Search Database

By Subject Area: Writing

• Organizations: Competitions

  Creative Communication Poetry Contest

  The purpose of the poetry contest is to bring recognition to poets both young and old. In addition to the winning poems, other poems of high merit are accepted to be published in a hard bound anthology. There is no entry fee and no required purchase in order to become published.

  National Peace Essay Contest

  "The United States depends on knowledgeable and thoughtful students--the next generation of leaders--to build peace with freedom and justice among nations and peoples. In the belief that questions about peace, justice, freedom, and security are vital to civic education, the United States Institute of Peace established the National Peace Essay Contest to expand educational opportunities for young Americans."

  Power of the Pen

  Power of the Pen™ is a non-profit educational writing program which targets 7th and 8th grade students in Ohio. At three levels of competition (District, Regional, and State), students participate in three rounds of impromptu writing and receive instant feedback from judges.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize

  An award given to a student whose essay shows "outstanding academic promise at the secondary level."

  River of Words Poetry and Art Contest

  Every year in connection with the Library of Congress, River of Words conducts an international poetry and art contest designed to help children explore the natural and cultural history of their local watersheds.
  Students who are between the ages of 5-19 may submit an entry form, and eight grand prizes winners receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.D. to attend an awards ceremony at the Library of Congress.

  Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards

  "The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have provided an avenue for young artists and writers, in grades 7–12, to receive recognition and rewards for their creative achievements since 1923. By acknowledging the visions and voices of emerging artists and writers, The Awards have helped nurture eight decades of promising talent by providing recognition, cash awards and college scholarships."

• Organizations: Local

  Imaginate Ink

  Imaginate Ink is a private creative mentorship program founded twenty years ago by Clarissa Ngo after she graduated from Harvard.
  Since 1998, Clarissa's students have learned to make things that matter to solve world problems and write and speak with power and eloquence. Eight of her students have given TED talks as kids, while others founded multi-national companies as young adults and charities with global impact as kids. After graduating from Harvard, Clarissa developed a method that lights young people on fire to help the world and learn to communicate with passion, which not only helps them gain admission to dream colleges but more importantly, teaches them real world skills. Clarissa teaches virtually worldwide, and her students win national and international awards in all subjects. Her youngest student is four and her oldest, 70. She also coaches CEOs. To find out more, visit ImaginateInk.com

  Youth Writing Festivals at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI)

  The Youth Writing Festivals at Calvin College are for young people in grades 1-12. They include a writing contest and workshops for young writers featuring established authors and illustrators.
  

• Organizations: National

  NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program

  National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a writing event that happens every November where the challenge is to complete an entire novel in just 30 days. Participants begin writing November 1 and finish by November 30. The Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.

  Youth Communication

  This organization provides teenagers a communication outlet for addressing important issues in their lives. It helps them develop their reading, writing, thinking, and reflection skills by: training teens in journalism, publishing a number of teen-written publications and providing a public forum. There are a number of resources for educators related to reading and writing, and many of the articles are gifted-related.
  

  Youth Speaks

  Youth Speaks is one of the top youth poetry, spoken word and creative writing programs in the country. It provides teens an excellent opportunity to share and compare their writing; some of their events include poetry slams, festivals and reading slams. Other features include a free after-school workshop, press resources, and a merchandise section. An underlying mission of Youth Speaks is to give teens the tools they need to apply their voices in creating social change.

• Organizations: State

  Hudson Valley Writers' Center (NY)

  The Hudson Valley Writers' Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote the appreciation of literary excellence and to stimulate and nurture the creation of literary works in all sectors of the population. It offers classes for professional and amateur writers, presents public readings by well-known and emerging prose writers and poets, does outreach work in several community sites, and publishes at least one book of poetry each year.

• Printed Materials: Books

  A Teen's Guide to Getting Published: Publishing For Profit, Recognition, and Academic Success

  Twin sisters Jessica and Danielle Dunn, explore practical writing tips and an up-to-date listing of print and online markets that publish student work. Tips include freelance publishing, writing camps/workshops as well as rights and copyright informatiion.

