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Email Writing for Students

by Lori Gracey September 10, 2020

written by Lori Gracey

Most of us have been using email for a large portion of our lives. So it’s natural to assume that everyone knows how to send a “good” email. But that’s definitely not true, especially for students. Just like any other skill, learning to send a meaningful, accurate, and polite email must be taught. Let’s look at how we as educators can do that.

Age-Appropriate Email Strategies

Depending on the age of the student, the following tips are appropriate (from the article Email Etiquette for Students):

Elementary School:

Using proper sentence structure
Spell checking
Privacy for both the student and the recipient(s)

Middle School:

Thinking before clicking Send
What to share and what not to share
Basic courtesies in email and texting

High School:

When to email or text and when not to
Not all communications should be emoji or acronym based
How to clearly communicate with you mean

College:

How grammar and approach can leave an impression
How to use email for employment opportunities
Portraying a serious intent and professional tone

Start with the Basics of Writing an Email

As a former English teacher, I would begin helping students learn about emails by discussing that writing an email is a different type of writing than, say, writing a text message or a legal document or a joke. There are certain ways that it should be done. Then I would show them this easy-to-understand infographic.

The five steps above, if followed, would result in a polite, informative, email that is a call to action to resolve some problem or question. (Please note that, while this is formulaic writing, something I don’t normally believe in, I do feel that it would work well as an introduction to students on the art of composing an email. Once they’ve mastered it, they can branch off on their own more.)

I would go over this with the students and then pull up several example emails that I had created previously, having the whole class talk through how they could be improved. For each email, I would ask the students, sometimes in pair, sometimes alone, to think through the five steps to see if there were changes in any of them that needed to be made. For me, I would use these as my examples in this order (from simple to more complex):

An email with no greeting or closing
An email that doesn’t state the problem or question
An email that has too long or too short a subject line

Next, ask students what information they think would need to be added to the five steps to help a busy teacher. (Perhaps the class period of the student?) I would then talk about voice in writing and how, since this email is going to their teacher and not a friend, it needs to be grammatically correct. That’s a good time to show them the spell checker and how to use it. This is also a great time to show them how to create their own signature for an email, even several (one for more formal messages and also an informal one for their friends or family).

Finally, I would ask students when sending an email may not be a good idea. I would hope they would come up with when they are angry or when it’s an urgent matter that really needs a face-to-face (or Zoom to Zoom) discussion. They might also say that a student shouldn’t send an email if he/she can just ask the teacher the next day (for something minor).

Putting It into Practice

Before turning your students loose with email, it would be good to have them practice first. Here are two different ways to do that (taken from Classroom Activities: Email).

Class Email

Foster new friendships and help students practice their reading and writing skills. Pair students up in the classroom (or with students in other classrooms) and have them exchange email addresses. Ask one to write a message to the other and start an email change. You may want them to write about a specific topic, such as a response to an issue or a piece of writing, or you may want them to just share what happened that day. Once your students are comfortable with this, they could become e-pen pals with students in another city, state, or country!

Community Leaders

Many government and community leaders, such as the mayor, governor, and even President of the United States, have email addresses that people can write to and share their thoughts. Discuss different issues in the community with your students. What can be changed? What seems unfair? What issues should leaders be working on or improving? Brainstorm different ideas and then have students write emails to their community or government leaders. Remind them that in formal messages, they should refrain from abbreviations and emoticons.

Writing an Email Resources

To help your students learn more about the art of email creation, here are a few good resources:

Email Etiquette Lesson Plan – a great resource with a Kahoot! game, video, primer quiz, and both guided and independent practice. The lesson plan is designed for grades 6-8, but I would be very comfortable using it for grades 4-12.
How to Write an Email to Your Teacher (with a nice graphic of both a “good” email and a “bad one)
How to Write an Email to a Teacher (with Pro Tips) – nice three-minute video for secondary students
The Best First Writing Lesson of the Year: Email Etiquette 101 – This article lays out why email etiquette is so important and then provides some great ideas for teaching it. (I especially loved the #EmailFail idea, although most of the examples provided are for adults only. Instead, have your students create their own “EmailFail examples.)
How to Email a Professor (With Samples) – very clear directions in this article
Email Etiquette for Kids – good lesson with two activities for upper elementary students
Email Writing: 10 Classroom Activities – good for an introductory unit for secondary students
15 Ways to Make Email Practice Fun – lots of innovative ideas here
Digital Etiquette – This is a four-minute video from BrainPOP that covers digital etiquette in general. It might be a good way to lead into the email lesson.

