Let's Get Creative: 800+ Prompts to Inspire You

This awesome site has over 800 visual prompts designed to ignite the creative fire within you. Whether you're a writing enthusiast or looking for ideas for a creative writing assignment, it's a worth a look.

Writing Resource: Write About

Check out Write About, the writing website designed by educators for students just like you. You can browse through thousands of visual prompts that excite the senses and spark the imagination to get those creative juices flowing. Just find something that inspires you and write as much or as little as you like in any style you choose. From there, you can collaborate with other students or keep your work private; it's up to you.

Collection of Online Interactives

Check out this collection of educational interactives from all over the Internet. They're meant mainly for students in grades K-5, but I have to confess that I had fun clicking around the site too. The site hosts links to science, math, ELA, social studies, music, art, and Spanish interactives and is very easy to navigate, so I'm sure that it'll be a breeze to find exactly what you want to learn about.

TED Talks

TED Talks online gives learners from all over the globe access to innovative talks given from the world's premier experts. The Talks range from subtly humorous to jaw-droppingly beautiful to awe-inspiringly ingenious. The Talks range in duration from five minutes to just over a half hour, so you can fit them into your morning train commute, your mid-morning coffee break, your lunch hour, or your late afternoon snack time. High schoolers and adult learners would likely get the most out of this resource, but middle schoolers can feel free to take a peek around as well.

Writing Habits to Ditch in Middle School

When you were in elementary school, your teacher might have given you a formula for writing that looked something like this:

• An essay is three to five paragraphs. 
• A paragraph is exactly five sentences. No more, and no less. 
• You start with your introduction. Begin with 'let me tell you all about' or 'first.'
• The next three paragraphs are the body. Use transitions like 'second,' 'next,' 'then,' etc.
• Your fifth paragraph must start with 'in conclusion,' or 'as you can see.' 

If you are in elementary school, this kind of writing is fine. You're still learning how to use your writing muscles and no one is going to expect you to sit down and write Paradise Lost. 

However, if you're in middle school or high school, the above formula is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. My co-partner and I (and probably your teachers as well) feel something like this when they see a middle or a high schooler writing like that. 

Now that you know what not to do, let's discuss some alternatives that will bring your writing up to grade level.

• Begin by acknowledging that an essay can be one paragraph or fifty pages. A paragraph can be one line long, or it could fill it up half your page. This is English, not chemistry or math. There is no formula for the perfect essay, nor any equation that will give you an awesome paper.
• Start with your thesis statement. This is either the point you're trying to prove (if you're writing a 'critical lens' for English or some similar such essay) or the topic you're going to be talking about. 
• Example One: Robert Frost once said that "freedom lies in being bold." There is a compelling truth in these words, as true freedom can only be found by gathering the courage to forge one's own path in life in pursuit of one's hopes and dreams. 
• When you are asked to write critical lenses, your teacher often asks you to agree or disagree with a given statement. I'd recommend that middle schoolers do so explicitly, but that high school students attempt to do so more subtly. In the above example, I never outright said I agreed with the quote, but it's clear that I do in fact support the point of view expressed. 
• Example Two: World War Two caused a great number of social, economic, technological, political, and global changes that paved the way towards the modern world. 
• Finish off your introductory paragraph by providing a little more detail. Give a brief overview of the evidence you're going to use later on in your essay. Just remember not to play all of your cards in the first paragraph. 
• Use your body paragraphs to analyze the evidence you're going to provide to prove your point. 
• For the critical lens, you'll probably want to think of two or more works of literature that support your position. Remember that you can use books, plays, or even poetry to back up your thesis. 
• You can devote one paragraph to a real world example. I'd generally advise against using personal examples. However, feel free to draw from history and current events. 
• For the history essay, spend one paragraph on each point: social changes, political changes, economic changes, and technological changes. You'll want to save the 'global changes' part for your conclusion.
• In each paragraph, give examples of the various changes that happened after the war. You can talk about the Baby Boom, the rise of the suburbs, America's rise to a global superpower, the Cold War and the way it changed the political climate of the 20th century, the Truman Doctrine, women's return to the 'domestic sphere' after comprising a significant part of the workforce during the war, and the various civil rights movements that emerged shortly after the war.
• High schoolers should also acknowledge counter-points to their argument. For the English essay, you should acknowledge that there are other ways of achieving freedom, and that the concept of freedom itself is incredibly objective. For the WWII essay, spend a paragraph talking about the changes that represented a step back for society rather than a leap forward. 
• Now it's time for your conclusion. The best way to do this is to restate your thesis in light of the evidence you provided. This is also the place to acknowledge counter-arguments if you can't devote an entire paragraph to it. You're also going to want to make a Big Picture connection. Explain why the topic of your writing is important. Talk about how Robert Frost's words apply to everyone in some way. Spend a couple of sentences discussing the lasting consequences of WWII and how we are still benefiting (or, in some cases, suffering) from its repercussions. 
• Let your essay end naturally. Allow it to taper off. Think of writing as an art form. You don't want to hammer in your point; you want it to gradually settle upon your reader. Ideally, your essay should have the impact of steel but read with the smoothness of silk.

