Quill: Grammar, Writing, Editing, Proofreading Activities

Details

Activity Description

Assign students to use the site to practice grammar, editing, proofreading skills. The site has 150 free writing and grammar activities. This activity will be a proofreading activity.

Preparation

1. Make sure that the site is not blocked at your school before assigning students to use it.
2. Practice using the site to familiarize yourself with it.
3. Select which section(s) to have students use. 
4. If there are specific skills you would like students to work on, register for a free teacher's account, create a class, and select specific units/activities.

How-To

1. The site’s activities are divided into four sections. To see them go to the main Web Site (below) and scroll down the page:
   • Quill Proofreader - passages that have grammatical errors placed in them - students locate errors.
   • Quill Grammar - teaches grammatical concepts through sentence writing exercises.
   • Quill Writer - two-player activity; students take turns writing a passage together from a shared list of words.
   • Sentence Shuffle (coming) - rearrange sentences from a text into the correct order.
2. Any section can be accessed without registration by selecting Play it Now, but you will be doing the exercise of the day rather than one of your choice or one you create.
3. For the Proofreader, there is a text with a specified number of errors. Students select wrong words or punctuation and type corrections. Select Check Answers to see results. Then select Go to My Lesson. There are grammar and syntax explanations followed by sentences with word choices. Students need to choose the correct word and type the sentences with the correct word. Select Check Answer.
4. The Grammar section is the same, without the text for proofreading at the beginning.
5. For the Quill Writer section, select Let’s Go. (Note: Teachers with accounts can create their own activities after logging in.)
   1. Students will enter their name. They will then share the link provided with a writing partner. Story words that they must use are provided in a list on the left. Have them hover the cursor over (or if on mobile device, tap) the Story Words to see their definitions.
   2. Students will take turns writing sentences using Story Words. They can use the past, present, or future tense of Story Words that are verbs.
   3. Have them read the provided sentence that begins the story. Next have them type in the next sentence (remembering to use the Story Words) and select Send Sentence. The writing partner writes the next sentence, and the two partners continue until the story is complete.
   4. After completing the goal, students may send their stories to the teacher or continue working on them.

Teacher Tips

• See the Quill Support and Feedback page for help.
• With a free teacher account, you can create classes. Login and select Class Manager. Enter a class name, level, and write down the provided class code to give your students. You may choose to have students create their accounts by signing up and choosing I'm a Student. When signing up, in the "Join My Class" field, they enter the class code you provide. You may also choose to create student accounts. A student’s username is the name combined with your class code. For example, John Smith is 'John.Smith@(yourclasscode)'. Students passwords are set to their last names by default. For example, ‘Smith’ (first letter is capitalized).
• When logged in to a teacher account, see the Activities tab for all the site shared content / activities for each grade level. There is a score book and activity planner. More features are offered with a premium account for which there is a charge.

Program Areas

• ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

• Intermediate High
• Advanced

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