K-12 Language Arts
Writing Sites
by
Gina Otto

BIBLIOCAT NEWSLETTER - WRITING PROMPTS - http://www.bibliocat.org/
Reading and writing prompts, math sites and teacher tips all in this newsletter.  You can sign up or just click on. The complete site can be found at http://www.bibliocat.org/

BIOGRAPHY MAKER -  http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomak2.htm
The Biography Maker is designed to help you convert facts into insights, dull and boring information into fascination and magic. It will help you do a good job, but you must provide the information to make it work well.

BLUE BOOK OF GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION - http://www.grammarbook.com/ _
You don’t need to sign in or up. This guide, written by Jane Straus, is divided into two sections:  grammar and punctuation.  Each is further organized into rules with examples (navigate these with the drop-down menus), exercises and tests.   The quizzes are not interactive (print them instead) and include answer keys on the same page.  A print edition of The Blue Book is also available for purchase.

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH - http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html _
An intensive listing of words which are commonly misused. Sometimes the easiest way to learn proper grammar, is to learn what NOT to say. There are no line breaks so it's hard on the eyes. But the alphabetical listing makes it easy to find a word you question. Go to the link of non-errors and justify your idiom!

CREATIVE WRITING CORNER - http://web.tampabay.rr.com/memawscorne/Memaw's%20Creative%20Writing%20Corner.htm
Poetry, journals, warm-up activities, literature, short subjects -- all kinds of writing for the elementary schools.

DAILY GRAMMAR - http://www.dailygrammar.com
Like Word a Day, you can receive a daily lesson or access the archives for daily grammar lesson. - This is a mail list.

11 RULES OF WRITING - http://junketstudies.com/rulesofw/
This site condenses English grammar down to just eleven rules.  Drawing heavily from A college teacher created these rules based on his experience grading freshman papers.  Each rule is hyperlinked to examples of correct and incorrect usage.  For questions not covered by the eleven rules, read the Frequently Asked Questions page. There’s a New Word of the Day at the bottom of the page.
THE ENGLISH ROOM - http://www.msrogers.com/
For teachers who wish to explore poetry with their students, take a look  at 30 Days of Poetry.  Students have a poetry writing assignment each of  the 30 days, or teachers can assign several types of poems for students to experience. Research Using Technology has an activity where students research a word using several sources, then write short essays about what they discovered. Check out this site for other creative ideas that English and writing teachers can incorporate into their curriculum.

FIN, FUR AND FEATHER BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FFFBI) HEADQUARTERS - http://www.fffbi.com/hq.html
This is so cute!! The site uses interactive stories and original thinking games to get kids to solve mysteries and learn crucial skills such as using the Internet for research and investigation, reading, and writing. The project encourages exploration of a wide range of subjects from math and science to geography, genetics and history. Admittedly, it's also, as one kid wrote, "freaky weird." Thank goodness, there is a section for teachers which helps explain what's going on.
FINAL YEAR PROJECTS - http://final-year-projects.com/
Mike Hart's site will help you with practical sources of advice to help you successfully write your final year project, dissertation or thesis. This should help all third year students and many postgraduate students who are writing a thesis or dissertation.

GRAMMAR BYTES - http://www.chompchomp.com/
Robin Simmons' collection of interactive exercises, terms, rules and handouts for students and teachers; there's about a dozen online activities to take part in and the handouts are pretty well put together: comma splices, fused sentences, irregular verb usage. I especially like the way the handouts reinforce the work students are doing on the website.

GUIDE TO GRAMMAR AND WRITING - http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Pull down menus, ask the site (questions), this is a great site for  everything grammar from words and senetences to essarys, paragraphs, quizzes. There is even a section that explains when to use numbers as words and when to use the numerals.

GUILT/NOT GUILTY - http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/guilty/home.html
The assignment is to write an argument on an issue, expressing and explaining a point of view, in a range of authentic contexts, organising and linking ideas logically and making language choice appropriate to the audience. This unit plan helps students in grades 7-8 to do this

HAIKU FOR PEOPLE - http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku
How to write Haiku, its history and examples are on this page, with links to poems both classical and written by people.

