Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Here’s another one of my “Best of…” lists. This time it’s focused on websites to support writing instruction/reinforcement for grades K-12.

K-12 is a pretty wide-range, and there are some sites here that are obviously more geared towards either younger or older students. I used my usual criteria though, which is that they all need to be accessible to English Language Learners and to teachers who only know how to email and copy and paste a url address.

I’m feeling a little conflicted about making this list. I think writing is the least one of the four “domains” (speaking, listening, reading, writing) that can be explicitly helped by using the Internet (of course, reading good materials on the Web also is a big help towards developing writing skills).

I believe the best way computers can help students become better writers is by their just using wordprocessing. The immediate spelling and grammar corrections offered by these programs, plus the ability to cut, copy and paste, are great student tools. And you don’t need the Internet in order to use wordprocessing (though there are certainly accessibility benefits to using an online program). Of course, in order to really benefit from a program students also have to know how to type (I’ll leave typing websites for a future list).

Another reason I’m a bit conflicted is because I believe the best writing curriculum out there, by far, is the one offered by the WRITE Institute. It’s focused on English Language Learners, but we’ve certainly used their materials successfully with mainstream students as well. Their curriculum, however, is only available to schools who’s Districts have an official “partnership” with them. Technology is a minimal part of their program, but I’ve found the sites on this list good supplements.

Here are what I think are The Best Websites For K-12 Writing Instruction/Reinforcement (I know that title is quite a mouthful!):

Number eleven is a new one called Protagonize. This is an unusual pick for me, because I won’t even be using it for a couple of months. Let me explain.

Protagonize is a great Web 2.0 application that allows users to write their own stories, and contribute to the stories of others, as a kind of “Choose Your Own Adventure,” like the Goosebumps books. Writers can easily develop different alternatives that readers then have to choose. You might want to read two posts I’ve recently made about the site.

The problem with it right now is anyone can add to the stories and there’s a tiny amount of accessible content that is labeled “mature.” As you’ll read in my posts about it, the site’s creator is in the process of developing the ability to create closed small groups to work on stories, and to be able to limit the ability to see other stories on the site. He expects those features will be added in a month or two.

I’ve ranked a site from the Abu Dhabi Men’s College as number ten on the list. It has great sample essays for a variety of genres, and a lot of additional materials. I don’t really have students go to the site, but I’ve been able to print out and use a lot of the materials.

Number nine is a site that’s made a number of my lists, but is usually not near the top because it costs money — Brainpop. For a few hundred dollars a year, a class can watch excellent animated movies about writing and many other topics, along with additional online activities. Plus, the movies are now closed-captioned, which is great for English Language Learners.

Number eight is Great Source. Their site has a number of very helpful resources for students. I’m particularly impressed with a number of accessible online Tutorials they have about different essays. This one on Persuasive Writing is an example.

Number seven is Scholastic’s Create A Tale. Students can….create a tale using step-by-step instructions including images.

The BBC’s Story Plant is ranked sixth. Here, too, students are guided to create a simple story. I particularly like this site because it offers audio support for the text you see on the screen.

Writing Fun is number five. It would be difficult to design a site that was more attractive or more supportive to students organizing many different types of essays.

Number four is Essay Punch. It’s the free online version of a fairly popular program that is also available for purchase. It offers an interactive step-by-step model for writing an essay. At the bottom of its webpage you can also find links to other versions, including Paragraph Punch, Business Letter Punch, etc.

BBC Skillwise has a great Writing site filled with interactive activities and is number three on my list. One of my favorites is The Virtual Traveller. In it, students can choose a place from around the world; listen to someone speaking in simple English about it; type notes when they’re listening; write a short summary; choose pictures; and then print it all out.

Yet another BBC site called BBC RaW has more great interactive writing exercises. The best two are Writing Stories and Every Picture Tells A Story.

Finally, the number one website for writing instruction/reinforcement is…. the BBC Bitesize Revision for Writing. Admittedly, it’s geared towards a younger audience (and perfect for English Language Learners), but their multiple activities are just great and deserve to be in first place.

As with all these lists, they’re entirely subjective. I’m certainly open to hearing other feedback.

You can see the other “Best of…” lists here, and you can also find links to these, and 8,000 other categorized sites, on my webpages.

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