Literature/Language Arts/Writing
- A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words (Artwork becomes the inspiration for brainstorming sessions, where your students will collectively create a word and idea bank based on a chosen image. They will then individually create a narrative around the work of art, extending past the borders of the image to create a whole story. Think of creating a class book to collect and publish your class stories, with the art work as the cover and displaying your book at Open House night.)
- A Timeline of English Poetry 658-2003 (edited by members of Department of English at the University of Toronto from 1912-present)
- Ace Writing (grades 3-8 - writing activities and advice, links to writing resources, word games, more)
- Acronym Server (search for acronyms and for words used in acronyms)
- Activities for ESL Students (grammar quizzes; vocabulary quizzes; crossword puzzles, bilingual quizzes)
- Alice in Wonderland: Interactive Adventure (grades K-8; contains over 25 original activities based on Lewis Carroll's classic; a quiz, crossword, word search, maze, & concentration,
- Alphabet Superhighway (K-12; comprehensive)
- American Literature of the Southwest (online modules, week-by-week lecture materials, including outlines, resources, and further reading, and aims and outcomes; should help you put together your own advanced unit on Southwest Literature)
- Anne Frank Online (grades 6-12 - life info & times, scrapbook, bibliography, online curriculum, worksheets, study guides, news updates, links)
- Arthur Appreciation Cards (grades 3-5; students write an appreciation chant on the front of the cards and draw a picture on the inside of the person they appreciate having in their lives)
- Authors: LSU's Libraries Webliography (index of indexes; contains pointers to individual author guides or other cumulative documents dealing with specific writers; most authors are "literary"; many authors from genres such as science fiction or romance not included)
- Authors, Interviews with New Zealand Authors
- Awesome Library (organizes 14,000 carefully reviewed K-12 educational resources; categories include drama, languages, lesson plans, literature, philosophy, poetry, public speaking, reading & writing, standards, bilingual education)
- AwesomeStories.com (gives the first four chapters of every story free; interactive, image-loaded web site; brings to life famous trials, stories, movies, biographies, disasters, law buzz, and more)
- Barahona Center (grades K-12; dedicated to the promotion of literacy in English and Spanish; contains info about 6,000 books; updated weekly)
- Bartleby.com (great books online)
- Bartlett's Quotations
- Benefits of Reading Aloud
Reading Aloud - Is it Worth It?
The Read-Aloud Handbook
Shared Reading from Hubbard's Cupboard
Shared Reading from EdZone
EZ School Reader
Online Children's Storybooks (K-young adult; free talking books)
Online Children's Digital Library from StoryPlace (preschool/elementary; several animated stories with printables)
- Bibliomania (grades 9-12; full texts for over 2,000 classic works; study guides & reference materials)
- Biography Maker (from Jamie McKenzie & Bellingham Public Schools; takes students through the actual steps of creating a biography, allowing them to create one online)
- Book Adventure (reading resources for both students and teachers, with a literacy calendar for special observations and events, book lists, literacy resources, and more)
Writing
- BookSpot (Grades K-12 - online books, book reviews, reading lists, author information, links to related resources, more)
- Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Newsletter & Website
- Children's Book Council (educational programs, authors, illustrators, publications, more)
- Children's Literature Web Guide (Internet Resources Related to Literature for Children and Young Adults)
- Children's Literature Links
- Classics for Young People (some of the more popular & interesting titles available in html format)
- Collab-O-Write
- Columbia Education Center's Mini Lessons (K-12; all content areas)
- Common Errors in English (EXTENSIVE collection of commonly misused words)
- Compacts for Reading (to encourage the home-school link; access reading exercises for skills reinforcement, choose grade level here; numerous student activities in reading)
- Cornerstones (literacy development site for children who are deaf and hard of hearing; can be also be used with students who learn well visually and struggle with reading)
- Creative Writing Prompts (302 writing prompts)
- Creativity Portal: Imagination Prompt Generator (scroll DOWN to find writing prompts and photo inspiration for all seasons and situations)
- CyberGuides: Teacher and Student Activities (supplementary, standards-based, web-delivered units of instruction centered on core works of literature; K-3, gr 4-5, gr 6-8, gr 9-12, foreign languages)
- Cybrary for Middle School and Beyond: Literature & Writing
- Daily Grammar (lessons plus daily email fun grammar lessons)
- Doucette Index to K-12 Teaching Ideas for Literature (teaching suggestions related to a specific book or author)
- Elements of Style from Bartleby.com
- Effective Presentations (UCLA sponsored)
- Encyclopedia Mythica (encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, legends, more; 4700 definitions of gods & goddesses, legendary creatures, & monsters from all over the world)
- Fairy Tale & Folk Tale Cyber Dictionary (grades K-4; compilation of tales illustrated by elementary students from around the world; students can browse the collections; teachers can complete the lessons with students)
- Fake Out (Education Place offers a set of Fake Outs for K-2, 3-5 and 6th grade and up. This is a quick, easy way to build vocabulary by having children select a term from a group of three words and then identify the correct definition from a list of suggested meanings. You could certainly build on these vocabulary terms from Monday till Friday.)
