Scholastic Writing Games

It appears I have come across a theme of digital stories lately.  I was looking at the scholastic site and came across some great writing games I thought I would share.  The games are all related to books.

http://www.scholastic.com/dogslife/createtale.htm

Students can create a scene using the characters provided.

Space is then provided to describe what is happening in the scene.  Students can also use prompts provided.

http://www.scholastic.com/esperanza/storybuilder.htm

Decide on a scene.

Write a story.

http://www.scholastic.com/inkheart/editorial/index.htm

This game helps students plan to write an editorial and displays the components needed.

http://www.scholastic.com/charlottesweb/comic/index.htm

Make a Charlotte's Web Comic

The scenes, characters, objects and speech bubbles are provided.

There are also options to create other comics based on:

http://www.scholastic.com/amulet/makeyourown/

http://www.scholastic.com/bone/comic_maker.htm

http://www.scholastic.com/goosebumpsgraphix/makeyourown/index.htm

http://www.scholastic.com/smile/makeyourown/index.htm

Students can create stories relating to the novels or create their own versions.

Character Scrapbook

This site I came across on Twitter from @storytellin .  It is presented as a scrapbook and allows students to analyse the characters in books.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/scrapbook/

Students type in the name of the book and one of the characters.  There is an option to create the look of the character and then write about them.  There are several pages provided for students to describe the character.

The site ask students to respond to the following:

Ten things I know about ......

Ten words that describe .....

Ten details about .......'s appearance

Ten facts about ........'s personality

Ten challenges .......... face

Ten accomplishments .......... achieved

The site also provides resources for teachers and printables.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3748285

This is a great way to reinforce and extend students' knowledge of a book they have read.  It could also be used for students to plan their own story and create their own character.

Collection of Online Story Makers

I have already shared these sites in the last post using Live Binders.  I have to say, I still love the visual and interactive aspect of Glogster so I made one using the same collection of sites.

Between the Lions

Here is another great PBS site derived from a TV show, it is called Between the Lions.

http://pbskids.org/lions/

The site is full of literacy games and stories.  It offers great interactive activities for beginning readers.  I love the motto, 'Get Wild about Reading'.  Students will love exploring this site and meeting new characters.

My Culture Quest

My Culture Quest is a fun, interactive site which explores different cultures and countries. You choose a character and then start travelling the world visiting museums and galleries. Each place visited offers information about an artwork or cultural item. Students need to read the information and then answer a multiple choice question correctly in order to collect the item and create their own exhibition.

Once in the game, a world map is provided with highlighted points. Click on the point to travel to the destination. Your character will travel via air balloon.

You are given 12 days to collect as many items as you can. You probably won’t get all the items in this time allowing students to play the game several times without being bored as they explore new places.

One drawback however, there is no point to visit in Australia!

This site provides a great way for students to learn about art, history, countries, cultures, religion and maps. It also encourages the development of comprehension and reading skills. The site allows you to download flash cards with quiz questions to help students remember the information. These cards could also be used for further activities.

Students could do the following activities:
· find the countries using google maps
· find famous landmarks from the country
· research the flag
· write a travel journal of their journeys and document the items they collect.
· make a passport documenting places of their travels
· research countries visited
· research art items and art techniques mentioned.
· make a quiz or board game based on collecting items as you answer questions correctly.