I am really excited about starting a classroom blog with my third grade class. Using a blog in the classroom will be a great way to help increase student engagement and interest while enhancing writing skills. First, I want to use my class blog as a means for student to showcase their completed writing assignments. Classmates would then be able to post comments to each others blogs providing encouragement and suggestions for improvement. This will be a difficult skill for third graders to learn, however, if students are taught explicitly how to comment on each others work effectively I think they will be able after practice and time.
In addition, I would like to use a blog as a medium for literature circle discussions. I would be able to post discussion questions on the blog and then students could respond to the questions as well as their classmates’ responses. I think this would be a great way for students to gain practice in their writing skills while also developing critical thinking skills.
Third graders making comments on a blog! Isn't that neat! They will love showing their parents what they can do. Along with the students' making comments on one another's work, This would be a great way to publish so that parents can see what his or her child is writing. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteMaking use of free online literature will be a great idea. They will be able to read, answer questions and pass comments based on prompts from the teacher. Initially it will take them time to maneuver their fingers over the keyboard but after a while they will be better at it.
ReplyDeleteChelsea this forum is really spectacular! IT has a chalkboard feel to it. Very neat! I was curious as to what type of literature you would be using with your 3rd graders? I was also wondering what your districts policy was with students and the internet? That is the one area that scares me to death. I so do not want anything to happen while my students are blogging! Will you be using a book club theme with your blog or will the literature circle be a whole group activity with them posting comments on that days chapter or discussion?
ReplyDeleteSorry to have so many questions. The ELA group that I work with is looking for some ideas to liven up book clubs for 6th graders. Intergrating technology and allowing them to post their thoughts and feelings on a book or chapter may just be they way to do that.
@ Shelley- I think having students publish their complete work on the blog will give them a sense of pride of all they have accomplished. Not only will parents be able to view their child's work, students will be creating an online portfolio to show growth throughout the school year.
ReplyDelete@ Damilola- Third graders do need a lot of time to type responses. However, as you said with practice they will improve. I plan on getting my students on Type to Learn a few times a week to help improve their typing skills, thus increasing their typing speed.
@ Stampinhot- Before I begin using a blog in my classroom I plan to send home an informational letter to parents to inform them of the security and uses of the blog in our classroom. I think doing this well help to decrease parents' uneasiness about their children blogging. Currently I have my student blog site set up through kidblog.org. It is a private classroom blog so only members of the blog can view blog posts and all comments must be reviewed by the administrator (me) before being published.
During my language arts time we read a whole class reading story as well as leveled books during guided reading. My vision is to use discussion questions for both scenarios. Posting prompts for the whole class story will engage the entire class in discussion, while using the blog during guided reading groups will provide each group the opportunity to discuss and respond to the story they are reading as they books are different for each group. Because my guided reading groups rotate, one of their stations can be the blog where they respond to a prompt either in preparation for reading or as a follow up to reading each day.
I spoke to one of my parents today and asked her if her son had responded on my blog. She replied first graders blogging... Oh, I love you! I didn't expect parents to be as excited as their students. What response have you gotten?
ReplyDeleteHi Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteThose are excellent applications for the blog tool. If you liked, you could group students as we are grouped and the literature circles would be smaller groups for potentially richer conversation. When students generate teh discussion questions, they develop their inquiry skills--and are often more invested.
Thank you for sharing.