The Write-n-ator
What it is: New Hampshire Public Television has created a great site based on the PBS Word Girl show. I learned about the site from a blog that I look forward to in my Google Reader every day, The Book Chook. The Write-n-ator site features video clips about words and vocabulary for students to watch; after completing the clip, students are offered a related writing challenge. The clips and challenges are all related to writing, word recognition, and vocabulary development.
How to integrate The Write-n-ator into your curriculum: The Write-n-ator highlights words and vocabulary through fun videos and writing challenges starring the PBS character Word Girl. Offer these challenges to your students as a class using a projector or interactive whiteboard. Watch the video clip and create a class response to add to the challenge. Alternately, each student can take the challenge in a writing journal. These videos and challenges make for a fun introductory activity to use as a writing warm up. They have the added benefit of introducing new words and vocabulary. There are 20 videos and challenges total, so these could be a regular feature in your class. If you have access to a computer for every student, students can complete the writing challenges online and view other students responses to the challenge.
Tips: Click on the “For Teacher” tab next to each mission for the correlated standards that each challenge meets.
Please leave a comment and share how you are using the The Write-n-ator in your classroom!