Overview
At AVID, we believe that writing is a core learning strategy. We believe that while students need to learn to write well, they also should write in order to learn. The act of writing requires students to process ideas and learning at a high level, synthesize what they know, and reform it as a written document of original thought. This process leads not only to greater retention of knowledge but also a deeper and more complex understanding of concepts and ideas. The templates in this collection can help students organize their ideas and prepare for the writing process. This writing may be traditional text-based writing, or it may include communicating through multimedia. Though the formats may differ, the process is very similar.
Options
At AVID Open Access, we’ve created multiple grab-and-go templates to get you started. While many of these activities may be completed either digitally or printed to complete offline, a benefit of choosing to use these digitally is that multimedia (images, videos, links) can be added quite easily. The digital versions of the templates also have placeholders for text and images where appropriate. If you find a Google version that you like, click the “Use Template” button to generate your own version that can be edited and shared as needed. You may also download a PowerPoint version if you are a Microsoft user.
Templates from AVID Open Access
Writing
Use these templates to help students organize and plan for both traditional and multi-media writing.
Paragraph Hamburger
Paragraph Planning
Online Digital Tools to Use for Categorization
- Book Creator (Tips): create an online book with text and multimedia
- Google Docs: word processing
- Hemingway App: analyze your writing
- Highlight Tool: mark up and color-code your document
- Microsoft Word: word processing
- MindMeister: concept mapping tool for pre-writing brainstorms
- Mindomo: concept mapping tool for pre-writing brainstorms
- MindMup: concept mapping tool for pre-writing brainstorms
- ReadWriteThink: interactive planning and organizing tools for writing
- Storyboard That: online storyboard creation
- StoryJumper: create a picture book
Integration Ideas
These templates are quite versatile and can be applied to writing in any content area. Because the templates focus on thought process rather than specific subject-area content, you can adapt them to your classroom material as you see fit. If you distribute and collect the templates through a learning management system, you can quickly skim the submissions to determine if the class is on track or to identify students who might need more assistance. However you choose to review this work, these templates serve as effective formative checks of understanding, which allow you to see if students are setting themselves up for success when they move on to the writing stage of this process.
How Can I Learn More?
Explore AVID Open Access for more free templates, articles, tool tips, podcasts, and other great resources, including the related collections and articles: Power Up and Enhance the Writing Process With Technology and Think It, Write It: Creative Writing Across the Curriculum.