- Fonetics (online language laboratory provides phonologically complete pronunciation guides to many languages, including seven varieties of English)
- Getting an A on an English Paper (Thesis, Research, Close Reading, Style, Mechanics; by Jack Lynch, Rutgers University)
- Grammar & Style Resources (215 links to everything from a Life Science Dictionary to a Solar Physics Glossary to Online English Grammar)
- Grammar Bytes (collection of interactive exercises, terms, rules and handouts for students and teachers; online activities to take part in and the handouts are pretty well put together: comma splices, fused sentences, irregular verb usage)
- Grammar Review Using "Jabberwocky" (excellent exercise at the start of the school year, identifying both potential problem areas and student strengths)
- Great Expectations Online from Literature.org Guide to Writing
- Handwriting Teaching Tips: Handwriting Help for Kids (properly holding pencils; improving coordination; more tips)
- Homonyms by Alan Cooper (EXTENSIVE list with definitions)
- I Love Languages.com (more than 2000 of the best language links on the web)
- Indispensable Writing Resources (links to line versions of general style guides)
- IPL Literary Criticism Collection (contains critical & biographical websites about authors & their works that can be browsed by author, by title, or by nationality & literary period)
- IPL A+ Research & Writing Step by Step (from Teenspace in the Internet Public Library)
- Kennedy Center Storytime Online
- Kidnews.com
- Kids' Corner (read-aloud Beatrix Potter stories)
- KidsReads.com (authors, trivia, reviews, games, featured books)
- Language Arts Lesson Plans from teachers.net (K-12)
- Language Arts Resources (grades 4 & 5; illustrators, authors, folk tales, fairy tales, myth & legends; ways to improve grammar, biography maker, more)
- Learning to Read (reading models covered, along with reading recovery, process models, reading strategies for content areas, balanced literacy, etc.; huge resource for reading specialists)
- Learning Vocabulary Can Be Fun (4 vocabulary games: wordsearch, hangman, more)
- Letter Generator (learn the parts of a letter & how to write a letter; write your own and print)
- Literary Research Tools on the Web (devoted to English & American literature; top source for literary research on the Web)
- Magicoul's Nook (THIS SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW, so visit frequently to see if it's up yet; showcasing middle school writing; writing tips, stories, links, more)
- Maxie's Magnificent Guide to K-12 Literature (some links blocked by ENA, but most are accessible and great)
- Middle School Language Arts Lessons (
- Modern Language Association Language Map (based on information from the United States Census 2000 long form; interactive map allows users to see where the speakers of thirty-seven languages reside throughout the country; option to toggle certain themes, such as rivers, lakes, and highways, and look through the numbers of speakers by zip code, town, city, or county; also look at data at the state level & print out customized maps; generate interactive maps for two languages in the same state, or compare the concentration of the same language in two states; take an online tour of the site's features
- Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
- Mythography (grades 7-12; exploring Greek, Roman, & Celtic mythology & art; info on Greek gods & goddesses and heroes & heroines; Olympians section; family tree, maps, & symbols associated with each god; detailed info on Roman & Celtic Mythology)
- Native American Authors (biographies, author interviews, book reviews, and teaching resources)
- Online English Grammar (info on nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, verbs; helps with word usage as well)
- Online Language Arts Worksheets (grades K-4; randomly generated worksheets)
- Online Reading Games - PrimaryGames.com (listed by grade level and general skill covered)
- Online Reading Games for Young Kids and Reading Games for Kids (ages 6-up) from KidsDomain
- Online Reading Games & Animated Talking Stories from Reading is Fundamental (free membership, but joining is not necessary to use the Activity Lab or Game Station)
- Online Writing Lab Handouts and Materials for Students and Teachers
- Outta Ray's Head (middle/high school; writing, poetry, literature, library lessons, handouts, resources)
- Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (an interactive, menu-driven, online writer's guide and handbook written in HTML and distributed freely over the WWW; what to write, organizing writing, revising writing, editing writing, writing informal essays, writing thesis/support essays)
- Poetry (middle-high school)
- 30 Days of Poetry (This collection provides thirty different lesson plans, each with its own format for students to experiment with and "discover" that they actually enjoy this genre of creative writing. Many of the formats contain templates, making it easy for reluctant writers to commit themselves to the task.)