An Additional Resource

Thanks to Lindsay Foster from Gainsville ISD who created two wonderful infographics to share with GISD students from the information in this blog. One of them is in English and the other is in Spanish. Perhaps you could use these as a starting point for an infographic for your students!

writing an email

*This blog post was updated with new content on August 19, 2021.

September 10, 2020 13 comments

Assistive Writing Features in Google Docs

by Diana Benner July 7, 2020

written by Diana Benner

Did you know that Google Docs contains assistive writing features? Writing can be a complex task for all students, and particularly for students with learning disabilities. The Google Docs assistive writing features will assist students to write more quickly and efficiently. Check out the features below and see how they can help your students.

Autocorrect

Autocorrect will automatically correct misspelled words as you continue to type. If you have a misspelled word, you will notice that it will briefly contain a grey dashed underline. The dashed line will disappear once autocorrect fixes the spelling. The autocorrect feature can be found by going to your Google Doc and clicking on Tools > Preferences and placing a check mark next to “Automatically correct spelling.” The rollout of this feature started on June 1, 2020 and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2020.

Autocorrect can help students with disabilities, like dyslexia. It will help them not worry over every word and ultimately save them time so they can focus on the bigger picture of their writing.

Smart Compose

Smart Compose is a feature that uses artificial intelligence to help you create content faster by suggesting relevant phrases. It also reduces the chance of spelling and grammatical errors. If a suggestion is correct, all you do is press the tab key or the right arrow key and a suggestion will appear. The Smart Compose feature can be found by going to your Google Doc and clicking on Tools > Preferences and placing a check mark next to “Show Smart Compose Suggestions.” Smart Compose has been in beta since last year, but will be officially rolled out by June 30, 2020.

The Smart Compose feature will help students by coming up with words or phrases to help them complete their sentences. By suggesting phrases, students can come up with a more coherent flow in whatever it is they are writing. It will also reduce the number of spelling and grammar mistakes that might be made as well. I can really see this benefiting English Language Learners, too.

Good writing skills are essential, and assistive writing features, like those mentioned above, will help our students. If you are looking for more ways to help your students with writing, be sure to check out even more writing tools for them.

July 7, 2020 0 comment

Web 2.0 Tool Writing

Reading and Writing Tools for Educators

by Dr. Bruce Ellis April 25, 2019

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

As an educator, you may have several resources in your PLN (Professional or Personal Learning Network) where you collect tools for students. But where do you go for tools to use for your own reading and writing? Even if you have some more traditional tools you enjoy, consider some of these to help you, whether for fun or work.

Tools for Reading

Flipboard — Flipboard has been around for quite a while and is a great tool to curate reading material on topics, people, and organizations of interest to you. This free tool is for Android, iOS, and the web. You can also find a few tutorials to help. The tool allows you to curate your own magazine(s) of readings that you would like to share out to your like-minded friends. Start by identifying the topics, publishers, and people you are interested in. You will then begin getting a tailored list of blogs, articles, and resources. You can like and dislike articles to help Flipboard refine its accuracy in pulling together readings for you. And, if you like to share the resources you find (tweet, email, text, etc.), you will find it super simple to share, too.

Goodreads — Looking for the next author to read? Want to know what others are enjoying, not in a marketing way, but from the grass roots? You will enjoy Goodreads. If you are wanting to be connected through the app, then you can connect with your friends and keep up with who is reading what and what they liked (or didn’t like) about any book. You can easily keep up with what you’ve read as well as what you’d like to read. Take a look at Goodread’s Listopea where you’ll find lots of interesting, curated lists all ready for you, such as Great “Cat” Books, Weirdest Books Ever, 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, Books that Made You Ball Your Eyes Out, Books Written by Disabled Authors, and so on. If you can think of a category or topic, you can probably find a list for it. If not, you can start a list that others can help with. Find Goodreads on iOS and Android.

Scribd — If you are like me, you have plenty of time on the go to listen to great books. Because my commute gives me about two hours in the car each day, I find that I can make great use of the audiobooks in Scribd. When I have time to sit and read, I can search their extensive library for good online books. What I like most about Scribd is that you pay a monthly subscription fee and have access to everything. Besides books and audiobooks, you will also have access to sheet music, magazines, and documents. You can find Scribd on Android and iOS. If you would like to have access to books and audio books after your subscription ends, then consider using Audible. Though you purchase each book you read or listen to, it remains yours even if you end the subscription.

Read2Play — If you would like your children to use some of their screen time to read prior to playing games, then you may want to check out Read2Play. You can subscribe to a seven-day trial period to see if it meets your needs. Read2Play allows you to identify which apps can be access after the reading goal has been met. Read2Play is for iOS and Android.

reading writing

Tools for Writing

You may find that you have to write much more than you prefer. Some people are great at writing and really enjoy it. Others though, like me, would rather tell somebody the information and have them write it for me. Wherever you find yourself on that spectrum, here are some tools that can assist you in a variety of writing tasks.