  Allosaurus Publishers

  Allosaurus connects the past to the present through history, science & reading comprehension. Allosaurus provides books in science, history, writing and social science.

  Barbara: The Unconscious Autobiography of a Child Genius

  Written by Barbara Newhall Follett, Harold Grier McCurdy and Helen Follett, this book is about Barbara, the daughter of two authors, who was a homeschooled writing prodigy. This book chronicles her literary development as a child and adolescence, as well as her mysterious disappearance in young adulthood.

  Cryptography: The Science of Secret Writing

  This book focuses on encrypting and deciphering texts and includes several methods of cryptography, such as transcription, substitution, transposition, and lots more. Historical events are included for these purposes along with codes that were really used.

  Encouraging Your Child's Writing Talent: The Involved Parents' Guide

  This book by Nancy Peterson brings a new perspective to teaching kids writing—one that helps parents encourage and cultivate a child's creative insights and love of words through the writing process. The author introduces parents to the characteristics of the gifted writer, provides them with tips to include writing in day-to-day activities, and leads them through the process of setting up writing workshops within the home. Along the way, stories and insights from published writers and examples of children's written musings show how the budding writer can be encouraged in his or her self-expression. Click here to read a review of this book.

  First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors

  Forty-two writers were brave and generous enough to send Paul Mandelbaum their childhood manuscripts, which he compiled in this book. Each of the chapters cludes a brief introduction to the author, the juvenilia with commentary by writer and editor linking the childhood and adult work, photographs of the author (then and now) and, in some cases, reproductions of the original manuscripts and drawings. It includes John Updike, Amy Tan, and Michael Crichton.

  Handle Associates Writing Skills Workbook

  Designed by an educator who has taught grammar and writing from middle school through the first year of college, this workbook emphasizes practice. It contains six separate topics: parts of speech, sentence structure, word usage, case, agreement, and style. Each page presents a brief lesson followed by related exercises. It has been widely field-tested as practical and effective.

  If You're Trying to Teach Kids How to Write . . . You've Gotta Have This Book!

  This book by Majorie Frank is a resource writing book for teachers, or homeschool parents, etc. who are trying to teach children how to write. It contains activities to inspire young writers to write, revise and edit. There are many ideas on assessing student growth.

  Imagine That! (Road to Writing)

  This book is a unique creative writing program that gives even the youngest writers a chance to express themselves. Featuring five distinct levels, or Miles, this program accompanies children from their first attempts at writing to comfortably writing on their own.

  Knowing How: Researching and Writing Nonfiction, 3-8

  The book demystifies the research process and provides tools students need to shape their research into substantive, well-written products that communicate with readers. Combining research with compelling writing is challenging for upper elementary and middle school students, but when done well, reports embody the passion that every student brings to the subject she or he loves.

  Literacy Through the Book Arts

  This curriculum guide offers instruction on how to interrelate words, illustration, and design through simple book making activities. Starting with the concertina book, Paul Johnson demonstrates that the creation of simple books is a powerful (and fun!) medium for developing writing skills.

  Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing

  This book combines dynamic images with original poems written by students at the junior and senior high school levels, teachers, and other writers nationwide. Additionally, each page contains keywords, as well as popular quotations by well-known authors, designed to inspire critical thinking. This book encourages students to read, relate to, and respond to modern verse and inspiring photographs both verbally and in writing.

  Seize the Story: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write

  In Seize the Story: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write, Victoria Hanley, award-winning author of young adult fiction, spills the secrets for bringing action, adventure, humor, and drama to stories. All of the elements of fiction, from creating believable dialogue to exciting plots, are laid out clearly and illustrated with examples taken straight from story excerpts by excellent writers. The book is packed with writing exercises designed to encourage teens to tell the stories that are theirs alone.

  The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block

  Author, coach and workshop leader Hillary Rettig characterizes, in great detail and depth, the major causes of underproductivity, including: procrastination, perfectionism, resource scarcity, time scarcity, an ineffective writing process, bias, ambivalence, internalized oppression, traumatic rejection, and exploitative career paths. Then she tells you how to conquer each.

