Gary Pollitt

This is the other half of my book "Paraphrase Progressions and Summary Secrets." If summary is a compressed rewording of what someone else writes or says, the paraphrase is rewording without compression. When instructed to paraphrase, most students will plagiarize without even realizing it. This PDF file is tool to help you teach students exactly what a paraphrase is and gives them targeted paraphrase writing practice. The step-by-step progression is 50 pages. The key and the quiz section is

Step-by-step training for identifying fragments, comma splices, and run on sentences. There are drills, a step-by-step essay writing about these errors, and quizzes. I always strive to make the invisible visible. This is a good progression.

This is the summary section of my book "Paraphrase Progressions and Summary Secrets." It's based on the research done by Brown and Day in the late '70s. It is a systematic progression to train summary skills. It includes a test bank and answer key. I train writing as a skill. I use modeling and scaffolding. The key is systematic progression built into the programing. I also use humor to make the pattern-grooving process more fun. Suitable for anyone who needs to learn how to write summarie

Specifically targets all the mistakes students make when they cite text from the internet. Do this progression with your students before they start including MLA in text citations in their essay. They will still make the mistakes, but rather than explain the same instructions a thousand times, you simply refer them back to this progression. I love targeted systematic training. Rather than limit the teacher, it frees him or her up. The goal of this type of progression is to make learning and

Isolate, then integrate--that is how you deal with CC. Elements of fiction in a wonderful progression with lots of high-leverage practice. Includes two scaffolded essay exercises at the end of the progression and a key. Run your kids through these exercises, and they will destroy the competition when it comes to high stakes testing. I don't literarily mean they will destroy the competition. They will do well, and no one will get hurt. I'll help you if you need help getting going. This will

This the same file as the free download, "MLA Formatting: Eliminating In-Text Citations Errors" updated to the MLA's 8th edition. In the new book, MLA leaves a lot to the writer's discretion when it comes to the works cited page. Beginners don't need options. They need to learn the basic patterns. That is where this progression will come in handy. I'm charging 2 dollars because it took me forever to make the changes. This will help you get used to the new format too. I highly recommend y

This is two 25 question tests with answer keys. Students identify syntax and vocabulary errors. I use as Scantron tests so there is no grading. These are to be used in conjunction with the paraphrase progression I sell here. Students would take these tests after they do the paraphrase progression work. These tests really force the students to do very closing reading. Students generally like this exercise and it really helps build their understanding of syntax and vocabulary. I'm biased but I

Progressive drills for pronouns, covering agreement, case, and point of view. After doing these exercises students will see what a large part pronouns play in communication. The biggest surprise for me was realizing pronouns control point of view. The way you teach point of view is by building an awareness of pronouns. I had never seen point of view taught this way, but it works very well. You will see what I mean if you get the file.

This is five pages of title writing practice. Students learn format rules and work with literary and grammatical structures to come up with titles. This would work from 5th grade to college. We could all use a little help writing our titles, right? Isn't ironic that I came up with such a boring title for exersizes about writing titles?

A step-by-step progression, teaching students about verbs. I really like this progression. It's from my grammar and punctuation book Stewart Pidd Hates English. When students ask me how they can be better writers I tell them to focus on verbs. I put the key in there but the pages may be a little off but you should be able to figure it out if you need it. Watch my movie on step-by-step instruction. http://vimeo.com/40308245