Writing Templates

Sometimes it is hard to get started writing when you are staring at a blank page (or a blank screen). In those times, consider using a writing template to prime the pump. You will enjoy the selection of 127+ Writing Templates that template.net provides. You will find many different categories of templates such as grant writing, proposal writing, resume writing, writing up an employee, and even book writing for you to use when you sit down and finally start that novel you have always wanted to write. Even if you change up everything, at least you have some information to get you started so that it is easier to prime the production line.

Speech-to-Text

Let’s face it, it would be much easier if we could just dictate and have the information typed for us. Well, there is good news for everyone who doesn’t have a stenographer. There are easy (and free!) speech-to-text tools you can use. These tools transcribe what you say as you speak. Depending on the sophistication of the tool, it may offer to insert punctuation where needed without you even saying so. If you are just getting started using speech-to-text tools, then consider checking out one of the following tools:

SpeechTexter — This online tool allows you to create text notes, emails, manuscripts, blog posts, and more just by using your voice. Begin by clicking on the Start button. When asked to allow your microphone to listen to you, click the Allow button. SpeechTexter boasts 60 languages. It won’t translate what you are saying, but it will allow you to dictate in the language of your choice. Because this tool has simple writing tools included in it, you can go back and forth using your voice and typing.
Watson Speech-to-Text — This simple tool allows you to dictate by talking into your microphone. You can also upload pre-recorded audio files (mp3, .mpeg, .wav, .flac, or .opus) and have them converted to text. This tool can even recognize multiple speakers and make the distinction in writing. Below is an example of one of the pre-recorded samples they have.
Dictation— You will definitely enjoy the simplicity of this robust tool that can copy, save, publish, play, email, print, and clear your text. You will need to use your Chrome browser on your laptop to access it, but you will definitely find this as an easy go-to speech-to-text tool to add to your arsenal. You can even have the text read back to you.

If you find that you have an online article that you would like to read, but are too tired, then copy and paste the article into the Dictation text area and have it read to you! You can select from a variety of voices as well as adjust the pitch of the voice and the speed.

Writing Instruction

Learning to write better as an adult can be quite easy. No need to take a formal college class if you don’t need to. Here are a few tools for you to consider:

13 Guaranteed Methods for Becoming a Better Writer — Fast — This informative blog post by Allison VanNest will give you some quick tips with a brief explanation of each. Even if you find you aren’t writing blog posts, you will find her ideas very relevant.
Daily Grammar — If you prefer writing instruction specific to grammar and simple to digest, then consider subscribing to this set of 440 lessons that you receive via email. These begin with very easy lessons. If you want to jump to specific mechanics of grammar and writing, then take a look at their Lesson Archive.
Writing Meetups — If you find that you prefer a social setting when working on your writing, then consider looking for a nearby Meetup. Enter your zip code and the distance to look for a club that may be meeting near you or worth driving to. You’ll find groups for fiction writers, romance authors, grant writing, speed writing, and even for folks that love using a typewriter! If you don’t find a group that fits your writing need, you can start one. You might find that there are others near you that would enjoy being in your group!

What tools do you use to help you when you read or write? We’d love to hear from you. Whether it is for business or for fun, your tool may be that special one that another educator could really benefit from! Be sure to share in the comments below.

April 25, 2019 1 comment

iOS Tips and Tricks Writing

Seven Best Writing Tools for iOS Devices

by Guest Blogger February 5, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Recently, Apple decided to renew its focus on the educational market. The company may have lost some ground to Google and other companies when it comes to owning the educational space, but there’s no denying it’s still a major player. One of the reasons that iOS devices remain popular in educational settings is because there’s no shortage of apps and tools that can be used in the classroom.

Writing is one particular niche where iOS developers have really done an exceptional job. There are a host of apps that students can use to become better, more prolific, creative writers. Here are some of the best.

Simplenote

As its name suggests, Simplenote is a very simple tool for taking notes. These are automatically saved to the cloud and synced to other devices. This is a plus for students who tend to have papers disappear into the ether between school and home or who don’t have access to a stick drive. The tool works for iOS, and there’s also a browser version.

Simplenote is a text-only tool. Some people may see this as a drawback. However, its simplicity gives students a distraction-free utility for taking notes quickly and easily.

Canva For Education

Canva is largely marketed as a simple, graphic design tool for business. However, thanks to Canva’s education initiative, teachers and students can use this tool to create posters, presentations, reports, and more. There are over a million icons, photographs, layouts, and other images that students can access via Canva. This app is available for both the iPhone and the iPad.

