826 Digital is an online resource that's ideal for teachers who want to inspire young writers.
The nonprofit website is a part of 826 National, a writing and tutoring network that was founded by Dave Eggers. This resource launched in 2017, and is now widely used across the 50 U.S. states and throughout the world in more than 60 countries.
The goal here is to make writing instruction inspiring while at the same time being accessible and -- crucially -- a lot of fun for students.
Consequently, there are resources for both students and teachers to make this easier all round, so the focus can be on good quality and highly creative writing.
This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about 826 Digital as a tool for your class.
What is 826 Digital?
826 Digital is a hub filled with resources for teachers and students that encourage and support creative writing skills and practice.
As the site itself says, this about the ability to "spark the power, brilliance, and joy of writing." And with more than 1,000 writing prompts available immediately, it's clear this is a good place for any budding writer to get started or find inspiration.
The resource library can be accessed online, so it's easy to navigate to from most internet-connected devices with a browser.
This offers teachers ready-to-go lesson plans. For both teachers and students there are quick prompts, extended projects, student work samples, and video resources.
How does 826 Digital work?
826 Digital has all its resources readily available on its website that you can access immediately without the need to sign-up or provide any details.
Select the Resource Library and you're met with a host of options organized into helpful categories to navigate and narrow down what's needed.
Materials are also searchable by grade levels, genre, writing skill, or resource type. This is designed to help make it easy to fit with curriculum-focused teaching.
Everything is also designed to be modular. Teachers can use five-minute warm-up prompts, one-session lessons, or multi-week projects to fit into their teaching plans as required.
It's also possible to sign up for emails to get the latest updates sent to you as well as select time-sensitive resources.
What are the best 826 Digital features?
826 Digital breaks the learning prompts into helpful sections that can be navigated to best suit what's needed. These are:
- Sparks: Short and adaptable writing prompts that take just a few minutes.
- Lessons: As the name suggests, this is for one- or two-session units and target specific skills.
- Projects: These cover multiple sessions and help dive deeper into topics or themes.
- Student Writing: This shows example pieces as a way to help mentor with text.
- Educator Tools: Guides and strategies for planning and teaching writing.
- Videos: These Watch and Write sessions offer featured authors and creators giving guidance over video.
Teachers can use a combination of these many resources to fit into current teaching plans. Equally, these can be great for teachers new to this area, or trying to integrate writing skills into other subjects.
Indeed, this can be a great place for students to get into creative writing on their own time, too.
How much does 826 Digital cost?
826 Digital is a not-for-profit organization meaning everything is available for free to access and use. It runs thanks to philanthropy and grants as well as donations and campaigns.
You don't have to provide any details to access the site, although you can sign-up with email to access features such as downloading, bookmarking, sharing, and uploading.
The organization makes it clear that there is no tracking and it does not engage in third-party tracking or targeted advertising.
826 Digital best tips and tricks
Start small
Use the Sparks to give simple writing prompts so students get a taste and can enjoy, while building stamina without pressure.
Mentor up
Use the student writing resource as a way to help your class feel mentored by the work of others, showing anything is possible.
Use videos
Using the videos within lessons can make otherwise abstract writing skills more graspable for students, ideal as a lesson starter.
