Mindprint Toolbox

Search Results

Please wait...

SMITHTeens

Mindprint Rating

Tags

ELA: Writing Social-Emotional Learning ^Music, Art and Makerspaces ^21st Century Skills MS/HS/College Website

Skills

Self-regulation Expressive Language Organization

Mindprint Expert Review

Pros

  • This website provides a social platform for encouraging and practicing short-form memoir writing.
  • Offers writing prompts to encourage regular reflective memoir writing.
  • Unlimited in terms of amount of use.

Considerations

  • There is some offensive language.
  • There are some uncensored, unreviewed postings and comments.

Mindprint Expert Review

SMITHTEENS, a teen-focused offshoot of Smith Magazine, is a website for teens to share stories. Its on-line platform challenges users to share personal stories in the form of "Six-Word Memoirs." SMITHTeens is a user-friendly, supportive community where teen writers can reflect on their lives, practice short-form writing, and receive feedback from readers. There is no limit to how many memoirs a writer can submit. SMITHTeens also provide forums with prompts and discussions. Although the uncensored submissions sometimes do sometimes contain some offensive language, the content is largely humorous, inspiring, and creative. Posting a memoir on the site automatically gives the writer a chance to be in a future SMITHTeens anthology of six-word memoirs.

Academic Benefits

Improves academic skills

  • Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
  • Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
  • Presents educational concepts accurately
  • Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
  • Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
  • Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
  • Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

Fun

Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
  • Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
  • Visually appealing to children in the target age range
  • Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
  • Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
  • Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
  • Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

Easy to Use

Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Has a free or trial version
  • Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
  • Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
  • Student should be able to use independently after first use
  • Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
  • Multiple users can save a profile
  • Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
  • Can play without sound and not distract others
  • Students can save work between sessions
  • Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
  • Requires registration before using the first time
  • Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
  • Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
  • Overall - Easy to use