Motivating Your Students to Write Through Blogging!

Louise Morgan Sycamore Elementary School

Fort Worth, Texas@mrsmorgansclass

Link to this Google Presentation: http://www.frugalteacher.com/2013/06/tcea-tots-and-technology-conference.html

HOW do I manage student blogging?

www.kidblog.org

Setting it up...

How do I incorporate blogging into my writing

curriculum?

Incorporate blogging into the daily literacy block as a choice or center.

Teach writing the traditional way.

The blog post is the final product.

Or....

Encourage students to draft, edit, proofread, and publish

right on the blog!

Reading other posts and commenting

Blog Post GuidelinesBlog Post Guidelines:

● Students will only be identified by their first names.● Posts written by students are checked by Mrs. Morgan before they are

published on the blog.● Posts will not include personal details about students such as

addresses and family information.● All comments submitted will be approved by Mrs. Morgan before they

are included on the blog.● All students must have parental permission to post on the blog and to

have their photo published on the blog.● Parents who leave comments are asked to use their first name only so

as not to identify their child (Please post comments as“Jimmy’s mom” or “Megan’s grandfather”, etc.)

● Proof-read your comments carefully.● All students must abide by the blogging rules that we have established

as a class.

Mrs. Watson’s 2/3 Class http://mrswatson.ca/our-blog-guidelines/

Commenting GuidelinesHow to Write an Amazing Comment:

1. READ the blog post very carefully.2. If you enjoyed the post, WRITE BACK!3. Open or begin your comment with a GREETING.4. Begin with a COMPLIMENT … something you enjoyed … be SPECIFIC!5. SHARE other interesting facts or information, if you have any, as long as

no one else said it in another comment!6. Make a CONNECTION … by asking a question to try to get a

CONVERSATION going!7. Proofread for C.O.P.S. (Capitals, Organization, Punctuation and

Spelling).8. Sign your FIRST name, or if you are a parent sign as “Jimmy’s mom” or

“Megan’s Grandpa”.9. Hit POST … and check BACK for a RESPONSE!

Global 3rd Grade – Connecting and Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls http://globalgrade3.cbegloballearning.ca/blogging-resources/

How do I find an audience for my students' blogs?

Connecting with other Classrooms

#comments4kids

Why Classroom Blogging?

Students are motivated to do their best because they know they have an audience that includes other teachers, administrators, friends, and parents.

Resources

CreditsPresentation Script (slide explanation)The Frugal Teacher www.frugalteacher.comClassroom Blogging 101Using Blogging with The Daily 5Mrs. Morgan's Superstars - Edubloghttp://mrsmorgansstars.edublogs.org/Mrs. Morgan's Superstars - Kidbloghttp://kidblog.org/MrsMorgansSuperstars2012-13/

Slide explanationsIntro - Hello! My name is Louise Morgan. I am a second grade teacher in Fort Worth, Texas and I have been using blogging in my classroom since August 2011. Bogging is both a motivator and source of pride for students and teachers. Having a global audience read and comment on our blogs challenges the students to do their very best.

Slide 1 - I spent a lot of time thinking about how I would incorporate blogging into my already jammed-packed school day. I also wondered if all of the students would be able to get enough time on the computers. I have 3 desktop computers in my classroom and we go to the computer lab once a week. I wasn’t sure if this would this be enough for every student.

The same year, I also implemented The Daily 5 (a framework for the literacy block that fosters independence). I realized that blogging would fit nicely with the “Work on Writing” component and decided to dive on in!

After 2 sessions with the portable laptop carts and a few extra visits to the computer lab, my students quickly learned how to navigate the blog.

Slide 2 - Now we were ready to incorporate blogging in to our Daily 5 rounds. During these rounds (usually 2-3 per day) students choose which component to work on: Read to self, work on writing, word work, listen to reading, or read with someone. Work on Writing includes finding a comfy spot and journal writing OR posting one of their completed stories on the blog.

Slide explanations con'tSlide 3 - We always have an ongoing writing assignment where the students use the traditional writing process: Pre-write, rough draft, revise and edit, proofread, and publish. They do all of the steps in their journal, conference with me, and then they publish it on their blog. The conference allows me to work on specific skills with them. The students work at their own pace so there never seems to be an issue with a lot of kids waiting to get on the computer - it tends to work itself out.

Slide 4 - Students are also encouraged to do the writing process right on the blog (just like we would do). Sometimes when they come to school with something exciting or interesting to share I encourage them to get it on the blog - taking time to write it down may squelch the enthusiasm, but typing it on the blog allows for a bigger audience and more feedback.

Slide 5 - In addition to posting, work on writing also consists of reading other blogs and making good comments. I have specific guidelines for posting and commenting. I moderate everything so if something does not meet the requirement, I help the students edit it. This is a post that a student did at home about putting Christmas lights on the house. The students were very impressed with her colored font, so she became the expert and showed the students how to change font colors.Slide 6 - These are my posting guidelines that can be found on our class blog. The focus is on internet safety and following procedures.Slide 7 - Our commenting guidelines help the student say more than “nice job” or “that’s cool”. We work very hard on leaving good comments.Slide 8 - I have several links to other classroom blogs on our site. This allows students to visit and read the work of their peers in other states or countries. The students visit, read, and comment using our guidelines.

Slide explanations con'tConnecting with other teachers who blog can be done through Twitter, Skype in the Classroom, Quadblogging, and many other places. One of the best places to find other class bloggers is Twitter. By following the #comments4kids hashtag you can visit many blogs and connect with the teachers. Use #comments4kids to get a global audience for your blog too!

Slide 9 - Students are motivated to do their best because they know they have anaudience that includes other teachers, administrators, friends, and parents.Blogging has definitely changed the way I teach and manage my classroom. Who would believe that 7-8 year old students could learn to be so independent and engaged!

I hope that this information has been helpful. You can read more about my experiences with blogging at www.frugalteacher.com and about our classroom fun at mrsmorgansstars.edublogs.org.

Thank you!

www.frugalteacher.com

www.frugalteacher.com by Louise Morgan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.