Since beginning my own journey as a blogger, I’ve become convinced that blogging is a powerful option that can facilitate learning for anyone, especially the children in our classrooms. I recently spent a morning with Jan Smith’s grade 6 class where every student is a blogger. In my six years of teaching grade 6, before the era of blogs, I never saw such high quality writing by so many motivated writers.
I interviewed a few of the grade 6 bloggers, and was tremendously impressed. You can watch the video footage and see for yourself.
I’ve been blogging for about two and a half years. When I started out, I dived in on my own, without any help or advice from anyone. I was just determined to take advantage of an opportunity to share something I was exited about.
At the beginning, there were moments when I wondered if I was going to drown in the vast ocean of the blogosphere; but I’ve kept swimming and somehow managed to stay afloat. I still have much to learn, but when I look back at my earliest posts, I can’t help but notice that I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. In fact, I feel almost embarrassed by those early efforts. On the other hand, comparing now with then is encouraging.
Today I want to share two helpful resources for any teachers who might want to launch the learners in their classrooms as bloggers. Excellent help is now available to anyone who is just starting out on a classroom blogging adventure. There is no need for anyone to swim alone.
Early this month the “21st Century Literacy Specialist” at the International School Bangkok, Kim Cofino, wrote an extensive blog post entitled Blogging is Elementary. Kim outlines 5 lessons for introducing blog writing in an elementary classroom.
Silvia Tolisano is a technology integration facillitator at a school in the US. Silvia has just completed a series of blog posts where she has further fleshed out a set of “Blogging Lesson Plans”
- Logistics of Formatting a Blog Post
- Creating an Outline for Blogging Unit Plan
- Introduction to Blogging Lesson Plan
- Blogging Lesson Plan — Online Safety
- Blogging Lesson Plan — Commenting
- Blogging Lesson Plan — Writing
There are other resources available, but the work of Kim and Silvia is a great place to start for anyone who is contemplating classroom blogging in the new year.
Blogging Lesson Plans from Langwitches
December 27, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Loved the video from the kids at Huzzah. Having spoken to some of them on Skype, it was interesting to hear their views about blogging. I agree with Haley, that it is a pity many students do not know what blogging is, even worse that many teachers don’t know either.
Over the last week I had also checked out Kim and Silvia’s blogging plans and I will certainly be using them with my new classes next year.
December 28, 2008 at 9:57 am
Hi Paul, I found your blog over at Wendy’s and am glad to be here…. Always looking for good educational content – thank you! And always looking for progressive content re UDL and 21st century technology for education – thanks and seasons greetings!
December 30, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Thanks for these resources Paul. Blogging is an incredible tool and I have been exploring it as a tool for accomodating the curriculum and as a medium for modified content. Posting video of students sharing is wonderful. I will pass your post along on No Limits 2 Learning for those who might miss it otherwise.
All the best for 2009!
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January 1, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Paul, the day this post came out I wrote a comment THREE TIMES, but was thwarted by closed tabs, surfing children, and a dead battery. I am determined to say my say!
First, I will always treasure the day you came to our class. As you remember it was a pretty exciting day with our webcast conversation with astronaut Clay Anderson. Having you there to share the excitement was such a treat.
This video of young bloggers says a lot about the way you develop instant rapport with kids, Paul. Watching the kids tour you through their blogs, talking about their audience and their passion is quite amazing. I am so very proud of their growth in two short months.
This could have been written by any of my students: “I still have much to learn, but when I look back at my earliest posts, I can’t help but notice that I’ve learned a thing or two along the way… comparing now with then is encouraging.” I think one strength of the blogging tool is that we can show kids how their writing & commenting have evolved over time.
I thank you again, Paul, for the kindness you have shown me and my students. I am very excited about working with you on Scratch in February. And, by the way, I got a Flip video camera for Christmas!
January 11, 2009 at 11:51 pm
So glad those posts are helpful! It’s been a great process learning about how to blog with elementary students – especially after working with middle and high school students for so long!
April 5, 2009 at 5:48 am
The kids on the video are so eloquent, able to reflect on their learning. I’m blown over. I’m only starting to involve kids in online writing; just began a ning. I hope to see kids follow their passions and share. Thanks for the great post.
May 10, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I see that these are all sixth graders, and I think that it’s really a wonderful program. I was just wondering, since I teach fifth grade, if my students might be a little young to do blogging. What is the appropriate age to do blogging in the classroom?
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