THE HERO'S JOURNEY - http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/
Simulation to explore the classic mythical hero and create your own stories - wonderful concept nicely done.

K-12 ENGLISH - http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/busyt/eng.shtml
English references and Search Tools, Books-on-Line, Shakespeare, Writers, Writing and a plethora of other stuff for every grade level.

KIDLIT - http://mgfx.com/Kidlit/
Online work by kids for kids.....a great way to motivate the budding authors and illustrators in your classroom.  Also  a good selection of literature and art by kids of various ages, and a full length time travel novel..

LANGUAGE ARTS -  http://www.bibliocat.org/
A site with links to literature, poetry, writing and spelling sites.  For example, you will find a site with 12 different versions of the Cinderella Story, creative writing techniques for writing Cinquains and Diamentes, sites about Emily Dickenson, etc.   Try it, it is interesting.
LANGUAGE ARTS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS - http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~jobrown/
Links to many creative and substantial sites covering major English themes for grades six through eight.

LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON PLANS K-12 - http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang.html#lang1
Some neat lesson plans from Columbia Education Center, but just a simple list.

LEXICAL FREE NET - http://www.lexfn.com/
Type in any two words and look for synonyms, antonyms, rhymes, anagrams and more. There's even an option to find words in the database with similar spellings.

MONSTER MOTEL - http://www.kidsonthenet.org.uk/motel/
Enter the creepy house at this address and be ready to scour the place for monsters! Children are invited to read about monsters other kids have created and then try their hand at making and writing about their own.

NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE WRITING PROMPTS - http://wizard.4teachers.org/
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OUTTA RAY'S HEAD - http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/
 A collection of lesson plans with handouts by Ray Saitz and many contributors; all of the lessons have been used and refined in the classroom.  Contents contain literature, writing and poetry.

POETRY WRITING - http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm 
Jack Prelutsky, author of many poetry collections for kids, including "It's Raining Pigs and Noodles" and "The New Kid on the Block" reads a poem then shares writing tips that he uses when he write his poems, as well as ideas for revising work. Also Karla Kuskin (grades 4-8) and Jean Marzollo (grades 2-5) give workshops.  Also meat Nikki Giovanni.

POETRY ZONE - http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm
This site will publish poems of poets between four and eighteen years old. You will also find poems and interviews by some of the best children's poets around -- and much more.  Submitted works can be read in the Poetry Gallery for about a month, and then are archived in the Old Poems Rest.

STORIES FROM THE WEB - http://www.storiesfromtheweb.org/sfwintro.htm
English site developed with libraries in mind to help motivate children to respond to literature and produce their own writing; here students can read, critique and write their own stories which can be posted in the Gallery.

VIRTUAL POETRY - http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/funnypoems-wm.htm
Move the words around to make a poem.
 

WACKY WEB TALES - http://www.eduplace.com/tales/index.html
Like Mad Libs, kids create their own wacky stories and submit new ideas for other kids.

WORKSHEETS4TEACHERS.COM: WRITING PROMPTS - http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/main/worksheetfeature.htm
Changes Daily. Worksheets are ready to print and hand out to your students.

THE WRITE SOURCE - WRITING TOPICS - http://www.thewritesource.com/topics.htm
Choose by grade level, select topic, and get started.

WRITINGDEN - http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/
This site, designed for students in grades 6 to 12, provides tips on writing, help with reading comprehension and even tools to improve vocabulary skills.

WRITING PROMPT SAMPLES - http://home.earthlink.net/~jhholly/pnarrative.html
Here are 20 personal Narrative writing prompt samples with scoring rubrics grades 4-5 and 6-8

WRITE ME A STORY - http://www.kidscom.com/create/write/write.html
Each week the site challenges you to write a  story with the character, prop and place given. You send it in, KidsCom Kids vote on their favorites and the work of two kids from each age group end up in Stunningly Stupendous Stories every week." Votes are tallied in two divisions: eleven and under, and twelve and over.  Last week's story placed Dad and a parachute in the jungle.

ALSO SEE INTERACTIVE READING SITES. or  PROJECTS ON LINE  or INNOVATIVE WAYS TO TEACH or WEBQUEST ARCHIVES or go  Back to Table of Contents

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Last Updated April, 2009