1. STAAR Writing: March 28th
STAAR Writing Prep
STAAR Writing: March 28th
Name:____________________________

2. a sentence with more than one subject or predicate
Compound Sentences
a sentence with more than one subject or predicate
NOTES:
and
Compound sentences join two ______________________ _________________ by using a __________________ conjunction.
Complete the coordinating conjunctions:
f___ a___ n___ b__ o__ y___ s___
Mr. Evans owns a hardware store, _____ he also sells paint.
You can also use a _______________ to join two simple sentences (independent clauses) together.
PRACTICE: Identify 3 compound sentences from the video 1. 2. 3.
APPLICATION
Write 3 compound sentences of your own.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

3. Complex Sentences Score:__________
a sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses
NOTES:
A sentence has to have a __________ and a verb. It must also be a _____________ thought.
A complex sentence is made of a DEPENDENT clause and an INDEPENDENT clause. Complex sentences use SUBORDINATING conjunctions.
Complete the subordinating conjunctions:
a________ a_________ a__ w_____ w________ u_____ b__________ b_______ i__ s________
______________________________________________ she gets home from school, Sally eats.
______________________________________________ she isn’t very hungry, Sally eats.
______________________________________________ she loves food, Sally eats.
PRACTICE:
Score:__________
Score:__________
APPLICATION
Write 3 complex sentences of your own.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

4. a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it
Appositives
a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it
NOTES:
An appositive can be a ____________ or __________ combination of words.
The lumberjack, _______________________, is chopping down our tree.
a large man renames the noun lumberjack
Appositives can be placed at the _______________, _______________, or ________ of a sentence.
Use ______________ when inserting appositives!
_____________________________, Bobby never lost his cool.
A laid back guy renames the noun Bobby
Amanda, ________________________________, is from Kansas.
the girl who moved next door renames the noun Amanda
PRACTICE:
Score:__________
Score:__________
APPLICATION
Write 3 sentences of your own using appositives.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

5. Apostrophes: Who Owns What?
NOTES and ACTIVITY:
You use an apostrophe to show ownership.
Remember that to show belonging/ ownership/ possession you add _________ to the end of the word.
The _________ door says that the doors belong to the car.
The _________ tails says that the tail belongs to the cat.
If the owner is a _____________--more than one thing– and already end in ____ then you don’t need to add another ____. You just need to add an apostrophe.
The __________ coat says that the coats belong to some boys.
The _____________ house says that says that the house belongs to the Taylors.
Watch out for _______________ (more than one) that don’t end in ____.
These use ________ to show _____________________________.
The ___________ hat says that the hats belong to the men.
The ________________ bag says that the bags belong to the women.
APPLICATION: Circle the correct answer.
Going through other (people’s / peoples’) things without permission can make them angry.
It’s always a treat when (tangerine’s / tangerines) are in season.
(Sarah’s / Sarahs’) pen is missing.
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

6. Capitalization RATING SCALE:
NOTES:
When to CAPITALIZE
The ___________ word of sentences and quotations.
________ is too cold.
___________ nouns
____. Buck
____________ Ocean
_______________ Middle School
The pronoun I
Do you remember what __ told you?
Nationalities, __________, and religions
My teacher is ______________________.
Beyonce is ___________________________.
I pray to _________ that the plane lands safely.
Titles
We read James Ponti’s Framed.
_____________ titles
Say hi to ___________ for me.
Did you call __________ Hollie?
President Santos is the 32nd _________________ of Colombia.
_________________ dates
Today is the ___________ of ______________.
APPLICATION
Circle the correct answer.
My (dad / Dad) words at the hospital.
Where did (grandpa / Grandpa) go?
Did (mom / Mom) call?
PRACTICE:
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

7. Dialogue
NOTES: and
Input the quotation marks:
It’s a lovely day Jim said.
Jim said It’s a lovely day.
I’m going to take you home with me the boy told the brown puppy.
PRACTICE:
APPLICATION
Write 2 sentences of your own using quotation marks. 1. 2.
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