  The Better Writing Breakthrough: Connecting Student Thinking and Discussion to Inspire Great Writing

  This book explores three interrelated sequences of the writing cycle—the Discourse Sequence, the Transition to Writing Sequence, and the Writing Sequence—and includes classroom examples and sample lesson plans from across the content areas. The cycle is designed to inspire teachers and help them inspire students to write with confidence and competence.

  The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

  This book offers a compelling insight into cryptography and codes, from ancient texts through computer encryption. The engaging history reveals the role codes have played in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. It is particularly relevant for today's world where corporations use encryption to keep their secrets from their competitors and regulators, and ordinary people need encryption to protect their privacy.

  The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression

  This book highlights 75 emotions and lists the possible body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for each. Written in an easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment. The Emotion Thesaurus also tackles common emotion-related writing problems and provides methods to overcome them. This writing tool encourages writers to show, not tell emotion and is a creative brainstorming resource for any fiction project.

  The Writing Menu

  This article provides gifted teachers advice on planning writing menus.

  Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market

  This book helps readers understand the ins and outs of the Young Adult genre, how to stay inspired and how to avoid common mistakes writers make in trying to reach teens. This book includes unique writing exercises to help readers find their own authentic teen voice and dozens of interviews with Young Adult authors, blogging experts, editors and agents to give inspiration and guidance for getting published. Chapters include writing exercises and self-editing techniques tailored to Young Adults, along with encouraging words on dealing with self-doubt, rejection and lack of time.
  

  Winston Grammar Kit and Workbooks

  This multi-sensory grammar teaching program provides full instruction in the fundamentals of English grammar for the elementary and early middle school grade levels. Particularly recommended for twice-exceptional gifted children, especially those with dyslexia and other language learning disabilities. Advanced Winston Grammar kit is available for the junior high and high school grades.

  Write Source 2000: A Guide to Writing, Thinking, and Learning

  This book is a valuable resource guide on how to write almost anything, from business letters and term papers to plays, poetry, and clear directions. The book can be used as a reference manual or as a writing curriculum guide. Highly recommended, many homeschooling families report sending their children off to college with this manual in tow! Great Source also publishes elementary and high school versions of the book, but the middle school version listed here is the most versatile.

  Writing Because We Love To: Homeschoolers at Work

  This book describes several very bright young writers between the ages of 10 and 15; contains examples of their work; and provides information about how an adult writer mentored them.

  Writing Fabulous Sentences and Paragraphs

  This workbook helps elementary age writers refine their sentence and paragraph writing. It contains reproducible pages, which provide practice in the basic components of writing including excercises to help students write more complex sentences, use figurative language, organize writing and thoughts, and more.

  Writing for Results: A Sourcebook of Consequential Composing Activities

  This book provides short, targeted, very creative writing composition activities designed to teach specific skills and genres of writing.

  Writing Instruction for Verbally Talented Youth: The Johns Hopkins Model

  The book by Ben Reynolds contains specific lesson plans, student assignments, and criteria and suggestions for evaluation of student work. The book contains the complete content of the first writing courses for verbally talented youth designed by the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University in the early 1980's. This course was designed originally for 7th grade students who scored 430 or above on the verbal section of the SAT.

  Writing Strands

  This series by Dave Marks is a complete writing program using a process approach to writing and composition assuring continuity and control. It has been written specifically for homeschoolers. The author has created manuals for the parent and/or student to use, depending on the level, suggesting the typical number of days to spend on each assignment. The author has also created manuals to teach fiction and interpersonal relationship skills, as well as to evaluate writing.

  Writing Success Through Poetry

  Grades 4-8 will gain insight from this book offering practical questions to facilitate Socratic-style discussions and explorations of literary concepts found within poems. Author, Susan Lipson, provides 25 original poems as prompts for students to use as inspiration for their own poetry and prose.

  Writing the Natural Way: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers

  This book introduces a method for writing that is more "right-brained" or gestalt. There is extensive material in this volume about how to use mindmapping and how to translate mindmaps into excellent writing.