Notability

Notability is a wildly popular tool among students and teachers for note taking and annotations. Students can create and share documents from Notability. They can also use the drag and drop feature to move images, text, and other files into the app.

One really neat feature is the ability to search for handwritten notes and convert them to text. When combined with Apple Pencil, students can use Notability to hand write annotations and draw directly onto their device.

This tool even works for students who are auditory learners. The app features allow you to record and play back audio. Even better, notes are synced with the audio recordings. This means that students who are reviewing their notes can also listen to a playback of the lecture

Microsoft Word

It may seem counter-intuitive to use a Microsoft App on an iOS device, but in reality, it makes a lot of sense. Many schools already subscribe to Office 365. It’s a word processing tool that many people already know how to use, and it’s easy enough for others to master. Whether your classroom uses iOS devices exclusively or you simply have a few students bringing their own, the Word App for iOS ensures that every student can access this powerful writing tool.

OmniOutliner

By creating outlines, students are empowered to organize their thoughts and create well-structured documents. This leads to better writing outcomes. It’s also a great way for them to organize large amounts of information for their own understanding. OmniOutliner is an iOS tool that allows them to create great outlines with ease.

Yes, students can use any word processor for outlining, but this tool is created specifically for this purpose. It functions especially well for students who need to create and organize lengthy outlines.

Terminology

Terminology for iOS isn’t a writing tool in the strictest sense. It’s a dictionary and thesaurus reference. Still, it has features that can most certainly help students to become better writers. The tool allows students to look up words, mark words as “favorites,” attach notes to words, and more. Students can also use the tool to look up definitions and other information on Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Google, and Wolfram Alpha. As a result, this tool not only improves writing, it can improve overall literacy.

Grammarly Keyboard

Grammarly Keyboard for iOS is a portable editor that students can use directly from their devices. It checks writing for mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Even better, it integrates with all other phone apps. As long as students have the Grammarly keyboard selected as their default, they have access to Grammarly insights. Even better, the tool provides easy-to-understand explanations for the suggestions that it makes.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve chosen iOS devices for your classroom, you’re in luck. There are a variety of tools available to help students take better notes, organize their thoughts, and otherwise produce quality written works. Check out a few of the tools here to help your students improve their writing abilities.

This is a guest blog by Daniela McVicker. Daniela is a passionate digital marketer who is interested in everything related to SEO and blogging. She collaborates with Topwritersreview and other websites where she shares her experience and helps marketers make their name in the online world.

February 5, 2019 1 comment

ESL/ELL Good Teaching Microsoft Tips and Tricks Reading Special Needs Writing

Supporting Bilingual Students with Reading and Writing

by Miguel Guhlin December 12, 2018

written by Miguel Guhlin

In the United States, over thirteen million children speak a language other than English at home. After English, Spanish is the most common language spoken (Source: Data Center). In 2016, there were 456,000 Texas students who had difficulty speaking English. What are some of the ways that schools can use technology to assist students who are learning English? In this blog entry, let’s review research, approaches, and tools for teaching reading and writing to English language learners.

Enhancing Reading

Microsoft’s Learning Tools and other digital text tools can enhance reading. Students’ experiences with digital texts include pictionaries, read alouds, and parts of speech. Each can help extend students’ vocabulary and support them in learning more about sentences structure.

One incredible Office 365 tool is the Immersive Reader. It offers various features such as:

Adjustable font size, text spacing, and background color
Splitting up words into syllables
Line focus
Highlighting verbs, nouns, adjectives, and sub-clauses
Choosing between several fonts optimized to help with reading
Reading text aloud with adjustable speed
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) from print and pictures

These tools can help English Language Learners as they learn to break down words and phrases and improve their English literacy. Enhanced reading can also lead to enhanced writing, as my own story can attest.

Growing Up Bilingual

“How’s that book report coming along?” asked my dad. It was nearly noon on a Saturday. Balled up pages of handwritten text covered a corner of the hexagonal kitchen table. I smiled at him. “I’m on my fifth draft of a page-and-a-half book report.” The sheer exhilaration of putting words where I wanted to kept me wrestling with the ideas. Each time, I changed a sentence, I got an insight into the idea I was fishing for. I’d come a long way from my big fat “F” in reading and writing in second grade.

Research says a lot about children like me who grew up speaking and writing in two languages. Growing up bilingual? Some research says the following:

You may learn English words and grammar at a slower pace than monolinguals,
You tend to be better at multitasking than monolinguals.
You can pick out relevant speech sounds and ignore others in noisy environments. (So, my mom was right. I did have selective hearing as a teenager!)
Your verbal skills in each language are weaker than those of monolingual speakers.

