Web Sitings: Writing and the Classroom

Improve your students' writing with these helpful sites

By Kathy Schrock

ePALS Classroom Exchange
www.epals.com/
One of the best ways to improve student writing is to have them write, and what better way to get them interested in writing than to have an electronic pen pal? To get your class started, sign them up at ePALS Classroom Exchange. The site also includes a searchable database of other schools looking for e-pals and grade-level projects in which you and your class can participate.

WriteDesign Online: Graphic Organizers www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/index.html
Pre-planning and organizing information before beginning the writing process is an important first step. Using concept-mapping software such as Inspiration® can be helpful, and this site contains examples of many different types of graphic organizers to use in support of classroom writing.

Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Teachers looking for a comprehensive collection of information dealing with the mechanics of writing need not look any further. This Web site provides everything from the parts of speech to quotes from famous writers. While the site was created to support university-level English courses, it provides helpful information for K-8 students and teachers alike.

Journal Writing in the Classroom
http://k-6educators.about.com/library/weekly/aa100100a.htm
Created by a third-grade teacher, this site contains a practical overview for open journal writing and a list of “teacher-tested” journal prompts. The site's author also includes the brief rubric her students use for self-assessment and classroom management procedures to help keep it all organized-all of which can easily be adapted for any grade level. (Another great list of journal prompts can be found at www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html

KIdsWWwrite
www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/read.html
This easy-to-navigate site accepts story and poem submissions (up to 1,000 words) from students up to 15 years old. The Web site takes care to protect the privacy of students and allows writers copyright ownership. The submitting process is a breeze-just copy the text from a Word document and paste into the online form provided.

PIZZAZ: Creative Writing and Storytelling Ideas www.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/pizzaz.html
Although it was created to support teaching English as a second language, this page contains fun and interesting writing project lesson plans and ideas for any classroom. The ideas range from Sausage Poems (in which one word ends and the next word begins with the same letter of the alphabet) to more traditional lessons.

Implementing the Writing Process www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/newpage1.htm
If you are looking for an online source to help you implement a writing program in your classroom, this is the place to go. After taking a pre-assessment survey (www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/rubric.htm ), you are led through a series of lessons, such as creating the curriculum; the rough draft; revision; editing tips and tricks; and a list of ways to publish student work.

Kathy Schrock (www.kathyschrock.net) is the administrator for technology for Nauset Public Schools in Orleans, MA. This article was written exlsuively for Instructor Online, copyright 2003.