• Printed Materials: Periodicals/Reports & Studies

  CICADA Magazine

  A literary magazine for teens and young adults who appreciate terrific writing, CICADA is that smart, witty friend every creative teen deserves. Featuring exciting new works in fiction, poetry, and comics, plus interviews, CICADA breaks open the lit/art worlds for young adults who are making the leap into creative practice.

  Cricket Media

  Cricket Media offers award-winning magazines for toddlers to teens, including Babybug, Ladybug, Cricket, Muse, Cobblestone, Faces, Dig, Click, CICADA, Ask, and Spider. Their reading bundle includes printed magazines along with digital companions that can be read on all devices. The organization also celebrates the creativity of young readers with regular creative challenges and contests featuring their extraordinary work.

  Merlyn's Pen

  Merlyn's Pen magazine is a well-known, respected name in education circles, garnering positive press in media outlets Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Booklist, and English Journal. The magazine was awarded placement on the New York State Recommended Reading List for high school students along with New Yorker and Time.

  New Moon Magazine

  Edited by and for girls ages 8 to 14, New Moon is the ground-breaking, imaginative, ad-free magazine that girls, parents and teachers love. (Winner of 6 Parents' Choice Gold Awards.) Girl contributors from around the world give voice to their dreams and intellect through fiction, poetry, artwork, letters, and articles on different cultures and enterprises. New Moon is an international, multicultural magazine which connects girls and celebrates diversity by providing a place for girls to express themselves and communicate with other girls around the world.
  

  Stone Soup

  Stone Soup is a magazine that contains stories, letters, book reviews, art and poems created by kids. You can also submit your own.

  The Concord Review

  The Concord Review recognizes and publishes exemplary history essays by high school students in the English-speaking world. The Concord Review remains the only quarterly journal in the world to publish the academic work of secondary students.

• Schools & Programs: College Affiliated

  Bard College at Simon's Rock the Early College (Great Barrington, MA)

  The only four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences designed specifically for students who are ready to enter college after the 10th or 11th grade, Simon's Rock has proven over five decades to be a much-needed answer and life-changing opportunity to young scholars ready to begin their higher education now. Simon’s Rock is a one-of-a-kind institution, leading the emerging early college “movement."

  Northwest Writing Institute - Lewis & Clark Graduate School Writer to Writer Seminar (Portland, OR)

  The Writer to Writer seminar encourages creative writing by high school students through interaction with professional writers in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, journalism, and other forms. Since 1984, the seminar has been offered as an annual week-long summer event, drawing students from throughout Oregon, but primarily from the Portland metro area.

  Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University

  This website -- the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University -- now contains more than 1 Gigabyte of writing-related material, with new material being added almost every month. The web site contains hypertext workshops and subject tutorials on writing research papers, resumes, and cover letters, huge collections of links to help users find information on the Internet, PowerPoint presentations about all aspects of writing that can be downloaded for use in classes or individual study, and a voluminous quantity of web pages that cover all aspects of writing – from cover letters to commas.

• Schools & Programs: Independent

  Athena's Advanced Academy

  Athena's Advanced Academy offers a wide variety of fast-paced, exciting online classes for a community of gifted students learning at elementary through lower high school levels. Parents have the freedom to place their children into appropriate classes defined by abilities, not ages. Athena’s provides live webinars for most classes, moderated discussion boards, and activities promoting online peer interaction.

  Chase Hill School for Literary Arts

  This is a small distance learning school that provides high-quality tutorials for adults and children 10 and older. Tutorials offer genuine, constructive interaction between student and teacher and complete flexibility with regard to both assignments and genres, in order to accommodate each student's unique gifts and interests.

  Gifted LearningLinks Program (GLL) at the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern

  Gifted LearningLinks (GLL) offers engaging gifted online courses and programs, including family programs, enrichment, core essentials, honors, and AP® courses for gifted and talented students in kindergarten through grade 12. Eligible home schooled, elementary, middle or high school students can accelerate and broaden their knowledge base any time and any place. GLL courses provide rigorous, individualized instruction helping gifted students to achieve their educational goals.

