Fun Online ESL Writing and Reading Lessons

Getting students to write in the ESL classroom is sometimes a drag. In a fun communicative classroom, solitary writing activities are hardly a perfect match. I have found one exciting writing lesson/ reading lesson: Addventures!  One addventure site is :

    On these sites, people can read through stories and at any point add a new variation, a new twist to the plot. Suddenly, writing and reading are interactive and creative activities. Here is a clip from one story:

This is a great story for an ESL writing or reading lesson. Students can chose what to do next. They simply click on their choice ("Kick it" "Bite it" or "Gently massage it's self confidence") and it takes them to the next part of the story. Or if they don't like the choices, they can create their own story line by clicking the "+". 

So the story above could read: "Whoa. What is it? You've never seen anything like it." (click "Kick it") "You kick it. It flies off into the sky, and you can see where it landed, which you can see is about a quarter of a mile away. You still don't have a clue what it was.

This is a great way to stop boring lessons in their tracks. Start here and be proud of what your students create.  Explain to them that hundreds of people will read their work. What a motivation! Students will edit their work more and be more creative. The final products are amazing.

Another bonus to the large sites is that they accommodate varied reading levels. Low and advanced students can find engaging story lines.

Overall, this ESL writing activity can work for everyone. The lesson is fun. The stories are varied.  The options are endless.

So have fun!!! And tell me what you wrote.