Khan Academy

A while back, one of our readers suggested that we add Khan Academy to our list of resources.

Khan Academy offers an amazing variety of learning resources. Students can brush up on their math or science skills, learn about economics and finance, dive into the world of computer programing, prep for the Big Test, or access partner content offered by world-renowned museums.

Khan Academy is an awesome resource for learners of all ages. Kindergartners through college students can benefit from using Khan Academy, as can their caregivers and teachers. Adult learners can enjoy these resources as well. Whether you're 5 or 125, Khan Academy will help you learn something new.

Free Books

Many sites provide free digital books. A few are listed below.

Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/

Penn State Electric Classics: http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/jimspdf.htm

The Online Books Page: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

You can also try searching the Amazon Kindle Store for free books. Amazon has thousands of free digital books, and you don't need a Kindle to access them, either. All you need is some kind of electronic device (a computer, tablet, or smart phone) and the free-to-download Kindle app.

If you're looking for a specific book, you might want to try a quick Google search using the keywords 'Title pdf' or 'read Title online free.' Use your judgement when doing so, however, because searches like these can direct you to virus-laden downloads if you click on a suspicious site.

Tips for Learning New Vocabulary

Assimilating new vocabulary can be difficult whether you're trying to improve your skills in your native language or if you're learning a new language. Here are some tips I've found helpful when learning new vocabulary.

• Do a little each day. Subscribe to a vocabulary word of the day e-mail newsletter. You'll find a new vocabulary word in your inbox every day. 
• Pace yourself and your learning based on how fluent you are in a given language. If you're trying to improve your vocabulary skills in your native language, aim to learn one or two words a week. If you're beginning to learn a new language, aim for several words a day until you can read basic texts with ease. In you are in between being a beginner and being fluent, aim for one word a day to three words a week, depending on where you are on the fluency scale. 
• Read a lot. Read newspapers and books in your native language or in the language or languages you're trying to learn to improve your reading skills, fluency, and vocabulary. Be sure to look up words you don't know only after you've made an attempt to figure it out in the context of the words you do know.
• Try your hand at writing. Even if it's a few simple sentences or a little poem, write something. Try to incorporate the new vocabulary words you've learnt recently or look up new words to include in your writing. Just make sure you're using them properly. 
• Converse with someone that is better at a given language than you. If you're a student trying to improve your English vocabulary, talk to an adult with a good vocabulary. If you're a student in the United States trying to learn Spanish, try talking to one of your South or Central American neighbors. (Just make sure they're not from Brazil, as Brazilians speak Portuguese.) 
• Make a word wall in your bedroom. Print out a word and its definition and post it somewhere prominent in your room (with your parent's permission, of course). 
• Try using your new vocabulary in a conversation with your friends or with an adult. You'll definitely turn some heads and make a good impression on your teachers and peers. Again, just make sure you use the word correctly. 
• Try using your new vocabulary in a conversation with yourself. You'll get used to using the word, and it'll stick in your long-term memory better the more you use it. 
• Write each word on an index card, and keep them in three boxes. One box you'll go through every day, one you'll go through every week, and one you'll go through every month. Move the cards accordingly as you learn or forget a word. 
• If you hear or see a word that you don't know, look it up after trying to figure it out using context clues. 
• The better your vocabulary gets, the easier it'll be to use context clues to figure out the meaning of new words. It's a win-win situation! 
• Your dictionary is your best friend. Occasionally visit it, find a word you don't know, and learn it's meaning.
• Never stop learning. A good vocabulary is a work in progress. You'll never know all the words in any given language, but don't let that stop you from learning as many as possible. 
• If you're trying to improve your vocabulary, learn a language similar to your native language or the language you're trying to learn. This will help with your vocabulary because you'll be able to identify word roots and make connections between words you never saw before. 
• If your native language is English, learn a Germanic language.
• If you're trying to improve your skills in a Romance language, learn another Romance language. Learning French really helped me with my Spanish skills.