• Schools & Programs: Public

  The Writer's Jungle

  This online class is a distance learning home study course for parents. Most homeschooling parents already have shelves of writing curricula to use with their kids. What they don't have is a cheat sheet for themselves that trains them how to teach this beast called writing.

• Summer Programs: International

  Great Books Summer Program (Multiple Locations)

  Great Books Summer Program is a pre-college experience for bright young readers, debaters, and writers in middle and high school. Students develop close reading and critical thinking skills and engage in college-level seminars grounded in lively Socratic discussion. With sessions on the campuses of Amherst, Northwestern, Stanford, Oxford, Edinburgh, and Beijing as well as dedicated Writer’s Workshop weeks and a new Tall Ship Adventure, Great Books provides a wide variety of summer opportunities for the avid young reader, debater, or writer in your life!
  

• Summer Programs: MidAtlantic Region

  Princeton University Summer Journalism Program (NJ)

  This school offers about 25 high school students from low-income backgrounds an intensive, 10-day seminar on journalism every summer on Princeton's campus. The program's goal is to diversify college and professional newsrooms by encouraging outstanding students from low-income backgrounds to pursue careers in journalism. All expenses, including students' travel costs to and from Princeton, are paid for by the program. Students who attend the program come from across the country.

  University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) - Young Writers Workshop

  The Young Writers Workshop of the University of Virginia, established in 1982, brings together writers with a common purpose: to create a supportive and noncompetitive environment where teenagers can live and work as artists. The faculty, professional authors interested in developing new talent, bring practical experience to the workshop setting. The staff counselors, who are graduates and undergraduates in related fields, broaden our instructional program as assisting workshop teachers and elective course instructors. The administrators, also writers, are dedicated to nurturing the artistic vision.

• Summer Programs: Midwestern Region

  Aspen Writers' Foundation - Aspen Summer Words (ASW) (Aspen, CO)

  Aspen Writers' Foundation hosts an annual five-day, day camp called Writing Retreat & Literary Festival in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. This summer program is more than 30 years old and is led by some of the nation's most gifted and engaging writers. ASW provides the ideal venue for anyone with a passion for words by creating opportunities for intimate dialogue with acclaimed authors.

  Jonathan R. Reynolds Young Writers Workshop, Denison University (Granville, OH)

  This eight day residential program is hosted at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and is open to rising high school juniors. Throughout the program, students attend workshops in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, meet with faculty to discuss their work one on one, and attend group sessions.

  Summer Journalism Workshops, University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)

  The University of Iowa hosts Summer Journalism Workshops for high school students. The workshops are five-days long, and students are offered the option to commute daily or reside on campus for the duration of the camp. Students may choose to participate in one of the following workshop topics: Advanced Graphic Design, Broadcast Journalism, Culture Writing: Food and Entertainment, Investigative Reporting, Opinion Writing, Print Publication, Publication Leadership, Photojournalism, Sports Media, and Yearbook.

  Summer Program for Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth (VAMPY) (Bowling Green, KY)

  VAMPY is a 3-week residential Summer Program for very bright students who are currently enrolled in grades seven through ten and is designed to provide a balance of educational, cultural, and recreational experiences for high ability young people.

  Young Writers at Kenyon: Writer's Workshops (Gambier, OH)

  This is an intensive two-week workshop for intellectually curious, motivated high-school students who value writing. Their goal is to help students develop their creative and critical abilities with language—to become better, more productive writers and better, more insightful thinkers.

• Summer Programs: National

  Bard College at Simon's Rock the Early College Young Writers Workshop (Great Barrington, MA)

  In the summer of 1983 Simon's Rock began offering a three-week writing workshop for high school students modeled after the innovative three-week Workshop in Language and Thinking required of all entering students at Bard College. Now part of the National Writing and Thinking Network, the largest consortium of summer writing programs in the country, the program welcomes 84 academically motivated students each year.

  J-Camp

  This camp by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), is a six-day residential program offering multicultural journalism training for current high school freshman, sophomores, and juniors. Students stay in university housing located at the host college (the host college changes each year).

