time—and how it taught him a lesson.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Personal Writing
    Form: 
    Journal
    Theme: 
    Family
    Education

    Student Writing Model

    The Racist Warehouse

    This personal narrative by eighth-grader Alicia presents an engaging voice. Read the essay and notice how Alicia’s personality comes through; she obviously cares about her subject. Her use of details gives the reader a clear picture of the characters and environment in this account of Alicia’s first encounter with racism.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Narrative Writing
    Form: 
    Personal Narrative
    Theme: 
    Community
    Freedom
    Rights
    People
    Personality

    Student Writing Model

    Giving Life

    This is a very moving narrative about a difficult experience. Sharing what she learned from this friendship makes an effective conclusion.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Narrative Writing
    Form: 
    Personal Narrative
    Theme: 
    Friends
    Health
    Life

    Student Writing Model

    The Great Paw Paw

    Charlotte, the seventh-grade writer of this model, organizes her essay into paragraphs that describe different aspects of her subject. The closing leaves the reader with a clear idea of the important place her grandfather holds in her memory.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Narrative Writing
    Form: 
    Personal Narrative
    Theme: 
    Family
    Love
    Life
    Fun
    Home
    Play

    Student Writing Model

    Friendship

    Five paragraphs in the body of this essay—one for each of the senses—provide a clear organization pattern that is easy for the reader to understand. Note that each of the five paragraphs begins with a sentence that repeats the same, simple pattern. This repetition of a sentence pattern provides unity. The use of an extended metaphor—comparing friendship to the making and baking of bread—works quite well and shows that Nate, the sixth grade writer of this essay, is willing to take creative risks.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Explanatory Writing
    Form: 
    Definition
    Theme: 
    Friends
    Love
    Life

    Student Writing Model

    Cheating in America

    In this problem and solution essay, sixth-grade writer Nicholas grabs the reader’s attention with some “shocking statistics” that identify the problem. The essay closes with some possible solutions as well as a point to ponder.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Persuasive Writing
    Form: 
    Problem-Solution
    Theme: 
    Education
    Rules

    Student Writing Model

    Summer: 15 Days or 2 1/2 Months?

    Jordan wants to have a nice, long summer at the end of seventh grade; her persuasive essay makes that quite evident with several points that support her opinion through the use of statistics, comparison, and expert testimony.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Persuasive Writing
    Form: 
    Editorial
    Theme: 
    Education
    Rules

    Student Writing Model

    The Best Little Girl in the World

    The voice of Joanna, the author of this book review, comes through as she reveals her concern for teenagers’ vulnerability to eating disorders..

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Response to Literature
    Form: 
    Book Review
    Theme: 
    Books
    Health
    Life
    Personality
    Literature

    Student Writing Model

    Limadastrin

    A response to literature can take many forms other than a book report. Sixth-grader Mark decided to respond in a poem patterned after the poetry he read in the Redwall series of fantasy books. (These stories are about peace-loving small animals who exhibit human characteristics in a medieval setting, facing day-to-day struggles of good versus evil, life versus death.) The author of the Redwall books never mentions where the “Badger lords” come from, so Mark created this fictional place called Limadastrin and describes how one would find it.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Response to Literature
    Creative Writing
    Form: 
    Poem
    Theme: 
    Books
    Fantasy
    Literature

    Student Writing Model

    A Cowboy's Journal

    Eighth grader Shelley imagines she is a cowboy in the old West as she writes this journal entry. She includes historical details that add a realistic touch to the writing.

    Level: 
    Grade 6
    Grade 7
    Grade 8
    Mode: 
    Narrative Writing
    Form: 
    Fictionalized Journal Entry
    Theme: 
    Work
    Occupation
    History

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