ABSTRACT
Innovations provide children with powerful models for engaging with and practicing many of the tasks they must encounter in state and national tests. Innovations on single words are an effective way to begin. Informational texts provide powerful models for writing for different purposes and audiences. Interactive, shared, and guided writing allow them to continue to build on their knowledge and experience as writers. By planning, organizing, and communicating their thinking as they read informational texts, students are able to use their ability to find and interpret information as they read other informational texts. Each opportunity to use these texts for shared and guided writing also provides children with models to use in their independent writing.