• Summer Programs: Northeastern Region

  Boston College Experience (Boston, MA)

  This six-week residential program is offered to rising high school seniors. The goal of the program is to provide students with a college experience by taking college-level courses and living on the Boston College campus. Students are able to take a math, writing, or general studies focused program.

  Longfellow Young Writers’ Workshop (Farmington, ME)

  This summer program at the University of Maine, Farmington gives continuing high school students (those entering their sophomore, junior or senior year) a full week to immerse themselves in the writing world. You’ll work with published writers and students as serious about writing as you are.

  Summer Young Writers Workshop (Barrington, MA)

  This three-week residential summer writing program for high school students takes place in July at Simon's Rock College of Bard in Gt. Barrington, Massachusetts. The tuition is about $2,000 and scholarships are available.

  Susquehanna University-Writers Workshop (Selinsgrove, PA)

  Headed by nationally recognized authors, this residential summer program offers intensive, small group workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. Participants attend iboth ndividual conferences wtih instructors and public readings of student's writing.

• Summer Programs: Northwestern Region

  Read, Write & Type! Learning System

  The Read, Write & Type!™ Learning System provides systematic instruction with engaging games and lively graphics to help children learn to read. As children progress through the 40-lesson adventure, they become empowered to tackle the new words they encounter both in their reading and writing. But most of all, Read, Write & Type!™ is fun and easy to use.

• Summer Programs: Southern Region

  Duke University (Durham, NC) - Creative Writers' Workshop

  Grades 10 & 11; 2 weeks; residential. Open to advanced students who wish to refine their writing in a particular genre.

  Sewanee Young Writers' Conference (Sewanee, TN)

  High school students can enjoy workshops in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction during this residential summer program. Other highlights include lectures by the university's English faculty.

  Summer Writing Institute, Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)

  Sponsored by Rhodes College English Department, this two week residential summer program is open to rising high school junior and seniors. Throughout the two weeks, students participate in academic sessions designed to develop critical thinking and writing skills. After successful completion of the program, students receive two transferable college credits.

• Summer Programs: Western Region

  Bay Area Writing Project - Young Writers Camps and Teen Writing Camps (Berkeley, CA)

  The Bay Area Writing Project sponsors both the annual Young Writers Camps and Teen Writing Camps. Young Wirters Camps offer students entering grades three through nine a unique opportunity to develop their creative abilities and writing talents. The Teen Writing Camps are for incoming ninth through 12th graders. Enrichment opportunities for students who enjoy writing, literature and poetry, both camps are offered on the University of California Berkeley campus.

  Clarion West

  Clarion West is an intensive six-week workshop for writers preparing for professional careers in science fiction and fantasy, held annually in Seattle, Washington.
  

  Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in Creative Writing (San Jacinto, CA)

  This residential summer program offers seperate workshops in fiction, poetry and playwriting for students at all levels of ability and experience. Idyllwild's 205-acre campus provides an outstanding setting for specific art-centered programs, festivals and performances.

  The Clarion Workshop (San Diego, CA)

  The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Workshop is the best known and most highly regarded science fiction writing workshop in the country. Clarion attracts some of the most highly acclaimed science fiction and fantasy authors as teaching writers. Admission to the workshop is based upon the promise of the applicant's writing at its present stage.

• Websites & Other Media: Apps

  OT's with Apps & Technology

  This website provides a wealth of information on technology and apps related to Occupational Therapy.

• Websites & Other Media: Commercial

  6+1 Trait Writing

  This online catalogue offers information regarding training and products for the 6+1 Trait Writing framework, a powerful way to learn and use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing as well as create a common vision of what 'good' writing looks like. Teachers and students can use the 6+1 Trait model to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness as they continue to focus on continued writing improvement.
  

  ePALS Classroom Exchange

  ePALS Classroom Exchange is the world's largest and fastest growing online classroom community, connecting more than 4.5 million users. ePALS helps learners of all ages become active members of the global community by giving them access to tools, resources and each other. Since 1996, ePALS has allowed learners to broaden their horizons, work together and form new friendships. By developing and offering barrier-breaking resources such as the Internet's first built-in webmail language translation, ePALS has allowed people in 191 countries, speaking 136 languages to have meaningful contact with each other. Our safety innovations, such as monitored email and profanity filters, have helped to make ePALS the leading provider of email technology in schools worldwide.

