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"At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective. Try describing yourself in six words. Not easy, right? So, for English teachers, the six-word memoir is a great way to get students to focus on getting a point across in as few words as possible. Students have to choose words precisely since they can't waste any. The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them. "

In this online activity, children first select one of nine word endings. They then begin making words by choosing beginnings, including single letters of the alphabet and letter blends like cl-. When children form a word, they get the satisfaction of seeing it deposited into the word bank. When they're finished, they can print their word bank. Adobe Flash is required. (Grade 1)

"Knoword is a game of quick thinking, smart decisions and great words. When you begin, you will be given one randomly generated dictionary definition along with the first letter of its corresponding word. You must fill in the rest of the word to experience a gain in points and an added time bonus. You will start off with one minute before the game ends, and every word is an opportunity to extend your time. If you're ever stuck on a word, just hit the skip button and a new puzzle will present itself."

Words are more difficult vocabulary. Most appropriate for MS & HS students, although a great challenge for advanced intermediate readers!

It's an online interactive English dictionary and thesaurus that helps you find the meanings of words and show connections among associated words. You can easily see the meaning of each by simply placing the mouse cursor over it.

Students flip the chips to make words containing prefixes or suffixes. They then have to drag the new word into the story in the space that makes the most sense.

Sixteen games containing characters from the show Martha Speaks that introduce new vocabulary through play, presenting words in proper context and providing definitions. Parents and teachers can print a list of the vocabulary words used in each game for further discussion.

"Buzzwords are frequently used in news media. These are words that do not typically occur in everyday speech, but are common among newscasters, talking heads, and pundits on cable news."

"Select one of the passages listed below. Complete the passage by selecting the words that best fit the context of the passage. Press the 'Check My Answers!' button when you are done to see how you did!"

Many science/content area reading passages. You can even add your own passages and select the vocabulary to highlight.

The sample passages look appropriate for middle school level but would be great for learning support students and struggling readers at the high school level. I would be interested to see how you can add your own passages, which would make it great for all levels!!!

It begins with a story start. A story start is the first chapter of the book. The rest of the story is up to you. The story start could be written by a professional writer, a teacher, you or your classmates, or maybe even a celebrity! You write your version of Chapter 2. Take the story where you like. The only limits are your imagination and a word count. At the same time, other BoomWriters will be writing their own version of what happens next. Submit your entry. When you're done (and before the deadline), you submit your entry for review. If it's accepted, you'll get points and BoomDollars. You'll use BoomDollars to purchase accessories for your Boomer avatar. Vote, Vote, Vote! You and the other BoomWriters vote on the entry you think is the best. Of course you can't vote for you own entry, and you won't know whose entry it is you're voting for. You may be able to vote more than once, which is good, as voting also earns you points and BoomDollars. Did you win? If so, then your entry becomes the official Chapter 2 of the book. If not, don't worry because there will be many more chances for you to win. It's a book! The competitions continue until the book is finished. Then, *Boom!* you're a published author! The end result? A real book that you, your friends, family, and the whole world can buy. Imagine that, a book with your name in it that you helped write.

"Welcome to my story ideas web site. If you want to write short stories but are stuck for ideas then you've come to the right place. Here you will find various idea generators that will provide you with as much, or as little, help as you need. There are plenty of ideas for short stories - from first lines and titles, to fully outlined characters or scenarios. A new addition is the twist in the tale generator to help with those surprise endings. Novel writers will find these ideas useful as well. There's also a random generator which will give you three words to try to spark your imagination into life. If you prefer visual prompts try the image generator. In the library you'll find books to help generate story ideas, get rid of writer's block and help with the creative writing process. Have fun and get writing!"

Letter P.A.L.S. is a school-based National Reading Project focused on helping students strengthen their reading skills through weekly, engaging practice! The project is facilitated via dynamic, high-interest, online interactive reading adventures, where the content is delivered in letterform from age-specific, theme-related, fictitious pen pals. Thus, drawing the reader into the world of the writer and providing a one-of-a-kind engaging, motivating reading practice session. Each letter is personalized with the student's name, 3-4 pages in length, professionally written, beautifully illustrated, tells a complete story, and reviewed by reading specialists for age appropriateness. The Letter P.A.L.S. reading experience is further enhanced by the addition of supplemental activities, such as word searches, crossword puzzles, etc., and extra peripheral components, such as 3D glasses, magnifying glasses, puzzle pieces, etc., to bring maximum engagement and the most meaning out of each theme-related reading experience.

"Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. You can: * Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go, * Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer, * View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen, * Print out the stories and poems to make your own book." An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom.

"LoudLit.org is committed to delivering public domain literature paired with high quality audio performances...Putting the text and audio together, readers can learn spelling, punctuation and paragraph structure by listening and reading masterpieces of the written word. Read and listen via your web browser or on your mp3 player. Regardless of how you enjoy the audiobooks (audio books), they are free."

"The most dreaded word in school reading for students: book reports. Teachers assign them, viewing them as a necessary component of assessing reading comprehension. Book reports can be a contributing factor to 'readicide'. "Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." http://stenhouse.com/html/readicide.htm. So, how can we as teachers continue to monitor our students understanding of reading material without killing the love of reading? Enter technology. Technology can help bring some excitement and creativity to the traditional book report while still displaying students understanding of reading."

Stories read aloud and words highlighted as it goes.

"sim­ple. you'll see one word at the top of the fol­low­ing screen. you have sixty sec­onds to write about it. click 'go' and the page will load with the cur­sor in place. don't think. just write."

"Educators and parents all agree that reading is one of the best ways for students to build their vocabulary. Reading has been addressed by many traditional schools with giving suggested book lists to their students at the end of each school year. Not all schools, though, participate in this practice."