Middle School Writing Best Practices





Teacher Tools

Interactive activities are an important part of the learning process. This website provides effective exercises for grades K-12.  Preschool age children can also benefit from this tool using their Story Map and Learning About Language games.

This is an awesome website dedicated to the art of writing. It offers resources on fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art, and photography. In addition, Teen Ink  provides summer programs and camps for teenagers. The essays featured on the website provide inspiration for learners who want to improve their writing skills.

EssayMama offers great tips and guides on writing, as well as fun articles that inspire children to express their own thoughts in written form.

This isn’t the most visually stunning website, but that doesn’t make it any less useful for  instructors. A list of links guides you to online resources that will be useful at any stage of the learning process. You can explore the basic steps of research, character development, the 5-paragraph essay, picture book projects, the 3-step creative writing process, and much more. You will also find awesome games that teach writing through fun activities.

Time4Writing – Free Writing Resources

This is a mandatory website for educators who want to teach writing effectively. You will find links to resources organized in seven categories: Writing Skills, Writing Sentences, Writing Paragraphs, Writing Essays, Writing Mechanics, Standardized Testing Writing, and Teaching Writing. Some of the most useful tools this website provides are the graphic organizers and fun exercises for each category.

Hemingway Editor is a great tool you can use in such situations. It analyzes the sentence and provides a readability score. In addition, you will see all confusing sentences highlighted in yellow and red. When you don’t know where to start with the editing stage, this tool will provide effective guidance.

Good sample essays for young children are not easy to locate. This website is a great source of content in four categories: narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive essays. Start with the featured essays, then dig deeper to find inspiration on different topics.  When your child starts writing more, encourage them to take part in the site’s weekly essay contest. Winners are published in the mini essays section.

Quill provides free writing and grammar activities for elementary, middle, and high school students. www.quill.org