New and Updated for the PSSA English Language Arts Tests for 2015-2016! This workbook is specifically designed to develop writing skills. Students will write in response to passages, as well as write narratives, opinion pieces, and essays. Students will gain experience completing research projects and edit and revise their work. This workbook will develop the writing skills that students need, while preparing students for the writing tasks on the PSSA English Language Arts tests. Provides Ongoing Skill Development and Practice - Ten convenient practice sets allow for ongoing skill development - Each practice set contains two reading comprehension tasks where students write in response to passages - Each practice set contains two writing tasks where students write a short story, personal narrative, opinion piece, or essay - Guided writing tasks include hints, planning activities, and review checklists to guide students and encourage strong skill development - Each set includes additional core skills exercises that focus on key writing skills Preparation for the PSSA English Language Arts Assessments - Provides practice completing writing tasks just like those on the PSSA tests - Covers opinion pieces, narratives, and informative/explanatory essays - Includes practice for the text-dependent analysis questions on the PSSA tests - Guided tasks and checklists teach students how to produce effective writing - Provides extensive experience providing written answers to reading comprehension questions - Builds higher-order thinking skills such as analyzing and evaluating texts Full Coverage of the Pennsylvania Core Standards for Writing - Covers all the types of writing in the state standards, including opinion pieces, informative/explanatory texts, and narratives - Provides practice writing in response to literary and informational texts - Includes exercises for additional writing skills, including completing research projects and gathering information from sources Key Benefits of this Workbook - Flexible format allows practice sets to be completed to suit any schedule - Helps students transition to the more rigorous PSSA tests - Develops the writing skills that are emphasized by the Pennsylvania Core Standards - More rigorous tasks encourage deeper understanding and more advanced thinking - Tips, planning, and review activities teach the key features expected of student writing - Format allows for review after each set to provide feedback and promote improvement