BoomWriter offers a few resources to get started. Teachers can take advantage of the pre-made lesson plans; there are ideas on how to turn BoomWriter into an entire teaching unit. For example, teachers can introduce various writing techniques (similes and metaphors, figurative language, dialogue, etc.) and encourage students to use them in their own writing. Or, teachers can use vocabulary lists from any subject to give students a chance to use newly learned words.
Teachers can use writing prompts to support units on different subjects, as well. In social studies, students could write historical fiction to explore past events, or have students respond to a story start pulled from a well-known book that challenges students to rewrite the rest. In science classes, teachers could use the ProjectWriter tool to have students create study guides of key terms and concepts. Writing can happen individually or in pairs/small groups. Students can create books as a whole class, or teachers can break the class into two and have students compare the path each group took to develop the same story start. This could even happen between classrooms.
If your students really take to BoomWriter, you might look into the Writing Bee events which offer opportunities to collaborate with writers across the country.
Continue readingBoomWriter is a web-based writing platform that focuses on getting students to collaborate, both as writers and readers. Teachers can assign three types of writing projects: StoryWriter, WordWriter, and ProjectWriter. StoryWriter is the most fun. It allows students to co-author their own books. Teachers provide a "story start" -- essentially a first chapter -- and students write a follow-up chapter, submitting them for teacher approval. Meanwhile, other students vote anonymously on approved chapters; only the winning chapter's author is revealed, and their chapter is then added onto the story. From there, students go back to the drawing board, write versions of chapter three, submit for approval, and vote again. The process repeats until the book is finished. WordWriter lets teachers provide a list of vocabulary words that students must use in context in their writing. ProjectWriter focuses on nonfiction by having students create a textbook-like collection of academic-oriented writings. All the writing and class management tools are available for free; the Pro version adds grading and progress-tracking as well as rubrics.
Teachers, students, and anyone who visits the site (or Chrome app) can read completed books and even buy hard copies. Extras include Boomer Bucks that students earn for submitting chapters; they'll use these to buy accessories for their "Boomer," or avatar. There are also "celebrity" writing competitions and pre-made lesson plans for teachers.
BoomWriter successfully gets students to take a more active role in the creative process. They can feel proud to see a finished novel that they helped write. Some of the story starts are better written -- and more appealing -- than others, but teachers can also write their own. How much students learn with BoomWriter will depend heavily on teachers' scaffolding of the experience: what kind of help, guidance, and feedback they give on students' writing, and how well they tie story building into existing writing lessons. Having three different writing options gives teachers flexibility in choosing the best context in which to provide writing prompts. Novel writing may be the most fun, but WordWriter and ProjectWriter may fit non-ELA subjects more seamlessly.
Students' ability to vote brings some friendly competition to the experience; this can encourage some but could discourage, or even traumatize, others. Teachers should scaffold the process carefully, especially for students who don't feel they're strong writers, as well as for ELLs and any other students with writing difficulties. The Boomer avatar design may appeal to some, but their big round heads and fanged teeth could come across as strange; the Boomer Bucks marketplace system seems out of place and belies the site's sophistication.