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ReadWriteThink is a website which provides free access to a collection of materials and interactive tools for teaching writing and literacy.  This website contains several digital tools for supporting students and teaching the writing process.  For example, students can use an online prewriting tool such as Essay Map in order to organize ideas. Essay Map is an interactive graphic organizer which guides students in developing an outline to include an introduction, main ideas, supporting details and a conclusion. Students could alternately use the Notetaker tool in order to take notes on reading and research, organize, revise, and plan their writing.  ReadWriteThink also offers resources such as the Peer Edit with Perfection PowerPoint which guides students through the steps of peer editing.  Teachers can also assign activities such as the Story Cube Activity which guides students through the writing process by offering tools to create different story genres and also creates a printable final product.

Research shows that struggling students do not successfully plan and organize their writing.  Educators need to provide opportunities for these learners to practice these skills through activities such as electronic mapping, outlining and draft templates.  The most effective planning and organizational activities also provide support through content prompts, procedure cues, pre-writing structure, and can capture thoughts for later reflection (Technology-Supported Writing Instruction - LINCS. 2010, p.1).  Further research also supports that writing difficulties are often due to strategic difficulties with planning, writing, and revising. These students require systematic instruction, teacher support and scaffolding. Teaching students to plan, write, and revise using strategy instruction in an effective method for improving their writing.  (Gillespie & Graham, 2014, p.468-469)

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Summarizing information is an important postreading and prewriting activity that helps students synthesize what they have learned. The interactive Cube Creator offers four options:

Bio Cube: This option allows students to develop an outline of a person whose biography or autobiography they have just read; it can also be used before students write their own autobiography. Specific prompts ask students to describe a person's significance, background, and personality.

Mystery Cube: Use this option to help your students sort out the clues in their favorite mysteries or develop outlines for their own stories. Among its multiple applications, the Mystery Cube helps students identify mystery elements, practice using vocabulary from this popular genre, and sort and summarize information. Specific prompts ask students to describe the setting, clues, crime or mystery, victim, detective, and solution.

Story Cube: In this cube option, students can summarize the key elements in a story, including character, setting, conflict, resolution, and theme. Students can even identify their favorite part of the story. This can be used as an alternative to the Story Map interactive.

Create-Your-Own Cube: Working on a science unit? Doing some research on volcanoes? The Create-Your-Own Cube is your answer. This version allows teachers and students to generate their own questions or topics. Teachers can type in the questions, lock them from editing using the padlock icon, and save the file using the Save tab at the top of the screen. The saved file can then be shared with students to enter in their responses. Students can also customize cubes on topics of their choosing.

Students can save their draft cubes to revise later. See the five-minute video tutorial Saving Work With the Student Interactives for more information on have to save, e-mail, and open a file in any of the ReadWriteThink Student Interactives. The finished cube can also be saved, printed, and folded into a fun cube shape that can be used for future reference.

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Summarizing information is an important postreading and prewriting activity that helps students synthesize what they have learned. The interactive Cube Creator offers four options: Bio Cube: This option allows students to develop an outline of a person whose biography or autobiography they have just read; it can also be used before students write their own autobiography.