Read Write Think

Read Write Think has a lot of useful tools for making writing fun in the classroom. The visuals are the sort that would usually appeal to children and teachers will like that each tool also includes a list of ways for using the tools in class activities. Each of the links below will take you to the activities pages which then contain the links for the teaching tool.

The Letter Generator

The Letter Generator is a useful tool for students to learn the parts of a business or friendly letter and then compose and print letters containing all the essential elements needed for both styles of correspondence.

Animal Inquiry

Supporting inquiry-based research projects, the Animal Inquiry interactive invites elementary students to explore animal facts and habitats using writing prompts to guide and record their findings. This is a good introductory activity for students before writing information reports. It would work well as an IWB activity when working on a joint construction.

Comic Creator

The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (prewriting, pre- and postreading activities, response to literature, and so on). The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (prewriting, pre- and postreading activities, response to literature, and so on). This would be perfect for introductory cartooning or simple conversation writing for younger grades.

There are many other useful tools at the site, and a list of the rest of them can be found HERE