Growing up bilingual, my dual language background enriched my writing style.

Improving Writing

From book reports to essays and then more book reports, I learned to write in sixth grade. Constant writing allowed me to refine my use of two languages. Some of the techniques that I rely on as a bilingual writer are as follows:

Create graphic organizers, semantic webs, and concept maps.
Summarize research and explain what another has said or written in your own words.
Chunk writing in blocks with headers.
Start with dialogue or a story.

Want to help your English language learners and bilingual/ESL students improve their writing? You can use these same techniques with the help of tech tools.

Blending Technology into Writing

Ready to blend technology into the four techniques I mention above? Today, we have access to a wide range of tools and resources. Here is a roundup of tools:

1. Create graphic organizers

Have a touchscreen device like an iPad, Windows 10 tablet, or Chromebook with a stylus? Use convenient apps to organize your nonfiction or fiction writing. These apps do well for note-taking. Find them available for iOS, Windows 10, Chromebook. Many types of graphic organizers exist online. Use them as a model to organize your work and model it for students. I grew up drawing concept maps for lecture notes and grabbing key ideas from texts. Until I internalized the process, I used them to organize my writing.

2. Summarize research in your own words

Summarizing is the process of keeping what’s relevant and discarding the rest. For bilingual brains, this is one strength to develop. As a child, I was assigned research papers. I had limited access to encyclopedias. If I wanted access to information at home, I had to take notes on what I read. I kept what was relevant to what I hoped to write. One way to encourage students involves focusing on the main ideas and supporting details. Get them to write, revise the information, and focus on the relevant. One tool that I use often is Hemingway Editor. It helps cut unnecessary words and shorten ideas.

3. Chunk writing with headers

Chunking splits information into small pieces. This makes reading and understanding faster and easier. Students may see a piece of writing as one long narrative. Teach them to write longer pieces. Each piece is assembled in short chunks. Students can apply chunking strategies with these methods:

Craft short paragraphs.
Keep sentences short.
Use bullet or numbered lists.
Create a visual hierarchy with varying styles of headings and subheadings (Source)

One easy way to model this for students is to write blog entries. Your students can write about anything. Practice chunking it. Begin with short pieces first. Craft longer pieces in time. A fun way to approach this could be to have students chunk an existing piece of writing, explaining why as they do it.

4. Start with dialogue or story

“When do you use quotation marks?” asked my son. I had shared my Dad’s approach to selecting books to read. He was wont to say, “I crack the book open. If it has a lot of dialogue, I get it. If it doesn’t, I leave it on the shelf.” This made my son want to create writing worth buying. “You use quotes around things people say,” I said to him.

“Quotes move a piece of writing forward,” I added after a moment’s thought.

Want students to use dialogue well? Have them create comics. Every speech or thought bubble is a snippet of dialogue, spoken or imagined. Using tools like Book Creator, students can make comics. They can highlight nonfiction or fiction information and ideas. Each exchange forces students to break concepts into smaller pieces. They use their own words, striving for natural speech.

Reading and Writing to New Heights

Writers can be like rock climbers. The cliff climber pits herself against the physicality of the rock. A writer clings to ideas, dangling from a precipice. Embrace strategies and technologies for reading and writing with your bilingual students, especially as they work to perfect their English. Give them the skills they need to express themselves in English as well as they can in their mother tongue.

December 12, 2018 1 comment

English Language Arts Writing

Unlock Your Students’ Stories with Tools to Support Creative Writing

by Susan Meyer November 20, 2018

written by Susan Meyer

Creative writing is the makerspace of the mind. A truly open assignment where students are free to follow whatever crazy directions their stories takes them? This is a priceless avenue for invention.

Right now, we’re nearing the end of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). This is a 30-day period when writers around the world write like the wind. The goal is to produce a 50,000-word novel during the month. This writer has personally started and failed the challenge three times. But luckily, I never consider the undertaking truly a failure. After all, even if you don’t hit a certain number of words, there are always things to be gained from writing stories. Writing builds confidence, encourages creativity and self-expression, boosts the imagination and problem-solving skills, and helps you learn to clarify your thoughts.

I want to share some tools to get your students writing down their craziest, most outlandish, off-the-wall stories. Here are some ideas to get started.

Spark Inspiration

Writer’s block. Sometimes the most difficult task is overcoming the blank page. Here are some tools to help your students answer the question: What should I write about?

Thanks to the collective hive mind of the internet, there’s no shortage of writing prompt generators. These provide free plots ideas to start a narrative. This site lets you choose your genre and what type of ending the story will have. And this one from Scholastic lets you choose your grade level for age-appropriate writing projects. This Google Doc option doesn’t create full plots but instead offers imaginative phrases to get those wheels turning.

