College of Education & Human Development

Maine Writing Project

 

Professional Resources

Browse these links for connections to research, resources, and classroom tips.

Journal Ideas

Canadian education resource CanTeach provides hundreds of potential journal topics for teachers of all grades. http://www.canteach.ca/
elementary/prompts.html

 

Why Write?

The National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges landmark report, The Neglected "R" – The Need for a Writing Revolution: can be viewed or downloaded at the commission’s site. http://www.writingcommission.org

 

NWP Online

The National Writing Project’s home page offers links to teaching tips, journal articles, online forums, and other resources. http://www.writingproject.org/

 

Author’s Advice

Writer Monica Wood, a featured speaker at Maine Writing Project conferences and institutes, offers a plethora of writing and teaching suggestions. http://www.monicawood.com/

 

Youth Search

Yahoo! tidies up the Web for the younger set with its Yahooligans! http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/

 

Writing Tips

Need advice to get students writing? Even just a quote of the day to keep the ink flowing? http://www.stageplays.com/
wisdom.htm

 

Assessment Tools

RubiStar is a free tool to help teachers make quality rubrics. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

 

Research Connection

The International Reading Association’s site keeps teacher in touch with some of the latest research in literacy issues spanning all grade levels. http://www.reading.org/

 

Regional Forum

The New England Association of Teachers of English hosts an annual fall conference in Nashua, N.H., bringing language arts educators together from throughout the Northeast. The organization also hosts annual poetry contests for teachers. http://www.neate.org

 

NCTE Online

The National Council of Teachers of English offers access to journal articles, online forums, curricula, research, and professional development through its comprehensive site. http://www.ncte.org

 

English Companion

California English teacher Jim Burke takes viewers inside his classroom, providing teaching advice galore. Downloadable forms, note guidelines, and other guides are a bonus. http://www.englishcompanion.com

 

Resources and a Laugh

Web English Teacher’s links, articles, and jokes of the day blend professional resources with a chuckle. http://www.Webenglishteacher.com/

 

Writing Starters

Advertised as a site for teachers of English as a Second Language, PIZZAZ has fun ideas and links that will get just about anyone writing. http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/pizzaz.html

 

Help From Purdue

With downloadable Power Point presentations, handouts, and thorough instructional tools, Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab is a premiere resource for teachers and students alike. Their helpful weekly tips via E-mail keep the advice coming. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

 

Grammar and More

Quotes from writers on writing, grammar instruction, and even instruction in basic parts of speech provide a multi-age resource from this Connecticut-based foundation. http://Webster.commnet.edu/grammar/

 

Young Angle

Elementary teachers will find helpful literacy and other resources for children through the British site Teaching Ideas. http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/
index.shtml

 

Edutopia

The George Lucas Educational Foundation promotes progressive classrooms around the country through its edutopia online. http://www.glef.org/

 

Lesson Plans

Access to literacy-based lesson plans and an excellent listing of Web resources makes this combined effort of the IRA, NCTE, and Marco Polo a top pick. http://www.readwritethink.org/

 

Topics and Approaches

Middle and secondary students and teachers will find writing ideas and resources in this teen-friendly site. http://teenwriting.about.com/

 

Teen Ink

Looking for a place for students work to appear in print? Try this nonprofit publication. http://www.teenink.com

 

Navigation Aids

The World Wide Web puts information at our fingertips, and helping students figure out how to manage, navigate, and interpret that resource is just one of the goals of the California-based Center for Media Literacy. http://www.medialit.org/ 

 

Middle Line

Big on literacy, links to blogs, research, and its "10Great Web sites for Teachers," give MiddleWeb its value for educators. http://www.middleWeb.com/

 

Strategy Ties

Sponsored by UConn’s School of Education, this site helps keep teachers current with effective practices in literacy and instructional strategies. Excellent links to a variety of resources. http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/

 

Research Help

The LAB at Brown University sponsors this resource for best practice in literacy. Wonder why something is worth doing? Chances are the answer is here. http://knowledgeloom.org/index.jsp