  Gotham's Writing Workshop (New York, NY) - Summer Programs

  "Teaching more than 6,000 students a year, Gotham Writers' Workshop is the largest and most comprehensive private creative writing school in New York City and online. Ten-week and one-day workshops are offered in more than a dozen forms of writing including fiction writing, screenwriting, nonfiction writing and more. The school also offers private instruction, script and book doctoring services, workshops for teens, and custom workshops for corporations."

  K5 Learning

  This is a online math and reading enrichment program for kindergarten through fifth grade allowing students to work independently with more than 3,000 lessons. Their philosophy about gifted students as stated on their website is that gifted children should work at their skill level, not grade level. It is recommended that gifted students complete thefree online reading and math assessments. Then, each student is placed in the lessons according to their skills, not their grade levels. A gifted child may be placed several grades ahead in particular skill areas.
  The K5 material is typically suitable for gifted kids in a younger age range (pre-k to grade 3/4).

  Stevenson Learning Skills

  This company publishes the Stevenson Language Skills Program, Stevenson's Essential Grammar, Stevenson's Cursive Writing and other materials for teaching basic skills to both regular and learning disabled students. They use techniques like mnemonics (memory aids) and multi-sensory instruction. The materials accommodate dyslexia, attention deficits, phonological processing difficulties, memory weakness and sequencing confusion.

  Teen Ink

  Teen Ink is a monthly print magazine written entirely by teens and distributed to thousands of schools nationwide. Any teen can submit nonfiction, fiction, poetry, art and photos. The online magazine, TeenInk.com, has an archive of 12,000 pieces, all written and created by teen authors and artists, as well as a daily poem, artwork, story, essay, quote, bulletin boards and more than 300 categorized Web resources for teens, such as a summer programs guide and a college guide.

  The Critical Thinking Company

  The Critical Thinking Company's products help students achieve better grades and higher test scores through critical thinking exercises in reading, writing, math and science lessons. Students carefully analyze what they are learning, producing deeper understanding. Over time, students who practice critical thinking learn to apply it throughout their education and life.

  Typing Instructor Deluxe Edition

  This CD-ROM offers a fun touch-typing course that uses games and international travel so that the learner is having a good time while learning this necessary skill. An alternative to Mavis Beacon.

  Wordwise Instruction

  This website promotes individual and group classes in composition, critical thinking, creative writing, and literary analysis offered by Amanda Yskamp, who has taught gifted students through such programs as Johns Hopkins' Center for Talented Youth and Northwestern's Gifted Learning Links for many years. These classes are designed to help students of all levels and interests become better readers and writers. She also coaches students through the college application process.

• Websites & Other Media: For Fun

  Cyberkids

  This site provides a voice for young people on the Internet. They publish original creative work by kids ages 7 - 12 in art, writing, games/puzzles and multimedia.

  Fanfiction.net

  This site lets users register an author account, type a story, and post it online. You can read others' stories, review them and get hints to help you with your stories.

  Scriptorium Scribbles

  This site is home of the young writers' resource webzine. It has articles, resources, workshops and helpful hints for young writers to explore and better their skills.

• Websites & Other Media: Informational

  EssayEdge.com

  Named "the world's premier application essay editing service" by The New York Times Learning Network and "one of the best essay services on the Internet" by The Washington Post, EssayEdge has helped more applicants write successful personal statements than any other company in the world. EssayEdge.com provides superior editing and admissions consulting.

  Graphic Organizers

  This site offers a list of downloadable graphic organizers to help students with the writing process.

  Guide to Writing a Basic Essay

  This website works from the premise that an essay can have many purposes, but the basic structure is the same no matter what. It provides a plethora of advice and numerous resources on essay writing.

