Digital writing as multiple paths: 7th graders compose “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories

Abstract

Abstract Multimodal texts (composing and reading) deserve specific attention in our language arts curriculum. This article aims to share a collaborative effort between 7th grade students and preservice teachers engaged in a digital writing unit centered on Choose Your Own Adventure stories. In particular, we emphasize how digital writing offers students flexibility, choice, and nonlinear thinking during writing. We provide details on how preservice teachers taught this digital writing unit virtually during Covid, offering student examples and a student-created rubric. We end by sharing our successes and potential concerns for both groups of students as well as our experiences facilitating.