Parent tip of the week #87: Still more summer resources

• http://writelike.org– This free, game-like middle-grade site aims to improve students’ writing craft through analysis, writing exercises, and emulation of master authors. The site has self-guided lessons that scaffold learning on key writing topics like semicolons, similes, and metaphors and ask students to mimic a particular writer’s language and style.
•  https://www.icivics.org/products/drafting-board– This free online tool is part of the middle- and high-school civics education site, founded by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The iCivics site has  resources on the Constitution, civil rights, and the three branches of government, as well as mini-lessons and brief readings and activities on historical figures, events, and court cases. 
• https://thinkcerca.com– This grade 3-12 site focuses on reading and writing history, current events, science, and math (CERCA is an acronym for making claims, supporting claims with evidence, reasoning, counterarguments, and using audience-appropriate language). 

“The Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom” by Melody Arabo, Jonathan Budd, Shannon Garrison, and Tabitha Pacheco, edited by Victoria McDougald, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, March 2017, https://bit.ly/2M0namr