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**Reading Resources**
 [|2008-2009 Grade 8 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]
 * **2008-2009** (**//Please Note//**: The 2008-2009 Item and Scoring Samplers do not contain newly released items. They are a compilation of previously released items.)

[|2008-2009 Grade 11 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|Target Passage Types for the Reading PSSA] || [|2007-2008 Grade 8 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]
 * **Older Items**

[|2007-2008 Grade 11 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]

 [|2006-2007 Grade 8 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|2006-2007 Grade 11 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]

 [|2005-2006 Grade 8 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|2005-2006 Grade 11 Reading Item and Scoring Sampler] ||

**Writing Resources**
[|2008-2009 Grade 8 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]
 * **2008-2009** (**//Please Note//**: The 2008-2009 Item and Scoring Samplers do not contain newly released items. They are a compilation of previously released items.)

[|2008-2009 Grade 11 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|Standards-Aligned Strategies and Lesson Plans for the Teaching of Writing]

[|PSSA Writing Scoring Guidelines] - //These mode-specific scoring guidelines are used for scoring the PSSA Writing Assessment.//

[|Writing Domain Scoring Guide] - //May be used for instruction and/or local assessment. Mode-specific Scoring Guidelines, which can be viewed at the link directly above, are used for scoring the PSSA Writing Assessment.// || [|2007-2008 Grade 8 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]
 * **Older Items**

[|2007-2008 Grade 11 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|2006-2007 Grade 8 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]

[|2006-2007 Grade 11 Writing Item and Scoring Sampler]

||

Web Links
You can request to join and add to the CFF English wiki. This site is edited by English teachers across the state. http://cffenglish.wikispaces.com/ CFF English Wiki, has tons of sites and resources http://www.learner.org/interactives/
 * Interactive language exercises

Confusing words http://www.confusingwords.com/ flash cards from vocab http://www.flashcardexchange.com/

These three are grammar sites: http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/writing/elem_writing/Bib/Grammar.htm http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Polling Site: Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com). This was recommended to me by many teachers.

We’d have to buy this one, but you can get on and try it. I really thought it was clever. SAT vocabulary Practice with quick witty videos: http://www.quackmedia.com/?|=video&*=00000000009

Help Writing Stories: http://www.lightningbug.com.au/index.htm

Making sentences interactive. http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/whatisasentence/index.shtml

On-line essay help http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/persuasion_map/

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/essaymap/

Interactive Tools: These tools can be used by any discipline http://www.intel.com/education/tools/index.htm

Project Ideas from Intel: http://www97.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign

On Line Thesaurus: http://www.lexfn.com

Wiki Dictionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page

Visit www.mixbook.com  and create a free account. Upload or search for photos, choose your page layouts, backgrounds and frames, save and publish. It’s all drag and drop. This site also allows for collaborative opportunities as well, simply invite people to add content to your books. How about creating ebooks for specific course content? Search for content based photos on yahoo. Have students create something other than power point presentations to share. Talk about increasing the level of engagement and understanding. http://www.mixbook.com/books?bid=107002 This is a sample of something quick I put together. Create anything from class year books to project based ebooks. Embed them or link them

... teacher who created MySpace like accounts for each of the characters in "Richard III" and as they read the book the students had to use the social networking features of the site to have the students demonstrate there understanding of the content. We could do this with a PB wiki account. This is just an example of what could be done.

Check it out here: http://www.byrdmiddle.org/richard3/ || http://cffenglish.wikispaces.com/ CFF Wiki for English teachers. Has great sources for your classes.

http://marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm Get current headlines

http://earth.google.com/rome/ 3-D tour of ancient rome

http://www.mindmeister.com/ “Collaborative Online Mind Mapping”

http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/ESLquiz.html Grammar

http://www.mywebspiration.com/intro.php Inspiration on the web

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html>

http://wordia.com/

http://wordle.net Create graphics of your vocabulary

http://www.holtuncensored.com/hu/the-ten-mistakes/ Ten most common writing mistakes

http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/resource.htm Holocaust resources

Online Graphical Dictionary http://visuwords.com Use this resource once, and it will prove invaluable! Type in a word and watch the connections appear. Scroll your mouse over a word to view the definition and use in context. Move your cursor into the main window and it turns into a hand to move the screen to fully display the word and its connections. Double click on the word and it will drill down to just that word’s connections. Parts of speech, word relationships, etc., are color-coded to assist the user. The only thing missing is audio to hear the pronunciation. But, if one uses the Accessibility features on both Mac and PC, this can be easily overcome. ||

Files
A word doc containing most of the links above.

Videos
Video on dependent and independent clauses media type="youtube" key="NQQwgWkC4-A" height="344" width="425"