Skip
to Content

Online
Services | Commonwealth
Sites | Help
| Governor

Search
Virginia.gov:

Virginia Department of Education

Staff
Contacts | Search
VDOE:

Text Size:

A

A

A

Home » Testing & Standards
of Learning (SOL) » The
Standards & SOL-based Instructional Resources » English

VDOE Home

About VDOE

Board of Education

News

For Public
Education Administrators

For Students
& Parents

Education
Directories

Testing & Standards
of Learning (SOL)

Instruction

Special
Education

Student & School
Support

Teaching in
Virginia

Federal
Programs

Statistics
& Reports

Information
Management

School
Finance

Testing & Standards
of Learning (SOL)

The
Standards & SOL-based Instructional Resources

English

Mathematics

Science

History
& Social Science

Family
Life

Economics
& Personal Finance

Fine
Arts

Foreign
Language

Computer
Technology

Health

Physical
Education

Driver
Education

Resources:

Released
Tests

SOL
Review Schedule (PDF)

SOL &
Common Core Standards

Glossary

Integrating
SOL & Technology (PDF)

You May Also Be
Interested
In:

WIDA
Standards for ESL/ELP

Instruction

Special
Education

Graduation
Requirements

The pages for Testing & Standards of Learning are managed by several
divisions and offices. See Staff
Contacts.

The
Standards & SOL-based Instructional Resources

English SOL Online Writing

The Writing Process

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:

Developing
Writers: A Workshop for High School Teachers

Write
in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers

Inside
Writing Communities: Grades 3-5

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.

Graphic Organizers (All files are PDF format)

Clustering

Idea
Map

Process

Comparison
/ Contrast

Order
Importance

Sensory
Chart

Connected
Relationships

Persuasive
Paper Checklist

Sequential
Order

Spacial
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
Skills Progression by Grade (PDF)

Grammar
Skills Progression by Grade (PDF)

Writing Practice
Tool

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.
In addition, practice items that provide examples of the technology-enhanced
items that will appear on the new online writing tests will be available on the
Virginia Department of Education Web site in the late fall.

Writing Practice Tools and Guide

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)

Checklist for Writers

Grade
5 Writing (PDF)

Grade
8  Writing (PDF)

End-of-Course
(EOC) Writing (PDF)

Top
of Page

Virginia Department of Education © Commonwealth of Virginia, 2011 | View
VDOE's Expenses
WAI
Compliant | Web Policies
| Freedom of
Information Act | User Tips, Viewers &
Hints | VDOE Webmaster | Statement of
Non-Discrimination