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10 Tools for National Novel Writing Month

November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a "fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing." Writing is an essential aspect in every subject area. This week, we are sharing ten excellent tools to engage your students in writing (and maybe starting their first novel!).

Grades 3-12

NaNoWriMo's Young Writers' Program

If you want to learn more about NaNoWriMo, start here—the home site for this month-long event! Find writing badges students can earn, groups of writing buddies to join, helpful resources for students in both English and Spanish, and more!

Grades K-12

Knight Lab

Knight Lab offers a variety of tools for storytelling and promoting quality journalism. Choose the Projects tab to find storytelling options including juxtapose (frame comparisons), timeline, storyline, story map, scene (creating VR stories), etc.

Grades K-12

OK2Ask: Google MANIA - Choose Your Own Adventure with Google Slides

Learn how to use Google Slides to create and share a story! Register and immediately view this workshop recording to learn how to use Google Slides to create a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) story so you can guide your students as they create their own.

Grades K-6

Imagine Forest

Begin your journey at the tab for Free Resources. Navigate through the topics of Writing Prompts, Story Crafts, and Book Lists. Each of these sections includes additional details for the teacher and some also have printables and lesson stems!

Grades 3-12

Elementari

Develop interactive digital stories that include drag-and-drop text, illustrations, and shapes. Choose from image filters and a variety of fonts to personalize the look of your story. Other tools include the ability to animate illustrations and text.

Grades K-12

OK2Ask: So Simple. So Slick. So Sway!

This recorded workshop introduces Sway, a free digital storytelling and presentation app that’s accessible on any device. Add text and pictures, embed or hyperlink relevant content, then watch Sway do the rest. Learn the basics in minutes and get started!

Grades 8-12

Notebook.ai

Try out this story planning tool for writers. After registering, use different sections of the site to begin creating other portions of your fantasy world. Options include universe, character, world, creatures, governments, and much more.

Grades K-4

ABCYA Paint

Engage young students in digital storytelling using the many features of ABCYA Paint. Choose from the included tools to spray paint, draw, add stickers, and more. When finished, save it to your computer as a PNG file or print it.

Grades K-5

WriteReader

Take advantage of this incredible tool that allows kids to create books that include text, pictures, and voice recordings. The best part is that teachers have their own space across the page to offer feedback, write comments, and make corrections.

Grades K-12

Book Creator

Create beautiful multimedia digital books using Book Creator. Students can add images, add their own voice narration or other audio, choose between many layouts and font options, and more. View the sample books for ideas to try.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Join us this Tuesday for our next free OK2Ask virtual workshop and on Thursday for our next Twitter (X) chat. Also, peruse a collection of blog posts that all relate to digital storytelling.