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Writing Companion
Grades 3–12
Build competence and confidence through concise, focused minilessons!
Each chapter features step-by-step instruction for a commonly tested writing genre such as a research report, narrative, opinion/argumentative, informative/explanatory, and literary analysis. Starting with a source text, students focus on the key elements that distinguish good writing for the genre.
- Scaffolded tasks help students break down each element into manageable chunks.
- Each task builds upon the last, leading to a finished product.
- You Try It writing performance tasks provide test practice and additional feedback opportunity.
Student models, differentiated instruction, and group/partner activities all help strengthen writing skills and understanding. Students also practice their editing skills on common language and style issues.
Titles in This Program
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Program Features & Resources
Features
Prepare Students for State Assessments
- Students identify and cite textual evidence.
- Authentic source texts provide assessment simulation.
- Student models demonstrate steps within the writing process.
- Rubrics and checklists for each type of writing.
Step-by-Step Lesson Structure
- 4 to 7 lessons for each writing type.
- Each lesson focuses on a key standards-based skill or concept.
- Multiple activities per lesson enable students to improve their writing skills in small, manageable segments.
Prepare Students for Writing Performance Tasks
- Activities are tied to source texts—annotating, analyzing, citing.
- Lessons build to "You Try It"—a model writing performance task.
- Student models illustrate standards-based quality expectations.
Support for Struggling Writers & ELLs
- The Gradual Release Model progresses from scaffolded instruction to independent writing performance tasks.
- The step-by-step lesson progression builds competence and confidence.
- Small group and partner activities are provided throughout the lessons.
- Differentiated lesson plans for struggling and advanced writers.
Teacher Materials
Lesson Planning & Instructional Support
- Deliver instruction through interactive whiteboard minilessons.
- Engage students in active discourse through whole class, small group, and partner activities.
- Support struggling writers through scaffolded instruction, reproducible activities, and gradually releasing students to independent writing tasks.
- Provide differentiation for ELLs, struggling, and advanced writers.
- Plan and manage instruction through lesson plans and pacing guides.
- Aid student understanding with reproducible student models, checklists and rubrics.
Look Inside
Sample Pages
- Grade 3
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - Grade 4
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - Grade 5
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - Grade 6
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - Grade 7
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - Grade 8
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - High School Level A (Grades 9–10)
Student Edition | Teacher Guide - High School Level B (Grades 11–12)
Student Edition | Teacher Guide
Correlations
Standard Correlations
Common Core State Standards
TEKS