English SOL Online Writing
Registration now open for the K-12 English Language Arts Standards of Learning (SOL) Institutes to be held July-August. See Superintendent’s Memo #115-12
Writing is not merely a finished product; it is a process including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Instruction in the writing process begins in grade one in the 2010 English Standards of Learning and continues throughout grade 12. Students will become proficient in all steps of the writing process for a variety of modes of writing including:
- Consider purpose and audience;
- Prewrite using a variety of strategies;
- Narrow and focus the topic;
- Organize ideas;
- Compose a first draft;
- Elaborate ideas by providing details and examples;
- Revise writing;
- Use peer or self-editing, to correct sentence formation, grammar, usage, and mechanics; and
- Publish writing.
Beginning with the 2013 spring administration of grades 5, 8, and end-of-course Standards of Learning (SOL) writing assessments, Virginia students will complete all direct writing tests online. Teachers need to provide opportunities for students at all grade levels to plan, compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using computers.
Lesson Plans
The new English Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence will be published in fall 2012. The Enhanced Scope and Sequence sample lesson plans are aligned with the 2010 English SOL. In preparation for the new online writing assessments, several of the writing lessons from each grade band are provided. These materials are intended as examples of ways the understandings, knowledge, and skills might be presented to students in sample lessons that have been aligned with the new standards.
- K-2 Prewriting Using Pictures
- K-2 Revision
- K-2 Writing process-Expository writing
- Grades 3-5 Informative/Expository Writing
- Grades 3-5 Persuasive Writing
- Grades 3-5 Word Choice and Sentence Variety
- Grades 6-8 Identifying audience and purpose
- Grade 6-8 Prewriting and drafting strategies for persuasive writing
- Grades 6-8 Determining Purpose and Audience
- Grades 6-8 Creating a Thesis Statement and Topic Sentences
- Grades 9-12 Persuasive Writing
- Grades 9-12 Persuasion-Argumentation
- Grades 11-12 Counter Arguments
- Grades 11-12 Write and revise business and postsecondary correspondence
Resources
Outside Links
- The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) writing Web page
- ReadWriteThink – A collection of English/ Language Arts lessons plans for grades K-12
- Thinkfinity – A collection of Web sites covering core-curricular areas with standards-based lesson plans, student interactive pages, and other resources
- Internet4Classrooms – A collection of Web sites covering core-curricular areas with standards-based lesson plans, and other resources using technology
- Video workshops for teachers provide practical advice for teaching writing - from Anneberg Learner:
- Keyboarding Methodology Instructional Guide for Teachers and Administrators (PDF) – a guide designed to help teachers instruct the proper techniques of keyboarding along with activities to improve students’ speed and accuracy.
- National Writing Project – a collection of writing resources for teachers
Graphic Organizers (All files are PDF format)
- Clustering
- Idea Map
- Process
- Comparison / Contrast
- Order Importance
- Sensory Chart
- Connected Relationships
- Persuasive Paper Checklist
- Sequential Order
- Spatial Order
Progression Charts for Writing & Grammar
The Standards of Learning Progression Charts for writing and grammar identify the grade level at which specific skills are formally introduced in the 2010 English Standards of Learning. The progression charts provide a visual representation of the grade level at which a student should have formal instruction on specific skills. Not all skills in the English Standards of Learning are represented in these charts nor are the skill progression charts a replacement for the English Standards of Learning or the English Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework.
Writing Test Blueprints
These test blueprints will be effective with the administration of the 2012-2013 English Standards of Learning (SOL) tests.
- Grade 5 Writing (PDF)
- Grade 8 Writing (PDF)
- End of Course (EOC) Writing (PDF)
Writing Test Practice
Writing Practice Items and Guides
Writing Practice Items and Guides provide the opportunity for students to practice multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items (TEI) that reflect the new content and increased rigor of the revised English Standards of Learning (SOL).
Writing Practice Tools and Guides
To prepare students fully for the online writing assessment, teachers are encouraged to use the practice tool with their students in order to familiarize students with the online formatting tools available in the TestNav testing platform. These formatting tools mirror those of many word processing programs.
- Grade 5 Writing Practice Tool
- Grade 8 Writing Practice Tool
- End of Course (EOC) Writing Practice Tool
- Practice Guide for the Writing Practice Tool (PDF)
Online Writing Test Webinar Series (conducted on January 17 and 19, 2012)
Checklist for Writers
- Grade 5 Writing (PDF)
- Grade 8 Writing (PDF)
- End-of-Course (EOC) Writing (PDF)
View VDOE's Expenses