- Poetry Study Unit (Rather than a simple dry study of poets and their works, the suggestions here ask that poetry be experienced, that it be heard and enjoyed. Students will be keeping a poetry journal, collaboratively selecting specific poems for a themed anthology, conducting oral readings or Reader's Theater for poetry, participating in sound experiments, and performing poetry, among many other creative activities.)
- Poets.org (learn techniques for poetry reading, visit "listening booths" to hear poems ready by their creators, search through exhibits & archives to find info on your favorite poet)
- Preschool Library (strictly for the preschool and kindergarten set, but elementary students will find their own treasure trove of stories, activities and reading lists by following the link to Elementary Library from any of the topic pages)
- ProTeacher (elementary language arts)
- Public Speaking Website
- Presentation Guide for Public Speaking (good tips and good links)
- Radio News (middle/high school; differences in print & broadcast journalism lesson)
- Reading Lesson Plans (covering a vast spectrum of topics; lesson plans for teaching reading, strategies for effective teaching practices, reading lists, and many more resources for the literacy specialist)
- RealLiteratureDir.com (free online authors' biography and their literary works)
- Representative Poetry Online (poem index, poet index, timeline, calendar, criticism, glossary, bibliography)
- ResearchPaper.com (Idea directory of 4000 topics from 100 categories; advice center on online research )
- Schools for Champions - Succeed in Public Speaking
- Scrabble Web (zap the letters to spell the words)
- ReviseWise English (reading, writing, spelling, grammar, game zone) from the BBC (grades preK-12)
- Shakespeare (grades 7-12 lesson plans on Shakespeare)
- Shakespeare for Kids (grades 5-8; good introduction to famous Shakespearean quotations & unusually words from his plays; printable scripts for many plays; activities; area for kids to submit their stories)
- SparkNotes Literature, Drama, Poetry, Philosophy, Shakespeare Study Guides (register; FREE online study guides)
- Spelling Bee (may be blocked at school, but check resources from home computer; easy, normal, hard levels; students pick letters to complete words; full word is shown with a picture of the word; great interactive activity for students)
- SpellWeb (from Clear Ink; enter the word and web will decide)
- StarFall (preK-2; great for helping children learn to read; online books & games; parent/teacher resources; writing journals w/space for practice letter formation, critical thinking, and phonemic awareness FREE to you as teachers, with NO shipping)
- SuperKids Vocabulary Builders (display word of the day onscreen when students enter; have them write sentence with the word; challenge them to use it in conversation three times before they leave)
- SurLaLune Fairy Tales (K-12; 27 illustrated and annotated versions of the most popular fairy tales; comparison of tales from around the world; history behind each tale; quotations; fairy tale timeline; book gallery; teacher & student guides)
- Synonym Dictionary (project at Vancouver Webpages to generate copyright-free lists of English synonyms; not actively supported; unrestricted dictionary; contains slang terms)
- TeachNology Lesson Plans (all grades & content areas)
- The Read In! (great projects and authors)
- Teaching Middle & High School Students to Read and Write (guide to improve the English curriculum in both middle and high school classrooms; six main features identified, backed up by research, strategies, and student examples)
- Ten Myths of Reading Instruction (Did we really used to do a much better job of teaching children to read? Does short-term intervention last over the long-term? Find answers to these and other questions, and on what not to take for granted for children's learning abilities in reading)
- The Best English-Language Fiction of the Twentieth Century (a composite list and ranking)
- The Communication Project (Something to Remember Me By Legacy Project
- The Complete Works of Shakespeare (wonderful links and resources; arranged in four categories: tragedy, comedy, history, & poetry)
- The Elements of Style (great reference site)
- The English Department Teachers' Page (resources, lesson plans, tools, info for EFL, ESL teachers)