8. Thesis Statements What is a THESIS?
NOTES:
What is a THESIS?
A _____________ you write for your readers.
It tells what you ____________ and gives them a ______________ for reading.
It’s the _________ sentence of your __________________.
It should also be restated in the ____________ sentence of your conclusion.
How long is a thesis?
A thesis is _________ complete sentence.
What does it include?
Topic (prompt)
Position
______ reasons (they become the main ideas of your two _______ _____________)
What should it NOT include?
___________ person statements
Overly _____________ details (this will allow you to go into more detail in your body paragraphs)
PRACTICE:
SCORE: __________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

9. Subject -Verb Agreement
NOTES: and
___________________ and _______________ must agree with each other in number.
Singular nouns require __________________ verbs.
___________ nouns require plural verbs.
Collective nouns usually require ________________ verbs.
PRACTICE:
SCORE: ____________
SCORE: _________/15
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

10. Transitions Which transition word best combines these sentences?
NOTES: and
PURPOSE
Transition words help your writing read more smoothly.
They help make the ________________ between ideas more clear.
Transitions can make connections between ideas and _______________.
Which transition word best combines these sentences?
Last night I baked muffins. I also made soup.
Last night I baked muffins, _____________________ making soup.
How can we connect the following sentence to the previous one?
Now I have breakfast and lunch for the week.
_____________________, I now have breakfast and lunch for the week.
PRACTICE: and
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

11. Plural Noun ending with ‘s’ Plural Noun that does not end with ‘s’
Plural Possessive Nouns: Where Does the Apostrophe Go?
NOTES
One way that an apostrophe is used is to show the possession/ownership of a ______________________.
A trick to determine if a possessive noun needs an apostrophe is to include the noun in the phrase “___________________”. If the noun in that phrase relates to a person, then you will use an ________________________________ to show possession/ownership.
Complete the chart with the rule for writing a Possessive noun and write an example.
Singular Noun
Plural Noun ending with ‘s’
Plural Noun that does not end with ‘s’
Rule:
Ex:
PRACTICE:
APPLICATION:
Write 3 sentences of your own that includes a possessive noun.
1. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

12. It’s vs Its: Which is it? RATING SCALE:
NOTES
It’s is a ________________________________________ which is a combination of the two words ___________ and __________.
Its is a _____________________________________________ that shows ownership for the pronoun ________.
Examples of other possessive pronouns, like “its”, that do not use an apostrophe to show ownership are _____________, ______________, ______________, ______________ and _______________.
Tricks to use if you’re confused:
If the sentence makes sense with “it is” or “it has”, then use ______________.
If the sentence makes sense with “his”, then use ________________.
PRACTICE
Link:
(Use this link to access the reading material.)
(Use this link to answer the questions for the reading material.)
APPLICATION
Write 3 sentences of your own that each includes a using the POSSESSIVE form Its.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

13. Parallel Structure RATING SCALE:
NOTES  
A sentence that contains parallel structures means that the sentence has a  
___________________________________________________________ to show that two or  
more ideas have the same level of importance.  This means that a set of words or phrases will be written in the same way within a sentence. 
The pattern in a parallel structures may include ___________________,  ___________________, or clauses. 
Parallel structures are usually connected by conjunctions such as ________ or ________. 
Example:  Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to fly.  The pattern involves using  the word “to” followed by an action word (this is also called an infinitive verb). 
PRACTICE   
Link:    
APPLICATION 
Write 3 sentences of your own that each includes a parallel structure. 
_______________________________________________________________________ 
________________________________________________________________________ 
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

14. Essay Organization: Getting It Together
NOTES
An expository essay is a type of writing that mainly involves investigating an _____________________, evaluating _____________________, and developing the main _____________________.
The organization of an expository essay involves:
1. A clear, concise, and defined _____________________________________________
2. Clear and logical ______________________________________ that allow for a flow between paragraphs
3. ___________________________________________ that consist of evidential support. These paragraphs should focus on _____________ main point and should connect back to the _________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________ that may include facts, statistics, logic, or anecdotes
5. A __________________________________ that readdresses (not just repeats) the ______________________________________________.
PRACTICE
Link:   
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

15. Word Choice Modify Regulate Nullify Quench Plentiful Recede Uncanny
Practice:
Find one synonym and one antonym for each word listed on this sheet by using or
Original Word
Synonym
Antonym
Modify
Regulate
Nullify
Quench
Plentiful
Recede
Uncanny
Deflate
Nefarious
Pretentious
RATING SCALE:
REFLECTION: Express your thoughts about this topic and practice activity.

16. My Notes Page