For your more visual writers, check out this Emoji Writing Prompt Generator. A few randomly-selected icons might spur your students to write the next great American novel.

Finally, if you don’t want a whole plot mapped out for you, there’s this fun generator that creates the first line of a story for you. This could be a fun classtime writing activity if you assign all students to write using the same first line and discover all the different directions their stories can go!

Write Online

Once they have their idea, the next challenge is putting pen to paper. Or, times being what they are, fingers to keyboard. Typing out a story has some distinct advantages. You can easily share it with others for collaboration. It’s often faster than writing by hand. And you don’t have to worry about your only copy blowing away or getting thrown in the fireplace or some other very literary scenario. Here are a few places students can start their next writing project:

Of course, it would be impossible not to include Google Docs. This tool makes word processing in the cloud simple. Changes are automatically saved and your students can also easily share their work with you or other students for comments.

Draft is another free tool designed for online word processing. It has some unique features that make it great for young writers. It provides a word count at the bottom of the screen and lets them know how many words they are writing per day. It also allows them to make “to do” notes in their stories so they can easily come back to things they want to elaborate on more.

Of course, there are also some downsides to writing on a computer instead of in a notebook. Namely: distractions. Calmly is a writing tool that tries to keep the writing process distraction-free. When you start typing, all of the distracting menu options disappear, so you have a blank canvas to work on.

Refine the Work

One of the fun things about creative writing is you can let all the ideas flow freely and not worry about editing. Those NaNoWriMo winners who get to 50,000 words certainly don’t end up with a completely polished, ready-to-publish piece in 30 days. While the goal of encouraging creative writing might not require polishing, you can still provide some tools if your students are happy with their story and want to take it to the editing phase.

Grammarly is a free proofreading extension you can add to your web browser. It will correct typos and grammatical errors in everything from your emails and social media posts to your creative stories and poems.

Hemingway App is a way for writers to improve the readability of their work. It highlights sentences that are hard to read and offers suggestions for fixing them. Depending on their personal style, your budding writers may or may not find this useful. If they enjoy figurative flourishes and are more of a William Faulker than an Ernest Hemmingway, this might not be the tool for them.

Go Forth and Create

In the same way that students can find value in makerspaces by creating things without strict parameters, so too is there great value in free writing. Allowing students to use their imaginations to whip up whole worlds from thin air is powerful. Do you have any favorite writing tools? Please share them in the comments below!

November 20, 2018 0 comment

Content Areas Google Tips and Tricks Writing

Improve Students’ Writing with WriQ

by Lori Gracey February 17, 2018

written by Lori Gracey

Helping students improve their writing can be an extremely difficult and complex task. There are so many variables present in a piece of good writing that must all work together. Grammar, spelling, word choice, plot, sentence construction, voice — how can a teacher help students improve all of these and still have a life of her own that isn’t consumed by grading? Enter WriQ, an add-on for Google Docs.

Designed for the teacher and not the student, WriQ is a tremendous tool. The system scores and keeps track of students’ spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors so the teacher can focus on the things that computers can’t score as well. This will save the teacher time and frustration in marking those common errors. You can view a good introductory video on the power of WriQ here. The system auto-scores students’ docs and tracks the following measures over time:

Correct word sequences score
Grammar error rate
Percentage error free
Punctuation error rate
Spelling error rate
Text maturity
Time spent writing

Image result for wriq

The teacher dashboard provides a clear, graphical view of students’ writing activity, and lets you track their progress over time. That is HUGE! The teacher can also submit individual feedback and comments.

Image result for wriq

There is a good FAQ page available here that will answer most, if not all, of the questions you have. WriQ is completely free for now, but over time, additional “premium” features will be added. For a limited time, as a thank you to everyone who scores 100 student writing passages to help them out, they’ll give you free access…for life! So get it added to your Google Docs today and start submitting your students’ writing. This is definitely a tool that you will want to continue using!

Interested in other add-ons for Google tools? Check out these blogs here and here.

February 17, 2018 0 comment

English Language Arts Writing

Writing Tools for Chrome

by Lori Gracey August 26, 2017

written by Lori Gracey

The Chrome browser is such a powerful piece of software, and it’s becoming more prevalent every day. Whether you’re using a Windows, Mac, or Chrome computer, this browser should be your go-to for Internet access. If you have students who are using the Chrome browser, then there are some extensions and websites that you will want to recommend to them to use to improve their writing.

Grammarly for Chrome – I love this extension! It comes in both a free and a premium version. The free version will check your spelling and grammar on almost anything you write, including Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, and nearly everywhere else you write on the web. It does require that you create a free account. But with that account, you’ll get weekly emails with insights and performance stats about your writing. You can find out more here.

