It is no secret that writing is a tricky subject for teachers to teach and grade. Much of writing can be subjective, but there are also some very concrete grammar skills that a student must master to be an effective writer. Finding an engaging, effective way to help support students in building these skills can also be a challenge. Grammar workbooks just don’t really cut it for most students.
NoRedInk is free website created by teachers to help students improve their writing skills using engaging, personalized content. The program strives to use high-interest content to teach children concepts by generating questions and activities related to their favorite celebrities, TV shows, or friends. The program is also adaptive, meaning it will adjust subsequent questions based on what a student gets right or wrong. NoRedInk also believes in “playing with language” and they designed the program to be interactive by allowing students to click on words to capitalize them or drag and drop to add or delete punctuation.
For teachers, NoRedInk is able to provide data on what areas they need to focus on in class and where their students’ skills are lagging. Teachers are also able to track student progress toward common core and state standards. Many teachers also seem to be using NoRedInk for standardized test prep classes as well to build foundational grammar skills. NoRedInk has published two study guides to help map out the concepts NoRedInk can help build for the SAT and the ACT. exams. If you are curious how other schools have used the program, you can read the case studies they have published. NoRedInk also has several onboarding guides to help both teachers and students understand how to effectively use the program.