Since writing is a huge focus in the ELA classroom, I’ve been researching the top 4 AI writing tools for students. Many teachers fear that students will use ChatGPT, change a couple phrases, and never really learn how to write a strong response. This is why I’ve been in search of the best option for my classes.
Top for AI Writing Tools
1. SparkSpace.ai – As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, SparkSpace is the only platform I’ve found that guides the writer, allowing students to ask questions without telling them what to write. The tool is interactive and offers immediate feedback and scaffolded review. Not only does it have tons of writing prompts to choose from, but it also grades students’ writing for you. If a student doesn’t like the grade he or she received, the student can use the feedback SparkSpace provided to improve their writing. Then the student can click “grade it” again to see if they improved.
This teaches students to think about the writing process, what they need to include, and what they don’t. SparkSpace is my #1 pick because it saves teachers a huge amount of time, serves as a tutor or guide rather than doing the writing for kids, and you can use your own rubric or the standards-aligned rubrics created by SparkSpace. In addition, multilingual support is provided. This is definitely a plus for many of my students. Oh, and I haven’t found any other writing tool that provides this amount of feedback. It’s so informative and beneficial for the student and teacher. I’m actually using this writing tool as a benchmark to get to know how well my students write once we return to school. You can learn about what that looks like here.
2. WeWillWrite – This is a gamified writing platform where students write in short periods of time, anywhere from approximately 3 to 5 minutes. You can choose a task set from WeWillWrite or create your own. Students login with a pin code and will enter their names. Their names are anonymous for the rest of the class, but the teacher will be able to see who wrote from his or her end. Students are then randomly put into teams like giraffes or bulls. They can usually figure out who’s on their team pretty quickly by looking around the room. Then the teacher will present the first task. There are a total of 4, but the teacher can choose to do 1 task or all of them. Before starting, the teacher will explain the task.
Once students have completed the task, the AI will choose 2 from each team to move forward. Then students will read the 2 chosen from their group and vote on the best option based on the criteria. The text that gets the most votes from each team will represent the team in the final “round.” Lastly, students will vote on a winner based on the responses in the final round. Once there is a winner, the teacher can go over what this student did well in order to win, pointing out literary devices and grammatical tactics used. Wewillwrite is a great writing tool for short pieces of writing because it makes students be quick on their toes. However, this wouldn’t help students with full blown essays. It lacks the necessary feedback that would help students progress.
3. Groovelit– This educational writing platform offers lots of prompts for teachers and/or students to choose from such as narrative, argumentative, and text-based responses. Teachers can also create their own. Once teachers choose the genre and topic, the AI will create the standards-based criteria that students will receive points for implementing. Rather than receiving a grade for their work, students receive points based on the elements required. Next, students are given a code, the writing prompt, and an approximate timer of 5 minutes to write. As students include the required criteria, they receive points.
We recently had issues with spreading rumors at school, so I found a great premade prompt called, “The Rumor Mill.” This not only taught my students how to be better writers, but it also taught them a life lesson. Perfect timing for my students too. You can access this prompt >>>>HERE<<<<!
Groovelit turns writing into a fun, competitive activity similar to Kahoot or Blooket—but focused on writing. Students respond to prompts under a time limit, earn points for fulfilling specific writing elements, and can see their progress in real time. This gamified format encourages more frequent and focused writing practice, which is extremely important for improving fluency. My students beg to “play” Groovelit, and this is exactly what I want!
4. QuillBot – This AI-powered writing website and Chrome extension helps users expedite their work to an extent. It offers a range of helpful features, including a Paraphraser, Summarizer, Grammar Checker, Citation Generator, Translator, and co-writer—supporting various steps of the writing process… if you pay for the premium version. Otherwise, what you get is very limited. You can see the different tiers here.
With a premium subscription, users also gain access to a Plagiarism Checker that can scan up to 20 pages per month for potential plagiarism. The Summarizer allows you to choose from short, medium, or long summaries based on the text you enter, making it easy to condense information as needed. Quillbot is not a tool that will provide the type of feedback students need to actually improve their writing. If you’re looking for a way to paraphrase a sentence or two, then this writing AI can do just that. I used a sample text to try it out, and this is the feedback I received using the free version.
For more ways to use AI in the ELA classroom, check out THIS blog post.
Which AI writing platforms have you used in your classroom? What worked best for your students and saved you time as well? I’d love to hear about it in the comments, or reply to this email and let me know!
**This post may contain sponsored content. We’ve partnered with SparkSpace.ai to bring you valuable insights about AI writing platforms. While this post is sponsored, all opinions and recommendations are our own.
