Reading+&+Writing+Resources

What now?
Did you know that it's hard to be a good writer without being a good reader first? The more you read, the better the author you stand to be. Explore some of the following Web sites, books, and databases. You'll find some info on becoming a writer, developing your skills and publishing your work.

Whenever you see a ** "DO IT!" ** activity idea, following the directions and be sure to share you activities and comments in the "Discussion" tab above.


 * WEB SITES**

[|****The Stacks for Kids at Scholastic.com****] This fun Web site has a place for you to play games, read about your favorite authors, and find out about new books.

**DO IT!** Visit The Stacks and make your own profile so you can share your thoughts on "The Scene", an online message board for kids. Once you've created your profie. share your profile name with your WebQuest peers by posting it in the "Discussion" area.



[|**Writing with Writers**] Scholastic.com has a lot of great features. In a completely different section of their Web site, you'll find the "Writing with Writers" pages. Follow the simple instructions below to learn how to write from a famous author.

Step 1: Click on the "Descriptive Writing" link under the "Featured Activities" section. Step 2: Join author Virgina Hamilton (she wrote The Girl Who Spun Gold). Follow her directions and test your skills as a writer. Step 3: When you're done, click on the "Publish Online" link and share your descriptive writing story on the Scholastic Web site.



**DO IT!** We want to see what you wrote as well. Share your Descriptive Writing work under the WebQuest discussion tab on this page. Or, share your opinion of this exercise. Was it hard? Was it easy? What would you choose to describe next? Can you offer to suggestions to other kids?

[|**The Biography Maker**] Visit this Web site to learn how to write a biography about yourself, a friend, or a family member.

**DO IT!** To help you with the Biography Maker activities, ask a parent, teach or librarian to help you download [|Kidspiration Software] on your computer. Your school or library may already have this fun tool, but if you are at home, you can ask your mom or dad to help you download a free version to see if you like it before you buy it. Click [|here] to try it out.

You can use Kidspiration to help you organize your written biography. Follow the Biography Maker's step-by-step instructions to get you started and use the Kidspiration "Picture View" and "Writing View" to organize your thoughts before writing them down. For this exercise, you will be asked to share your biography in the SHARE section of this Web quest. Visit the SHARE section to see a sample biography written by another kid.


 * BOOKS**


 * //If You Were a Writer//**

Melia wants to be a writer just like her mom. She's not exactly sure what a writer does, though. She sees her mom staring at the typewriter and then she sees her opening up boxes of books. But what comes in between? With some help from her mom, Melia begins to learn the tools of the trade. She learns how to make pictures with words, how to search for ideas, and, of course, how to start a story. Before she knows it, Melia's creating her own spellbinding tales. Maybe she is a writer after all! (Product description from[|Amazon.com]. Ages 4-8)

//**You Have to Write!**// //**You have to write!**// It's a class assignment. But you have nothing to write about. All the other kids seem to have something to tell because they start in right away. What can you do? Stop and think. No one else can tell //your// stories -- about your family, your dog or cat. No one else can tell how it was when your library book got soaked in the rain.

But what if you don't like what you write? There are all sorts of ways to change it, to make it better. Keep on playing with your words, putting them together in different ways. You want whatever you write to be good. It will get better and better as you work on it.


 * DATABASES**

[|Kids Search: An Inspire Database] If you live in Indiana, you can visit the INSPIRE Web site to access the Kids Search database. Visit the "Language Arts" section and search for biographies, articles about writers and interviews with authors.




 * DO IT! **Click on the Language Arts link. In the section labeled "Find:" type in the name of your favorite author. For a test search, type in "Louis Sachar". Click on the links and explore the results.

How many articles did you find? Which article was the most interesting? Post your thoughts in the "Discussion" area of this page.