The premium version will check for more than 100 other types of errors and provides vocabulary enhancement suggestions, detects plagiarism, gives citation suggestions, and more.

WordCounter – While this website serves a seemingly simple purpose, I use it all the time. Apart from counting words and characters, their online editor can help to improve word choice and writing style, and, optionally, help you to detect grammar mistakes and plagiarism. In addition, WordCounter shows you the top 10 keywords and the keyword density of the article you’re writing. This allows you to know which keywords you use how often and at what percentages. This can prevent you from over-using certain words or word combinations and check for best distribution of keywords in your writing. In other words, it can help you become a better writer!

In the Details overview, you can see the average speaking and reading time for your text, while Reading Level is an indicator of the education level a person would need in order to understand the words you’re using. To check word count, simply place your cursor into the text box and start typing. You’ll see the number of characters and words increase or decrease as you type, delete, and edit them. You can also copy and paste text from another program into the online editor.

EasyBib Toolbar – This extension is great for secondary students and up. It will let you cite web sites with just one click. Students who use it can also receive advice on the credibility of the website they’re citing, making it a critical part of their digital citizenship skills. Cite as many sources as you need to build a fully-formatted, alphabetized, and Word-processor-ready bibliography.

Cliche Finder – Another good extension for secondary students, this one lets you paste text into the website and then have all of the cliches identified. Besides helping with their own writing, Cliche Finder is also a good tool to help students understand what cliches are and how they are regularly used in the news and movies.

Hemingway Editor – Help your students to embrace clear, clean writing like the great author Hemingway with this website. The app highlights lengthy, complex sentences and common errors. It also identifies dense and complicated sentences, sentences written in passive voice, and weak adverbs and phrases. It will show the readability level and word count, too.

MindMup 2.0 – Although this extension has a terrible name, it is a very powerful but easy-to-use mind mapping tool. Using a graphic organizer like a mind mapper is a great resource for all students and can help them become stronger writers. MindMup can be used for collaborative writing as well and interfaces with Google Drive.

Calmly Writer – If you have a student who is easily distracted while writing by all of the bells and whistles available in most word processing programs, try the Calmly Writer website. It offers a completely blank screen with nothing to think about but the writing. Clicking on the lotus flower in the left-hand corner will reveal a drop-down menu of expected word processor options. One of the preferences available is white text on a black screen, which can be good for students with dysgraphia. While there is a Calmly Writer app for Chrome, it is $4.99; the website is free.

WriteWell Online – This Chrome extension has won awards for its intuitive editor vast library of writing templates, many of them designed for K-12. Some of the included templates are:

Five Paragraph Essay
Research Paper (Analytical and Argumentative)
Short Story
Argumentative Essay
Expository Essay Narrative Essay
Cover Letter
Persuasive Essay
Lab Report
Expository Essay
Speech (Informative or Persuasive)
Book Report

It is free to use for up to five documents. You can receive unlimited documents for $2.99.

What great writing tools have you discovered that work with the Chrome browser? Please share in the Comments section below!

This blog was updated with additional resources on September 22, 2017.

August 26, 2017 0 comment

Title and a 4 emoji writing prompt of smiley face, rocket, octopus and grapes

Content Areas Good Teaching Google Tips and Tricks Writing

A New Type of Writing Prompt

by Peggy Reimers January 14, 2017

written by Peggy Reimers

I have been around long enough to see many crazy fads: pet rocks, Care Bears, Smurfs, and Angry Birds. Do you know the current fad in pop culture? Think. Think hard. You know it, (I know you do) because THESE are everywhere. Picture walking down the aisles of Walmart, CVS, Target, or your local grocery store, and what do you spy?

Emojis. Yes, you read that correctly, Emojis. These small images that represent emotions have been transformed into tattoos, pillows, slippers, Halloween costumes, and Pez dispensers. So why not use them in an elementary writing class?

One of my nightly rituals is to scan Twitter for resources, and while doing so, I came upon Eric’s tweet “Emoji Writing Prompt Generator w/ Google Sheets.” According to Twitter, Eric Curts is a tech integrationist, a geek, and a Google Apps Certified Trainer and Innovator. And he has a fantastic blog called Control Alt Achieve where he posts his educational creations. Eric used Google Sheets to create a writing prompt generator that produces a random set of two, three, four, or even five emojis at a time. Instead of providing words for a writing prompt, he used a formula in a spreadsheet to inspire kids to have fun writing a story or a poem.