- The English Professor (original learning materials for English as a Second Language; categories include vocabulary, phonics, grammar, reading, and writing exercises; also available, reference tools, word games, idioms, and listening activities)
- The Five Paragraph Essay (find info on writing essays, as well as writing prompts to help you develop skill)
- The Grammar Lady
- The Novels of Kevin Major (info about the author and review on his latest books; teachers' aid section)
- The Online Books Page (facilitates access to books freely readable over the Web; hosted by University of Pennsylvania; index of thousands of books online; pointers to significant directories & archives of online texts)
- The Purple Crayon - Children's Literature
- Thesaurus, Connected (Lexical Freenet)
- The Write Site (middle school; interactive language arts & journalism project)
- Thinkquest Spreadsheet Classroom Activities in Reading & Language Arts
- Toastmasters International - 10 Tips for Public Speaking
- University of Pennsylvania Digital Library (grades 6-12 - 14,000 books online; Celebration of Women Writers; free access to thousands of documents & books; digital images of rare documents, manuscripts, and materials from Shakespeare to South Asian temple art and Jewish music archives))
- Virginia Hamilton (grades K-12 - author & illustrator)
- Virtual Thesaurus
- Vocabulary
- Vocabulary University (FREE vocabulary puzzles to enhance vocabulary mastery; self-paced, interactive activities; supplement personal vocabulary acquisition; SAT, ACT test prep section)
- Wacky Web Tales (grades 3-up; students select a story, then enter a list of words by parts of speech and click to see their tale; can print tales as well)
- Whomp (students click on letters to make up as may words as possible before time runs out)
- Women Illustrators of Children's Books (grades K-6)
- Word Libs (several options from which to choose; students will enjoy; must know what nouns, verbs & adjectives)
- Word Searches from the Potter Family
- WordCentral.com from Merriam Webster (daily buzz word)
- WordNet (enter word, select same or opposite of noun, verb, adjective, or adverb)
- World Myths & Legends in Art
- Yale-New Haven Teacher Institute Units (grades 7-12, topics from American Literature to Art to Architecture to Music to the Environment)
- Teacher and Writers Collaborative (check out WriteNet, an unbelievably valuable resource for writers and teachers interested in teaching imaginative writing; check out the extensive collection of links for writing, literature, poetry, and more)
- The Write Site: The Newsroom for Students (Feature's Desk, Research Beat, Style Section, Classroom Challenge; solid advice, specifically in journalism, to all writers)
- University of Kansas Writing Guide (unbelievable collection of resources; the writing process, grammar & usage, personal/professional writing, and more)
- White Barn Press (a site with writing ideas, where teachers are encouraged to submit student writing for publication on the web; instructional technology course outlines and links)
- Write an Essay.com (step-by-step instructions from a retired teacher)
- Write-On! The Writer's Workshop (guideline on how to set up a writer's workshop for the class; suggestions on formatting, evaluating, implementing the writing process, as well as rubrics and tips for creating a successful workshop)
- Writing: Instructional Strategies (middle and high school; resources to build instructional units for writing assignments; writing process explained, along with assessments for the different developmental stages of writing, pre-writing activities, and strategies for considering format, audience, and genre; tips for peer and teacher conferences, and checklists for writing-in-progress)
- Writing Prompts (grades 1-8; writing prompts in a wide variety of grade-appropriate writing formats, with guidelines for properly completing each exercise)
- Writing: Word Prompts & Word Banks (several word prompts to give a creative boost to your writing classes, along with word banks--ask students to include a minimum number of these words in their stories, or to make connections between four words that you select)
- Writing Den (students in grades 6-12 seeking to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills; 3 levels of difficulty: words, sentences, paragraphs
- Writing Exercises (grades 1-8; covers all major writing formats; grades 6-8 write business letters, advertisements, news articles, invitations, editorials, narratives, reports, and more; archived writing prompts also available)