As I have gotten more comfortable using a blog, I find myself longing to create the same authentic experience for my students. Writing for my sixth graders begins to take a shift in middle school. Last year I received feedback from my students that we do not complete enough creative writing in my class. I have to admit that the shift to Common Core has taken away some of the creative writing- I am ashamed! My students thrive during our poetry unit in the spring because they are writing for an authentic audience: Their classmates. (And they have more freedom in their writing)
Early in the year, I want to set up that very experience. I have used Kidblog in the past, and will continue to do so. It is extremely user friendly and still gives the same safety and security I am comfortable with having in my classroom. I have set up a class blog for each of my 5 sections of classes. Once students are familiar with our class blog, I want to broaden their horizons! The screenshot below shows the blog I used this past school year. I was able to easily and quickly assess student understanding through formative assessments on the blog. The students loved reading one another’s posts and looked forward to this activity in class!
I am fortunate enough that all my 6th graders in the fall will be equipped with their own iPad throughout the entire school day. I just learned that there is an iPad app for Kidblog that will definitely come in handy! I am excited to have my students download the app and access my blog even easier than in the past. One of the joys in technology is that it really can make your life easier as a teacher! (While some days it may not always seem that way!)
As with anything in teaching, there is a learning curve with using a blog in your classroom. Over the past few years, I have come up with a list of tips to help teachers set up their own blog within their classroom. There were days I would "think on the fly" so to speak (as many of us do if something in our plans doesn't go quite our way) but I found these on the fly days to be some of the best lessons I have had! I hope these tips are helpful for you as well!
A change I hope to make in the fall is for my students to create their own blog: An Online Portfolio of Work. I have been the "Controller" of the blog so to speak, and I want to let go of some of that control. I want my students to create their own backgrounds, posts, and identity through their written work.
This will also be excellent for my student's future teachers to have access to their written work as well. I love using blogs in that students look forward to reading comments their classmates post. The feedback they receive from one another can be more rewarding than any feedback I can give. They also do not have to constantly have access to their Workshop Folder that stays in my classroom throughout the year. They can take pride in always having access to their completed work.
This will also be excellent for my student's future teachers to have access to their written work as well. I love using blogs in that students look forward to reading comments their classmates post. The feedback they receive from one another can be more rewarding than any feedback I can give. They also do not have to constantly have access to their Workshop Folder that stays in my classroom throughout the year. They can take pride in always having access to their completed work.
Here is one teacher's take on using blogs for personal and educational use
Click HERE to view the news segment.
Some possible topics I hope to include in next year's blog:
(I am also open to any other suggestions!)About Me
Favorite Childhood Story (a segue to reading to students in our Early Learning Center)
Fictional Character I Am Most Alike
Book Reviews
Posting Book Trailers
Connecting Fiction to Non-Fiction (find a topic out of a fiction book to complete additional research)
Technology is ever changing, and it would be foolish to not embrace the change as educators. It is amazing to think: What will they think of next? Remember The Jetson's?
The Jetson's Future of Technology (or is it already the future?)
Diana,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned The Jetsons, and I immediately wondered how much of their far-fetched world has actually come true. Your comment brought me to a book group discussion (adults) about the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Reading it now, 2014, feels more frightening than the first time I read it (in high school). Bradbury's version of e-readers, reality TV, and hand-held electronics are no longer sci-fi. I would love to take a look at The Jetsons with my own students to discover these same sorts of things. What is real, right now, that was thought to be crazy and imaginative then? It might be fun to do a whole "thing" on science fiction and what has come true. Maybe we can collaborate.
Karen
Karen, I love this idea! I want to talk to my 7th grade teachers in my building too, as this would be a great intro to The Giver- do your kids read that during 2nd quarter too? I feel my kids don't get a ton of exposure to sci-fi and this would be a really cool activity that they would be invested in. I would love to chat with you about this!
DeleteDiana,
ReplyDeleteDon't be ashamed! The new demands of The Common Core is a real thing and it sounds like you have done a wonderful job with your middle school students! I think blogging is a fantastic way to incorporate creative writing into your curriculum! I tried blogging with my 3rd graders for the first time this past year, also using kidblog and they loved it. Something about blogging truly empowers students and gets them to love writing. Since it was my first time blogging with students though, I realized I need to work out some kinks I experienced. I really enjoyed your tips for teachers on blogging and think they will come in very handy for me this upcoming year! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Stephanie! I am so glad you found my post helpful. Your 3rd graders are so lucky to get exposure to blogging at their age. I agree that this is a great way to incorporate creative writing. Students can get great inspiration from one another too! :)
DeleteDiana, I can't thank you enough for your blogging tips! I tried blogging with my high school students for the first time last year, but eventually gave it up because I found blogger to be too cumbersome to use with my classes in terms of getting everyone to have access to other students' blogs. I'm very excited to use kidblog with them this year and your tip about having the students enter their own ID numbers in as their passwords will be a huge time saver! I also hear from students that they want more opportunities to be creative with their writing and now I'm overflowing with ideas for ways I can use blogs to give them those experiences. Thanks for helping me work some of the logistics out in my mind:)
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki! I am glad my post was beneficial for you and your classroom :) I like putting the responsibility on the students because I can see myself mis-typing all those ID numbers! Your high schoolers will love Kidblog. If they create their own blog, there are so many fun backgrounds and templates to work with!
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