Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers

Phyllis Hostmeyer lives in Southern Illinois, but is a Language Arts consultant for Educational Resources Group, Inc. of Charleston, South Carolina. (www.ergsc.com) A frequent speaker and presenter throughout Illinois, Phyllis has also worked as a language arts consultant throughout the country and abroad. She conducts a range of workshops on reading, writing, assessment, poetry, and other topics. But her favorite presentations revolve around the sentence patterns. In addition, Phyllis is a professional storyteller who turns fables and fairy tales into rap, jazz, and ballads. She also does Bible tellings and has traveled to Israel as part of an American Bible telling team. She uses her storytelling skills to bring life and learning to her educational workshops.

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Introduction: Why Teach Sentence Patterns? 2. Teaching Parts of Speech 3. Sentence Patterns by Grade Level 4. Sentence Combining to Reinforce Skills 5. Activities for Students Needing Extra Practice 6. Extra Practice With Patterns 7. Short Writing Assignments 8. From Patterns to Essays References Index

"This author provides the tools teachers need to make grammar instruction meaningful and engaging so students build the knowledge they need to craft not only sentences, but strong pieces of writing that meet the demands of the Common Core." -- Carol Gallegos, Literacy Coach "This book is a great resource for teachers looking for ideas to improve their skills in teaching writing to students. I wish it had been around when I was working on my professional development and working towards my National Board Certification." -- Ken Garwick, Education Consultant "Students will enjoy the active and collaborative lessons that will allow them to gain skill in writing grammatically correct descriptive sentences with the sophistication of variety in structure." -- Sharon Jefferies , Retired Teacher "The writer's knowledge of how students learn, passion for finding ways to teach sentence patterns, and willingness to share those strategies with the world all combine to make Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers: Building Better Sentences a book that every writing teacher can use." -- Norma Barber, Language Arts Teacher