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BoomWriter is a supremely engaging creative writing website that has students reading, writing and assessing content in ways they've never done before! The teacher selects or produces his or her own story start, and the students let their imagination and writing skills take over. One chapter at a time, the students write, read, and then vote on the submissions they like the most. The winning chapter is then added to the story and the process continues. The teacher determines the total number of chapters to be completed, and when the competition is over a new book is ready to be published.

The inklewriter lets you write as you play, branching the story with choices, and then linking those stories back together again. It keeps track of which paths you've finished, and which still need to be written. There's no set-up, no programming, no drawing diagrams. Just start writing and see where it takes you. Oh, and it's free to use. And once written, you can share your stories with whomever you like.

Awesome list of visual writing prompts used by a teacher.  Very creative and engaging!

great, creative writing prompts to use with students

Crunchzilla is a fun way for all students to learn how to painlessly write JavaScript programs. It offers three different interactive tutorials where kids and adults can play with code, experiment, build, and learn. Code Monster is for younger children, ages 9-14, and for curious adults. Code Monster is the easiest tutorial. Code Maven is for ages 13 and up and is harder than Code Monster with more difficult problems, more depth, and more explanation. Game Maven is for adults and older teens who have some programming experience. Game Maven is a step-by-step tutorial for writing three different video games.

"Adobe® Story software lets you outline your ideas, write scripts quickly with automatic formatting, and collaborate online. Plan and schedule fast-paced video projects, organize production with reports, and leverage script metadata in post-production."

This is a fun and authentic way for students to practice writing, show their learning, and participate in class discussions.  

Writing partner

Inspired picture writing

From Smith Teen magazine, great resource for writing 6 word memoirs and an opportunity to publish online

PicLits aims to provide inspiration for writing short stories through personalized pictures students can create

There is a new Wonder of the Day everyday!  Such a cool resource.  You could use this as a bell ringer, writing prompt, etc.  Spark some creativity and innovation!

Great lesson plan from ReadWriteThink writing poetry and animating with Animoto

Great pictures across the globe.  Good for introducing studies, writing prompts, and sparking good discussion!

Just what every teacher needs, a quick and simple cool tool! Quicklyst does more than let student take notes or make lists. Students can organize, save and search their notes with just a username and password. Registration is not needed. This easy to use site connects to Wikipedia and Merriam Webster. Download, print or send notes to a Kindle. Tip: Have students use the organization capabilities as a pre-writing tool before they create their research projects.

framework for reading and writing gamebooks, such as the Choose Your Own Adventure, Lone Wolf, and Fighting Fantasy series. Not a 3D environment and mostly text-based, but does contain some good branching and good for RPG; free.

With Phrogram, you can learn the experience of programming using a development environment that is similar to what working programmers use to write, test and debug their software programs.

Shidonni is an imaginary world that kids create. It provides a virtual universe where kids can create their own imaginary world, play, and share games and interact with each other in a safe environment online. Kids can create their own animals or characters online and make them interactive. Their characters actually move and interact with the kids (no programming required!). They can create a world for their character, feed their character, write stories starring their characters, and play games using their character. Shidonni is an amazing way for kids to express themselves creatively. They will LOVE the interaction that this site provides.

Capture your child's voice and imagination with our creative story building tool and share them with friends and family. Encourages creativity and self expression Helps reinforce reading and writing skills A GREEN alternative to books NO ads, NO merchandising, NO external links Made with kids in mind! It's Fun and it's FREE for everyone!