After reading all about Blogs and creating this one I finally have an idea of how I plan to incorporate this into my lessons. In a few weeks I begin a unit with my seventh grade advanced language arts students using the novel Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper. Usually, I have the students read the novel as a class and individually they explore some of the topics discussed such as child neglect, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc. while working on different story elements.While reading the novel students complete and individual research project to present to the class.
To use the Blog I thought I would have students complete their discussion questions for every section of the novel on here. Students could post their reactions and thoughts to the events in the novel while discussing character development and conflict. I would love to invite the author, Sharon Draper, to be a part of the discussion as well. If the author was involved students could ask her questions about writing and other books from the series.
Students could then set up their RSS feeds to search for topics for their individual projects as well. They could find all of their research for their presentations by using Google Reader. I would have to plan several lessons to teach the students how to set up each component but I think once each student had a mini lesson they would be able to use the blog for future units as well. I would like to use the Blog for this class because I am positive all of the students have access to the internet at home and will be willing to try out this new technology in a class. These students would also be able to use the Blog correctly and I would not have a lot of worry about the content they were posting.
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I enjoyed reading how you would incorporate a blog into your seventh grade class. Some challenges that I anticipate for your lesson are as follows:
ReplyDeleteIf your discussion questions are not well thought out, some students may wait until someone has posted the correct answer and just reiterate the answer using different words. I would also be careful not to have too many questions at one time.
My recommendation would be to make sure your discussion questions are well thought out so that the question can spark an in depth discussion.
If the blog is not carefully monitored, seventh grade students could be posting misinformation from the novel if they did not understand the story or the discussion question. Seventh grade students could also post inappropriate stories especially since your novel deals with child neglect, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
I would recommend monitoring the discussion daily to make sure that there is not any misinformation from the novel, or inappropriate content. I would also come up with a set of clear guidelines about sharing personal stories on the blog.
I love your idea of inviting the author to the blog.
I agree with you on the discussion questions. That was the one part of my plan that I was not feeling very confident about. I also need to develop a way of grading these posts. Definitely still a work in progress and I appreciate your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI would develop a rubric to grade the blog. That way your students know what you expect from them and it makes it easier to grade something that is subjective.
ReplyDeleteUsing a blog with a novel is a great idea. A few questions would be how would you require/perform the postings? During school in a computer lab? At home? What about students that do not have computer access at home (I still have some). Computers are not readily available in my classrooms for all students, so if I were to use this type of format, I would have to schedule time in a computer lab. Having access for all students in the classroom would make using technology in the classroom second nature.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for incorporating a blog into your classroom. I think it is great that all of your students have computer access. That is not always the case so consider yourself very lucky! It makes it much easier to assign internet-based assignments. I certainly think that the seventh graders would be capable of learning to use the RSS feeds as well. It would probably just take some daily review and several lessons, but I think it's possible. It's great to challenge the students. I think you would have to trust that the students are doing their own work and not looking at other student's responses and paraphrasing their answers. I would have the students turn in the research project, and have the blog be strictly for discussion. That way you know that the students are reading the book and doing the assignment honestly.
ReplyDeleteI am only planning on using this the first time with my students in advanced language arts. These students definitely would be considered "over achievers" and would put in the effort needed for this to be successful. (I hope!)
ReplyDeleteI would give all students the chance to experience a learning situation like this. I am a special education teacher and have used blogs in the past with my students. It is a great way for all students to share their thoughts and opinions on what they have learned. You will be amazed how motivational this tool can be!
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