Do you have reluctant writers in your classroom? As an elementary school teacher, I loved modeling writing and hosting a writer’s workshop for students. But I also knew it wasn’t every student’s favorite subject area. If elementary school writing is a topic you’re covering this year, you will want to check out Night Zookeeper.
I first connected with the Night Zookeeper team a few years ago to take a look at their fantastic online tool for teachers and students. They have an engaging platform for elementary school writing. It’s perfect for reluctant writers because it gamifies the writing experience.
Elementary School Writing
Designed with K-8 students in mind, Night Zookeeper is an online reading tool that helps student storytellers. Their platform supports students as they write by providing access to a story, characters, and game that encourages students during the writing process.
The video below gives you an overview of Night Zookeeper so you can see it in action. This tool can help students grow as creative writers – even your most reluctant writers.
How does it work? Night Zookeeper lets teachers choose from thousands of interactive lessons to share with students. All of the lessons are available in the Lesson Hive, and you have lots of options to introduce to students. There is also an assessment and blog component of this tool.
Interactive Writing Lessons
With Night Zookeeper, students have access to a writing tool that supports them throughout the process. The tool suggests vocabulary words and provides helpful tips as students dive into their writing.Teachers can search by subject area to find lessons in English, Math, Engineering, Art, and more. There is also the option to search for lessons by grade levels. Once you join the Lesson Hive, you’ll have instant access to the library of activities for students.
The team at Night Zookeeper just announced new student writing awards. They’ve created leveled awards to push students to explore different creative writing opportunities. Check out all of their new features in this post.
Assessing Student Writing
Night Zookeeper lets teachers track and assess student progress throughout the school year. You can access information on student progress and performance on the teacher dashboard. They’ve worked to make clear curriculum connections, and you can check out their resources on this topic on this page.
The simple teacher dashboard makes it easy to see student work all on in one place. You can give feedback in real-time and monitor students during the writing process.
Sharing Student Writing
After students participate in these interactive writing activities, they can share their work in multiple ways. One option for students is to celebrate their published writing with families as well as the Night Zookeeper global community. Additionally, you can publish all of the work students produce on a class blog right through the Night Zookeeper platform. There is also the option to participate in competitions hosted by the team at Night Zookeeper.
You can sign up for a free trial of Night Zookeeper by visiting their website!
