Writing
Collective Creation
Here's a fun site where you can write online chain stories! At this site, you can choose the level that you want to try. If you want to write an easier chain story, try the Level One Collective Creation. In this story, each person writes one sentence. Why don't you try? It's fun!
Learn English grammar through sentence diagramming! It's fun, safe, and exciting.
Your Turn:
Use the exercises pages to create your own sentence diagrams from the sentences given. Then, use the answer keys to check your answers!
Email is great, but sometimes it's fun to send a special postcard to someone. This site has lots of cool postcards to choose from. To send an Electric Postcard, first choose a category. Then choose the postcard you want to send. Fill in the information and write your message. Choose Preview the Postcard if you want to see what it will look like before you send it. If you want to change anything, just go back and make your changes. Then send your postcard.
Your Turn:
There are lots of interesting postcards on the Internet! Here are some more very unique cards:
Lake Cards
Nature and Wildlife Cards
Vintage Thanksgiving Cards
A diary is a journal that you write in every day. You can write about what you did that day, or you can write about your thoughts and feelings. It's even a great place to write down new vocabulary or notes from class! At this site, you can make your own diary, and write in it whenever you want. You can make a private (only you can read it) or a public (anybody can read it) diary. Your identity will always be completely anonymous (nobody will know who you are). You can even make your own special design for your diary!
Your Turn:
Read some of the public diaries to get some ideas for your diary. (If you find something interesting, you can leave a message in that diary.) If you don't want to write a diary on the Internet, try writing in an old- fashioned paper diary. It's a really fun way to practice your English every day!
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
It's true that sometimes pictures can communicate more than words! Here's a fun site where you can show everyone your sense of humor!
Your Turn:
You'll find a lot of funny pictures at this site. It's your job to write a funny caption for the picture. First, get some ideas by taking a look at past photos to see what other people have written. Which ones do you think are funny? Now look at the new photos and try to think of a funny caption. When you have one that you like, send it in an email with your name and country.
Are you planning to have a party or some kind of special event? This is a fun site where you can send out very nice online invitations to your friends or colleagues. This site is easy to use. Just choose the kind of party or event that you're having, and write what you want to say. You can choose from their designs or put your own picture or graphic on the invitation. Click on VIEW SAMPLE to see what you can do. If you want to use this free site, you must register first.
Your Turn:
Try designing your own paper invitations for your next party or event. What is the most important information? What kind of graphics or pictures do you want to use?
How's your spelling? Spelling can be one of the most challenging parts of your English study. At SpellaRoo, you can check your spelling by finding the word that's spelled incorrectly in a sentence. This fun site will help you to recognize misspelled words when you're reading or writing. Correct spelling is very important in your English writing, especially if you're writing a school report or business letter. To begin, choose Beginner or Intermediate level. Your score will be shown to you after each question.
If you want to be a good English writer, you have to be a good speller. This spelling test is easy to take, but some of the words may be difficult. These are the 30 words that are the most difficult for native speakers. To take the test, just click on the correct spelling. For example, which is correct:
*brocolli* or *broccoli*?
After you finish the test, check out the tips on how to improve your spelling.
Your Turn:
Challenge your teacher! See if he/she is a good speller. Make a bet that your teacher will make AT LEAST 5 mistakes on the test. If you win the bet, the teacher has to buy ice cream for the whole class!
The Unofficial Smiley Dictionary
What's a smiley? A smiley is something you can type in your email or a chat room to show what your feeling is.
You've probably seen this smiley before: :-) It means I'm happy. And of course, :-( means I'm sad. But do you know what 8-) means? How about :-& ?
At this site, you'll find lots of different smileys. Some are useful, and some are a bit silly.
Your Turn:
After you've looked at some of these smileys, try to make some of your own. Show them to a friend or classmate and ask them to guess the meaning.
John's ESL Mad Libs
This is a fun way to help write a really funny story. First, choose a story title. Then, choose a list of words to use in the story. Make sure you enter the right kind of word. (For example, noun, past tense verb, color, name, etc.) Now click the SUBMIT button, and read the story that was made with your words. It's usually a pretty funny story!!
Your Turn:
After you try a few of these stories, why don't you find a partner and try to write your own Mad Lib Story? You could write a story on paper. Just leave out some of the key words, and write down the part of speech of each missing word. Then let your classmates finish your story by writing in the missing words!
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