  Handwriting for Kids

  This online curriculum includes lessons and customizable materials for learning handwriting. Learning to write numbers and letters are important tasks for children. Each lesson is featured on its own page, and kids are shown simple steps to write the numbers, letters, and sentences. Kids can trace uppercase and lowercase letters, and blank sheets are provided for kids to practice more before their next lessons.

  Handwriting Worksheet Maker

  Make custom handwriting worksheets with text in basic print, denelian and cursive

  Helping your child with handwriting

  "Children who paint or write in cursive, but who are unable to write legibly and consistently, in spite of repeated admonitions, require special approaches to the solution of their special difficulties. These are youngsters who are unable to properly form their letters, who have difficulty keeping their letters on the line, who may not seem to understand the relative sizes of letters, who either crowd letters within words together, or who space so poorly that it is almost impossible to determine where one word ends and another begins." Read this article for more information.

  KidLit

  This site is designed for kids and adults interested in quality children's literature. It offers an opportunity to see their works published on the Web. This site offers art, poetry, stories, book reviews and contests all for children by children.

  Quantum Learning Network (QLN)

  Quantum Learning Network has evolved from a small group of educators in the early 1980's to a global organization spanning more than 14 countries. The Quantum Adademy in Oceanside, CA offers programs on Youth Achievement, Teacher Training, College Success and Adult Learning. Achievement skills courses include academic and study strategies, powerful memory and reading techniques, effective writing, thinking and learning, purposeful teaching practices, empowering leadership, and more. QLN also offers a 10-day SuperCamp Summer Program.

  Smart Kids Who Hate To Write (DVD)

  Does your child seem lazy, sloppy, and unmotivated? He or she could be suffering from a writing glitch called Dysgraphia, which is easily corrected. Some children have to use so much energy for the writing process that they are reluctant to put pencil to paper for anything!

  Why Cursive?

  When it comes to handwriting difficulties, especially with gifted students often have asynchronous development, it can be challenging to pinpoint the root of writing difficulties as there are often a number of factors contributing to their writing difficulties. One way to explore this topic in more depth is to evaluate the importance of handwriting (“low-level” skills) to the writing quality (“high-level” skills). This article describes how cursive can be a helpful technique for students who struggle with “low-level” skills, such as print handwriting, spelling, and grammar.

  Writing a Research Paper

  This article provides an introduction to the key aspects of the research paper genre. True research papers are more than a loose collection of anecdotal memories or a patchwork of data pulled from several books. But while new to most first-year college students, a research paper can be incredibly exciting, rewarding, and even comforting to write because it finally allows you to really get into a subject you care about with both hands while having added security--a proverbial squad car of "back up" to support you while you explore those dark alleyways of future knowledge.

  Writing Den

  This site provides resources, support materials, activities and assessment to writers, with the goal of building vocabulary and improving English, reading, comprehension and writing skills.

  Writing problems of visual thinkers

  Some people produce characteristic, recurring writing problems as a result of inappropriately applying visual thinking to writing. This paper proposes that the writing problems of such visual thinkers derive from three factors: a lack of words, unfamiliarity with the kind of analysis that leads to the logical sequencing of prose, and difficulty understanding that context must be communicated.

• Websites & Other Media: Learning Tools

  Callirobics

  Callirobics (CALLIgraphy and aeROBICS) are a unique concept in handwriting exercises. They consist of repetitive simple writing patterns (straight and curved lines) to music. The music relaxes the participants and adds rhythm to their exercises. With music the exercises become fun instead of tedious penmanship chore. Music also benefits participants who learn better through auditory, instead of visual means.

  Startwrite

  This program allows parents and teachers to create custom worksheets to teach handwriting skills. It has both print and cursive options with optional graphics.

  Zaner-Bloser - Educational Programs and Services

  Zaner-Bloser is one of the premier publishers of research-based reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and vocabulary programs, all represented on this website through online programs segmented into different grade and ability levels. The company also publishes award-winning programs including Strategies for Writers and Read for Real, Nonfiction Strategies for Reading Results. Zaner-Bloser's mission is to make a significant contribution to the education of children in Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade by publishing materials of the highest quality. Its handwriting program has been a national institution for several generations.