According to Eric (and I SO agree), there are several great reasons for using emojis as writing prompts:

“Since emojis are images, they can be used with students of any age, language, or reading ability.
They can provide a wide range of ideas since each student will have their own interpretations of the pictures.
Emojis are very popular with students, so they will likely have familiarity with the images.
They are fun! And writing should be fun. And learning should be fun. And school should be fun!”

Using the Emoji Generator

To start using this wonderful resource:

Click here to go to the resource.
Click on the blue button, “Make a Copy.”
Your copy will open up in your Google Drive.
The copy will have the name “Copy of Emoji Random Writing Prompt Generator.”
Click on the tab to select the number of emojis you want to generate.
Press “Ctrl” and “R” to get a new set.

Other Educational Uses of Emojis

Other possibilities for the Emoji Generator:

Use the emoji generator and have students vote on which one they like the best. Graph the results.
Create a word problem using emojis.
For younger students, they could say beginning and ending sounds of each emoji. They could also verbally tell a story or write a sentence using the emojis.
Name the emoji and list its rhyming words.
Can you make the emojis fit into your life right now?

A Sample Emoji Prompt and Story

Screenshot of the emoji writing prompt with sad face, footprints, and bathtub.

Let me give emoji writing a try with a true story for my life today: “My refrigerator quit cooling this morning. I am sad. I used my feet to find my phone and called the appliance repair service. Now I need a hot bath to relieve my stress.” Give it a go; see what you and your students can write with emojis.

Featured image Emoji Writing Prompt, by Eric Curts

January 14, 2017 0 comment

Content Areas Libraries Web 2.0 Tool Writing

Celebrate National Writing Month

by Dr. Bruce Ellis November 4, 2016

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

November is National Novel Writing Month and can affectionately be referred to NaNoWriMo. As Ernest Hemingway once said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” Whether you want to become an accomplished writer of novels or just need to improve your writing skills, here are some online tools tailored just for you. Also, if you are an English, reading, or writing teacher, consider using some of these tools with your secondary students.

NaNoWriMo Website

Yes, a robust website has been developed and dedicated to helping folks improve their writing skills as they learn to share their story. NaNoWriMo.org has pep talks from authors, regional groups to facilitate meeting other budding (and recognized) writers, as well as support to help you plan out your novel. Besides using it to develop your own story, secondary teachers may find this a perfect resource for those students who find writing to be a great expression of themselves.

Wridea

Wridea may be the perfect tool for you if you are the type of person who likes to keep a notebook of ideas. As a digital version of your notebook, Wridea will let you organize and share your ideas with others. You can even share ideas with friends and have them vote on their favorites to help you choose the best idea to run with.

oTranscribe

If you are like me, I’m not able to write for very long before it seems laborious. At that point, my sentences (and thoughts) start getting very succinct…possibly too much so. For people like us, there is a tool called oTranscribe. Though not as good as having someone else transcribe for you, it allows you to upload an MP3 or video and play it so that you can type in the area provided. To make it nicer, you can adjust the speed of the audio to match your typing speed. You can use any device to record your audio or you can use a free online tool such as Online Voice Recorder.

SpeechNotes

SpeechNotes is a simple speech-to-text tool that will type what you say as you speak into your microphone. Power-users will find the voice commands handy for making the process even more effortless. You are able to type as well, although you’ll probably find the transcription to be very accurate and easy. SpeechNotes also allows you to set the language so you can speak in a language other than English and have it transcribe in that language. When done, upload your file to Google Drive, save as a Word document or text file, or send it as an email.

Rewordify

If you are trying to write to a broader audience, it is important to consider your writing vocabulary and examine it for readability purposes. Rewordify is a simple tool that will examine your writing for you and make suggestions based on your preferences. You can have Rewordify automatically swap out higher vocabulary with simpler synonyms or show the suggestions within the context of the writing itself. You can paste your text in the tool or paste a URL for it to examine a specific web page.

Hemingway App

The Hemingway App is another simple tool that gives you feedback on your writing. Besides calculating the readability of your text, it will also make highlights for you to consider revising, including sentences that are hard to read, possible adverbs to remove, suggestions for simpler text for various phrases, and a check on your use of passive voice. If you like stats, you’ll find that it gives you the basics stats regarding counts for paragraphs, sentences, words, characters, and letters, as well as how long it will take the average reader to read your text. While the online version is free, a desktop version is available for purchase if you want to work without the need for Internet connectivity.

Additional Resources

If you find that you are looking for even more writing tools, then consider checking out one of the following lists:

I’ve shared several tools to help you in your journey of using technology to support your writing and hopefully make it more enjoyable for both you and your reader. We’d love to hear from you; post your comments below and tell us what tools you use to help with writing or even your favorite author to read.

November 4, 2016 0 comment

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