Help students develop the reading and writing skills they will need to succeed in class and on assessments! This workbook will help students develop their reading comprehension skills and their writing skills. The book includes exercises that will develop all the writing skills that students need, while preparing students for the questions and tasks they will encounter on assessments. Students will learn how to demonstrate their understanding of reading passages by providing written answers to questions, and will also produce various types of writing in response to writing prompts. These activities will develop the skills that students need to perform well in class and on tests. Key Stage 3 Test Preparation The exercises and activities in this workbook will prepare students for Key Stage 3 tasks and tests. These tasks and tests often include open response questions that require students to show their understanding of passages by providing written answers to reading comprehension questions. This workbook will develop the skills needed to answer these questions, and prepare students for the types of questions found on reading and writing assessments. New for 2012-2013 This workbook has been expanded to include core skills exercises focused on the key writing skills that year 8 students need to develop. The additional exercises included throughout the book will challenge students, allow students to apply a wide range of writing skills, and give students the opportunity to complete research projects and produce writing for a wide range of purposes. About the Book Part 1: Reading and Writing Mini-Tests - Mini-tests provide practice answering all types of open response questions - Develops the skills needed to answer open ended reading comprehension questions - Prepares students for the questions found on assessments - Covers a wide range of passage types and question styles - Hints are included with questions to help and guide students Part 2: Responding to Literature - Guided writing tasks teach students how to answer essay questions based on passages - Includes a planning process for students to follow - Hints are included to guide students and help develop writing skills - Guided writing tasks help ensure that student writing will score well on tests Part 3: Guided Writing Tasks - Guided writing tasks teach students how to approach writing tasks - Includes writing prompts for narrative, descriptive, and persuasive writing - Gives students practice writing short stories, letters, essays, opinion pieces, and more