QUICK PRACTICE WRITING SKILLS Grades 6 8 Dozens of Reproducible Pages That Give Kids Practice in Grammar, Mechanics, Spelling, and Other Key Writing Skills by Marcia Miller and Martin Lee NEW YORK TORONTO LONDON AUKLAND SYDNEY MEXICO CITY NEW DELHI HONG KONG BUENOS AIRES
Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the activity sheets from this book for classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Cover design by Maria Lilja Cover illustration by Mike Gordon Interior design by Jeffrey Dorman Interior illustrations by Marcy Ramsey ISBN 0-439-37097-3 Copyright 2003 by Marcia Miller and Martin Lee All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 40 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
About This Book...4 Using This Book...5 Tried & True Test-Taking Tips...6 Part 1: Grammar and Mechanics Sentences and Sentence Problems...8 Write Complete Sentences...9 Write Sensible Sentences...10 Fix Run-On Sentences...11 Common Nouns and Proper Nouns...12 Identify Kinds of Nouns...13 Nouns: General, Specific, and More Specific...14 Use Abstract Nouns...15 Use Pronouns...16 Pronouns and Antecedents...17 Use Pronouns Correctly...18 Identify the Simple Predicate...19 Use the Right Verb Form...20 Use Linking Verbs...21 Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs...22 Use Prepositional Phrases...23 Find the Spelling Errors...24 Find Capitalization Errors...25 Correct Punctuation Errors...26 Complete the Sentence: Homophones...27 Write a Sentence: Homophones...28 What s Wrong With the Sentence?...29 Part 2: Writing Styles Identify the Tone...32 Identify Figurative Language...33 Use Figurative Language (1)...34 Interpret Figurative Language...35 Use Figurative Language (2)...36 Sensory Images Chart...37 Choose the Synonym...38 Choose the Antonym...39 Thesaurus...40 Use Adjectives and Adverbs...41 Topic Sentences and Support...42 Paragraphs and Topic Sentences...43 Unity in Paragraphs...44 Use Transitions...45 Coherent Paragraph (1)...46 Coherent Paragraph (2)...47 CONTENTS Part 3: The Writing Process Prewriting: Narrow a Topic (1)...50 Prewriting: Narrow a Topic (2)...51 Prewriting: Narrow a Topic (3)...52 Prewriting: Use a Chart to Gather Details...53 Prewriting: Use a Diagram to Gather Details (1)..54 Prewriting: Use a Diagram to Gather Details (2)..56 Prewriting: Parts-of-Speech Word Web...58 Prewriting: Who,What,Where,When, Why, and How?...59 Prewriting: Use a Chart to Respond to Literature...60 Prewriting: Use a Chart to Organize Details (1)..61 Prewriting: Use a Chart to Organize Details (2)..62 Prewriting: Separate Fact From Opinion...63 Prewriting: Gather Information Using Various Resources...64 Drafting: Identify the Audience...65 Drafting: Know Your Target Audience...66 Drafting: Identify Audience and Purpose...67 Drafting: How Purpose Affects Writing Style..68 Drafting: Choose the Organizing Plan (1)...69 Drafting: Choose the Organizing Plan (2)...70 Drafting: Choose the Organizing Plan (3)...71 Revising: Edit for Parallelism...72 Revising: Vary Sentence Length in Paragraphs..73 Revising: Enliven Dull Sentences...74 Revising: Fix a Terrible Composition...75 Part 4: Writing Activities Writing: Exposition (1)...78 Writing: Exposition (2)...79 Writing: Exposition (3)...80 Writing: Exposition (4)...81 Writing: Narration (1)...82 Writing: Narration (2)...83 Writing: Persuasion (1)...84 Writing: Persuasion (2)...85 Writing: Expression (1)...86 Writing: Expression (2)...87 Writing: Expression (3)...88 Writing: Report Writing...89 Writing: Response to Literature...90 Writing: Practical Writing...91 Writer s Self-Evaluation Checklist...92 Teacher Notes and Selected Answers...93 3
Name SENTENCES AND SENTENCE PROBLEMS Choose the best description for each group of words. 1. Last week s meeting of world leaders. 2. The meetings took place in the new convention center. 3. Until everyone arrived, the diplomats chatted in groups of two s and three s. 4. The leaders took their seats and listened to the speaker at the podium. 5. The leaders met for two hours, they then ate a sumptuous dinner. 6. When the dinner was over, some diplomats attended a play. 7. Near where the hotels were located and not too far from the convention center. 8. The host country made every effort to treat the visitors graciously. 9. The meetings lasted for three days; they were seen by many as a great success! 10. The participants agreed to meet again, they set up a committee to choose the time and place. 8
Name WRITE COMPLETE SENTENCES Use each fragment to write a complete sentence. You may position the fragment anywhere in your sentence. 1. looking out the window 2. that she had to drive 3. when we left the exhibit 4. running as fast as he could 5. traveling all night by bus 6. as long as we re here 7. under a jumble of papers 8. without fully understanding the directions 9. immediately stopped writing and looked up 10. in the waning afternoon light 9