My second attempt at blogging seeks feedback about potential blogging integration ideas within my classroom. I am a fifth grade teacher in Pennsylvania, in a district that forces all elementary teachers to teach all subjects. I'm sure there are many ways to integrate blogging into the content areas, but my initial instinct is to integrate this technology into my reading class, specifically within my novel studies and literature circles. I feel that it would be beneficial for all students to share their ideas about literature elements. By incorporating several ongoing blogs during a novel study, a student can choose times to share their thoughts throughout the entire sequence of the book. For example, one blog can be for predictions of upcoming events, where students can present and document reasoning for predictions. Another blog can be for sharing insight or reaction to plot points throughout the book. Several others could be added during the novel study to incorporate theme, character development, changing settings, or whatever interests the students. I have also considered allowing students access to initiate a blog about something within the novel - with my prior permission course.
The lessons would be ongoing, and students would be able to see and access their thoughts and those of their classmates throughout the novel. All students would have a voice, even the shy ones in class, and be able to practice their writing skills in the process. If other classes are also reading the novel, it might be interesting to invite multiple classes to share in the blogs to increase the chances of creative ideas and discussion starters. The possibilities are endless, but I'm curious about issues I have not considered since I have never actually used blogging in my classroom.
Future blogs may contain ideas for current event reaction blogs in social studies or brainstorming for writing projects, especially persuasive writing. But those are for another blog.
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A second grade teacher at our school has a designated reading time each day for her students. When a student has finished a particular book, they can comment and give thoughts about that book by writing them down in a journal. The teacher continues the use of that journal through the school years. So a current second grader might be reading comments from someone who is now a seventh grader. Maybe this would be a way to implement some kind of a web journal for your writing class? Instead of the actual journal, the blog would be used. Every year your new students would be able to read comments from prior years.
ReplyDeleteI believe if I wanted to use this across multiple school years, I would have to make separate blogs on my page so that my current class would not just steal or repeat the same ideas of past classes in an attempt to just get done. But, I agree with you. This journal writing would be a good way to show how ideas and interpretations change from year to year, class to class, and person to person.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to use a blog! Will you require the students to put their names or will you let them use an alias? If they let them use an alias will you get a list of them so you can police the blog?
ReplyDeleteRon, I would have my students put their names to almost everything they write. It holds them accountable for participation and gives them ownership of ideas. If I were to do "alias" names, I would assign each student some sort of name or number so that I knew whose idea was there, but other students would not. Using an alias might make students more open in sharing ideas.
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