Fort Worth ISD - Secondary Literacy

Useful Links

The links listed below will provide valuable information for parents, students, community members, teachers and administrators who are interested in the secondary literacy curriculum. Many of these links provide activities that can be done at home to improve or strengthen literacy skills.

Prentice Hall Current Event Writing Prompts
Source for practice writing prompts similar to those found on TAKS tests.

Institute for Learning
Located at the Learning Research and Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh, the IFL works closely with both researchers and educators to translate research findings into practical actions that teachers, administrators, schools, and districts can implement to help close the learning gap and promote high student achievement.

Alliance for Excellent Education
The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC-based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century.

Carnegie Corporation of New York
An education foundation that promotes "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.”

Grade 9 Literature
Study companions to the English I textbook.

Holt McDougal Vocabulary Flash Cards
Holt McDougal Vocabulary Interactive Games
Holt McDougal Author Biographies
Bob Marzano’s Power Thinking Activities
Holt McDougal Listening Center

Grade 10 Literature
Study companions to the English II textbook.

Holt McDougal Vocabulary Flash Cards
Holt McDougal Vocabulary Interactive Games
Holt McDougal Author Biographies
Bob Marzano’s Power Thinking Activities
Holt McDougal Listening Center

Grade 11 Literature
Study companions to the English III textbook.

Holt McDougal Vocabulary Flash Cards
Holt McDougal Vocabulary Interactive Games
Holt McDougal Author Biographies
Holt McDougal Listening Center

Grade 12 Literature
Study companions to the English IV textbook.

Holt McDougal Vocabulary Flash Cards
Holt McDougal Vocabulary Interactive Games
Holt McDougal Author Biographies
Holt McDougal Listening Center

General Links

Holt McDougal Grammar Arcade
An interactive game to test your grammar know-how.

Holt McDougal Graphic Organizers
Graphic frames for organizing your ideas.

Holt McDougal Writing Templates
Templates for over 20 writing forms.

Holt McDougal Web Research Guide
Information about how to use the Internet effectively as a research tool.

Citation Guides
Links to guides for citing research sources according to MLA and other styles

Citation Styles http://www.cws.illinois.edu / workshop / writers / citation /
The Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has an online Writing Workshop with resources for student writers. Go to the Writing Workshop page and click on "Citation Styles," then "Modern Language Association" for MLA citation styles. You can also view the APA styles (American Psychological Assocation), if this is what your teacher requires.

The Columbia Guide to Online Style, second edition http://www.columbia.edu / cu / cup / cgos2006 / basic.html
This is an online version of Columbia University's style guide for citations of Internet sources. While not as complete as the print version, this site nonetheless contains many useful examples.

Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources http://www.bedfordstmartins.com / online / citex.html
This online book provides detailed advice about finding, using, and citing Internet sources. It includes the MLA style guides to internet citations as well as several other style guides.

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant http://www.powa.org /
The online writing assistant helps you through any number of writing assignments: informal essays, argumentative essays, and expository essays, to name a few. You can also learn how to write a thesis and how to correctly document sources.

Publishing Your Own Work
Sites for the teenage writer who wants to be published.

Amazing Kids! Writer's Library http://www.amazing-kids.org / writers.htm#top
This site accepts and posts young writer's submissions. There is also a link where young writers can find information about upcoming writing contests.

Calliope http://www.cobblestonepub.com / kids_cal.html
Students can send their poems, stories, and drawings to Calliope. Written for kids ages 9 to 14, Calliope "...goes beyond the 'facts' to explore provocative issues."

The Stone Soup Web Site http://www.stonesoup.com /
The Stone Soup site features the work of young people ages 8 to 13 who contribute their stories, poems, book reviews, and artwork.

Young Writer Resources http://www.elisacarbone.com / writers / resouces.html
This site provides addresses and guidelines for many publications to which students can submit their work.

Young Writers' Clubhouse http://www.realkids.com / home4.htm
On this site students can get writing tips and receive critiques of their works from others in the writers' clubhouse.

Young Writers Society http://www.youngwriterssociety.com / submissions.php
This community forum for young writers provides opportunities to submit work and to review the work of others. Although visitors need to create a username and password to explore the site in any depth, joining the site is free.