COMPOSITION is ELEMENTARY

GENERAL COMPOSITION RESOURCES

  1. Ready, Get Set, Write! -- A fabulous site from ThinkQuest Junior! A comprehensive reading and writing resource ... check out the writing center for "soup to nuts" assistance with writing!
  2. Writing is Fun! -- A fabulous site from ThinkQuest Junior! Learn the basics of writing stories, and get hints from kids and teachers on how to make writing exciting and fun!
  3. The Young Writers' Club -- The place for young writers on the Web! Short story contests, film reviews, and dozens of other writing activities for writers of ages 6 to 14. Submit your original work for publication on the Web!
  4. Young Writers at the Inkspot -- An online newsletter and publication resource for young authors! Communicate with other kids and published authors, and check out a variety of writing activities!

    Scholastic Series on Writing Across Genres for Kids:

  5. Book Reviews (with Rodman Philbrick)
  6. Biography Writing (with Patricia and Fred McKissack)
  7. Diary Writing with (Virginia Hamilton)
  8. Folk Tale Writing (with Alma Flor Ada)
  9. Mystery Writing (with Joan Lowery Nixon)
  10. Myth Writing (with Jane Yolen)
  11. Poetry Writing (with Jack Prelutsky)
  12. Poetry Writing (with Karla Kuskin)
  13. Ohio Grade 4 Writing Proficiency Test -- Check out this great sample test from Ohio ... it includes reading samples, and a list of hints to make your writing better!

    COMPOSITION - Selection of Genre

  14. Alphabet Superhighway -- Check out the "Writing Center" at this site for a great collection of tutorials and activities geared toward helping young writers! Topics include "pre-writing" skills (Blind Writing, Brainstorming, Outlining, Research) that will assist students in getting started with essays, compositions and creative writing projects!
  15. Millennium Mystery Madness -- A tremendous ("Gold Medal" Award Winner!) site from ThinkQuest Junior! From the student-developed site: "you are going to see and find facts from the early years of mystery to present day, year 2000. We'll take a look at how a mystery was formed, what should go into a mystery, and who wrote the first mystery. Then play some games to test your knowledge."
  16. The Biography Machine -- A fun site that helps students construct a biography - step-by-step!
  17. The Art of Storytelling -- A great ThinkQuest site that teaches about the craft of storytelling. From the site: "You will find stories to tell, information and tips for all ages, how to have a Storytelling Festival, activities to print, and a lot more!"

    COMPOSITION - Organization, Editing and Proofreading

  18. Alphabet Superhighway -- Check out the "Writing Center" at this site for a great collection of tutorials and activities geared toward helping young writers! Lessons and tutorials in the Composition section cover subjects (Argument, Comparison and Contrast, Description, Narrative Process) that help students organize their writing! The Editing and Revision section provides helpful checklists and hints for independent, group, and partner editing!

LITERATURE is ELEMENTARY

READING COMPREHENSION - Guides

    BBC English Learning Page - Reading Comprehension -- From the fabulous BBC, a series of great pages with helpful tips on how to read for better understanding! Pages include:
  1. Reading Fiction -- Characters, Vocabulary, Imagery, Sentence Structure.
  2. Reading Nonfiction -- Structure, Sentence Structure, Fact & Opinion, Persuasive Language
  3. Study Hall - Faster Reading -- A discussion of several reading strategies. From the site: "The purpose of this section is to teach you how to increase your reading speed. Shortly we will be adding a section for reading BETTER as opposed to FASTER."
  4. Read Better, Faster -- An article that reviews strategies for more efficient reading!
  5. Reading to Learn -- This online article reviews some handy strategies for reading and studying!
  6. Phonics Rules -- An online guide to phonics, syllables, and pronunciation!

    READING COMPREHENSION - Exercises

  7. Short Answer Questions - Interpreting Fiction and Essays -- This fabulous site provides reading samples, each with a series of practice short-answer questions! Also included is a Rubric Assessment Scale, so students and educators can evaluate performance! The site is intended for students in grades 5-6, but the exercises may be helpful to more advanced students as well!

    Writing Samples Include...

  8. The Stare of the Cat
  9. Short-Answer Questions
  10. Rosa Parks
  11. Short-Answer Questions -- Also included is the rubric scoring scale...
  12. Reading Comprehension Scoring Table
  13. Reading Skills Help Online: -- An incredibly comprehensive resource for students who need help with reading comprehension skills! Choose from five levels of difficulty, and receive dozens of practice exercises! Reading samples are provided, as well as online self-tests, vocabulary exercises, writing exercises, and other games and activities to improve reading skills! A must see!
  14. English Zone Reading Activities -- Check out these great interactive online reading activities! Dozens of online reading samples with quiz questions! A great place to develop reading comprehension and test-taking skills.
  15. Reading Comprehension Exercise -- Check out this online self-test that assesses your reading comprehension skills!
  16. Reading Comprehension Worksheets -- Lots of printable worksheets with reading comprehension activities! From the site: "Featuring all new free weekly reading comprehension worksheets for teachers and parents to copy for their kids. They include original stories, poems, essays, and articles. They're most appropriate for upper elementary through middle school years."
  17. Reading Rate Exercise -- Test your rate of reading! Use the online timers while you read passages from "The Velveteen Rabbit."

