Need help starting your writing?

I saw this recently on Facebook- what a wonderful collection of writing prompts, character starters, and more.  While it does have advertisements, I think it could still be useful in your class.  There is even a children’s version for younger learners.

Helping students improve their writing

Stephanie Farley (writing in Middle School Web) shares her 9 step solution to help grow student authors.  Her thoughts stem from her students’ feedback and confusion about their grades.  By modifying her instruction (including student self-evaluation) her students' writing and confidence grew.

Writing prompts from the NYT

Looking for some new writing prompts to help your students connect their lives with

literary themes? Try this list from the New York Times.

SEL and Sesame Street

Even though this blog post is from WriteReader, you could use their lesson plan ideas on kindness in a variety of tech (and non-tech) applications.

WriteReader

Before WriteReader appeared in the TeachersFirst highlights, I had seen it and asked Maria Vella to “test drive” it with her third-grade class.  They loved it!

It allows you to create a story, add your own images, and publish to your class.  In a feature geared for younger learners, there is a separate student and parent line (so the parent could provide a translation of the child’s words if needed. For the complete post, please click here.