    AUTHORS

  18. Young Adults' Authors and Illustrators -- If you need a biography of an author of young adults' books - you've come to the right place! Hundreds of indexed links! Check it out!
  19. Great Writers -- An enormous set of links to biographical information and homepages for hundreds of classic and contemporary authors!
  20. Authors Links -- A collection of links to biographical information on over 100 authors!

    Authors and Works from Diverse Backgrounds

  21. African American Literature -- From WorldBook Online, this special collection explores "literature written by black Americans of African descent. Its themes include the exploration of black identity, the condemnation of racism, and the celebration of the unique aspects of African American culture."
  22. Asian-American Literature -- From the site: "This site's purpose is to provide an overall introduction to the large and vast world of Asian American literature. By browsing these pages, you will begin to get a sense of the major accomplishments of Asian American writers." The site includes modules on China, Japan, the Phillipines, and several relevant topics!
  23. Native American Authors -- "This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites." A well-organized, informative site that can be browsed by Author, Work, or Tribe.
  24. Hispanic Heritage
    Black History Month
    Women's History Month -- From the Gale Publishing Group, three incredible sites that provide historical and cultural background information to help students understand literature in cultural context. The sites feature biographies, timelines,a nd multimedia activities!
  25. Voices in the Gaps - Women Writers of Color -- An index of information on women writers of color. Authors include Maya Angelou, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, and dozens of others!
  26. A Celebration of Women Writers -- A huge collection of resources on women writers worldwide!
  27. Women and Literature -- This site features brief biographies of the following women authors: Louisa May Alcott, Maya Angelou, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Willa Cather, Emily Dickinson, Edna St.Vincent Millay, Karoline von Günderrode, Carson McCullers, Marge Piercy, Sylvia Plath, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Virginia Woolf.
  28. Women Writers from Mexico -- A series of links to biographical information on women writers from Mexico.

    POETRY

  29. Writing about Poetry on an Exam -- Wow! A super site from the BBC that guides you step-by-step through answering exam questions about poems! The site covers the following topics: Exam questions (key words and phrases), Getting to know the poem (subject matter, language, sound, form), Personal response: developing a viewpoint (Ideas and attitudes, tone), Illustration (using quotations), Checklist (how to read a poem).
  30. Poetry Profile -- A great ThinkQuest site that provides the full texts of dozens of poems, plus brief interpretations of each poem!
  31. Poetry for Kids -- An online guide to basic poetic techniques for young writers! Topics include How to rhyme, Types of Rhyme Schemes, and other poetic devices!
  32. Glossary of Poetic Terms -- A great reference site for young poets! Includes the following features: Phonetic pronunciation, Cross references, Broad range of definitions, Numerous examples, Hyper-linked keywords, Poetic quotations, Writers' guidelines.
  33. Cinquains and Diamantes -- From the site: "Cinquains have a definite number of words or syllables on each of its five lines and a purpose, or formula for each line … A diamante is a seven line poem displayed in a diamond pattern." Learn much more about these poetic styles at this site!
  34. A Time for Rhyme -- A fun guide to planning and writing poems!
  35. Poet Pages -- From the site: "I've collected Internet information relating to 159 poets, for 11 of whom I've created my own pages, and for the rest of whom a large index page, 'Poet Links', which adds some new entries each month; also I've created a page of related links." An excellent resource for information on poets!
  36. Periodic Table of Poetry -- Perhaps the strangest poetry site on the Web … click on an element in the periodic table, and see a poem … no, really, I'm serious!
  37. Why Poetry What -- An interesting site developed by an eighth grade student. Check out all sorts of internet poetry resources, and follow along with the suggested activities for each lesson!

    MYTHS, LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE

  38. Legends -- From the site: "This is Legends, a personal journey through the worlds of Robin Hood, King Arthur, D'Artagnan, and other swashbuckling characters of balladry, fiction, and film, from the shores of Avalon to the dungeons of Zenda." Read about mythical and legendary characters here!
  39. Unseen Creatures of Myth and Legend -- From ThinkQuest, this site provides a fanciful overview of several "unseen creatures" - including the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, faries, and several others!
  40. Campfire Stories -- This collection of stories includes folktales from many Native American groups.

    ONLINE LITERATURE

  41. Bibliomania -- Your source for classic literary works online! This site has huge indexes of online versions of Reference Texts, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and the Complete Works of Shakespeare!
  42. Student's History of American Literature -- An excellent reference for students who want to know how American Literature has evolved since the early 1600's!
  43. Young Adult Literature -- A collection of online book anthologies and other internet resources for young adult readers. Categories include: African American History & Literature, Asian American History & Literature, American Literature, Authors WWW Pages, Biography & Autobiography … plus dozens of others!
  44. Organization For Community Networks Electronic Bookshelf -- Dozens of online books intended for young adult readers!
  45. Classics for Young People -- From the site: "A growing number of children's literature classics are out of copyright, and are among the books available in full-text on the Internet. Here are some of the more popular and interesting titles that are available in HTML format."
  46. Gargoyles, Angels and Shadows -- An online anthology of several short stories! Authors include Kipling, Dickens, Saki, and Lewis Carroll!

LANGUAGE STUDY is ELEMENTARY

GRAMMAR GUIDE for TEACHERS

CHAD OSBORNE
ozpk@earthlink.net
WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE, MA

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