Getting Heard

Write to learn

I can tell what an effect the book you have been reading in class has had on you. Mrs. Baros has been reading To Be a Slave by Julius Lester. Today she had a reflective piece written on the board and asked you to blog about your reactions to the book, your cultural arts program and other items that had come up in class. I thought she gave you some good suggestions on how to make connections to what you have been learning. Blogs are good places to get a lot of practice writing about what you are learning. The more practice, the easier it becomes. Write to learn!

Learning facts about a subject is the first step but it's good to go beyond that and think about how what you have learned relates to other things you have learned. It's called compare and contrast. You see how things are alike, how they are different and then you gain understanding. After you get a lot of knowledge you can solve problems by taking what you have learned and applying it to situations in your life. Can you think of times you have done this? The learning keeps expanding but it is important to write about it. Writing helps you connect all the dots to your learning. If you keep working hard like you did in the lab today, you will keep improving.

Mrs. Baros commented that you all were very smart. I couldn't agree more. We have planned an exciting time for you listening to recordings of former slaves. Then you can blog about it and many more people can have the opportunity to know about these wonderful recordings. Isn't that something to hear their very own voices? 

Your voice will be around for a long time,too, thanks to blogs. Make it count!

Have a wonderful break next week and I will see you the Monday you return!

Voices from the Days of Slavery

I enjoyed reading your posts on what you have learned in class. I wanted to share a site with you that lets you listen to the voices of former Slaves. These voices were recorded in the 1930's as part of the Federal Writers' Project.  You can really see the power of telling stories from the voices of those who lived as slaves. I thought you might find it informative and interesting to hear these stories. They help you visualize the impact slavery had on African-Americans in the United States.

We'll check with your teacher. She may wish for you to listen to the voices and then blog about what you learned from these voices. They are powerful recordings.

Read here for background on the recordings.

Here are links to the former slaves' recordings. I will list the slave names below and each of you can choose one to listen to and then share your reactions and thinking.

• Fountain Hughes, Age 101
• George Johnson, Age unknown
• Uncle Bob Ledbetter, Age 72 or 73
• Isom Mosldey, Age 88
• Uncle Billy McCrea, Age 89
• Wallace Quarterman, Age  87
• Charlie Smith, Age 130

Let's talk history!

First, I like to say that you made some interesting introductions and you all have some great comments on your blogs! I'd say you were "getting heard". I also want to complement you on how dilligently you worked last session. Everyone was on task and really focused. Blogs do that to you, right?

I'm sorry I didn't get to see your teacher. I understand she had a special meeting that the administration asked her to attend. She will be proud of all of you! Every teacher loves to hear how well her class did when they have to be out. So I'm thinking she will be "tickled pink"! I love to use idioms. Do you? Maybe we will have occasion to use them during our U.S. history studies. We can have some fun while we learn!

Your teacher told me that you will be studying about the Civil War and will be discussing the causes. I know the Civil War was caused by a mixture of conflicting pressures, prejudices and sectional differences in our countries. There is still lots of disagreement on the exact causes.

The main problem was the institution of slavery. Did you know that slavery was introduced into North America in early colonial times? I have always found it strange that the American Revolution was fought to validate the principal that all men were created equal. At this same time though slavery was legal in all of the thirteen colonies. That doesn't add up, does it?

Then the Constitutional Convention brought about many arguments over slavery. Northern states said Southern slaves were mere property and should not be counted toward voting representation in Congress. Southerners tried to say that , at least in this case, slaves were human beings. (Another strange dichotomy.) Yes, I am using these big words to pique your interest! I'm sure you will let me know if it is working.

So the compromise that came was that five slaves counted as three free men toward the representation. With this in place by the end of the convention the institution of slavery was well protected within the body of the Constitution.

In the deep South slave labor became a profitable business. It became an economic issue and southerners wanted it kept in place.

In 1800 half of the population of the Untied States  lived in the South. But by 1850 only a third lived there. The South found that its representatives in the House had been overwhelmed by the North's explosive growth. To make a long story short, they did not feel adequately represented.

Other events happened that led to the civil war. I'm sure we will be discussing that or other issues related to this time in history.

I'm looking forward to meeting with you soon and collaborating with you and your teacher on what direction we will be headed for our U.S. studies!

First session of the new year

It was so nice to see a couple of familiar faces in our nice new group. Welcome back Timothy and Amon! And it was so nice to meet Valerie, Chris, Justin, Eric, Wesley, Jonathan T., and Jonathan L.! We had a good session and it was fun to introduce blogging to all of you. You viewed this class blog, some of you commented on A School of Voices, and we talked about possibilities for classwork. Plus, having seasoned bloggers like Timothy and Amon was such a help! Both of you guys gave good descriptions. I know we are going to have fun learning U.S. history!

I finished the session by playing Zachary's podcast when he was interviewed by me at the legislative sesson at Georgia State. Zachary's comments about  hearing a comment from these high school students was a moment that touched all of our hearts!

I want to thank all of you for your attention and your hard work today. Then to learn that we have an artist, Valerie, in our midst! How cool! I look forward to seeing her work. We'll post it on our blogs.

Next week we will have your blogs ready and we will begin! Meanwhile, check out these outstanding pictures!

                              

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! It's been a while since we met. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday break! It was so nice to have time to spend with our family and friends. I really enjoyed the vacation but it is nice to get back with you, too!

This week we are going to tackle United States History. Hmmmm, what will be the best way to share our leaning on our blogs? I have some other web tools to discuss with you. Your teacher and I met before the holiday. We shared ideas and plans and we both look forward to doing that with you.

I have been looking through your textbook - lots of interesting information there. It's going to be an interesting journey!

I was looking through the "How-to-Use this Book: A Study Guide. I'm really curious as to how you learn best. I think we can develop some good strategies together.

Let's talk about how to begin each unit or section. So let's think about learning techniques and which ones you use a lot and why. I bet we can help each other with various strategies. Everyone has different ways to approach learning and if we put our heads together we could be awesome! So check these out and think about which ones you find helpful and get ready to add to the list.
Here we go!

• Studying the pictures
• Reading quotations to connect the ideas to the pictures.
• Reading the titles of the chapters and thinking about what they mean.
• Checking out headings of sections and paragraphs to locate main ideas.
• Reading chapter and unit summaries to identify key ideas.
• Using timelines to make connections and think about when things happened.
• What about maps or graphs? Do they help?
• What's the best way, in your opinion, to learn new vocabulary?

I know you will be able to add to this list as we begin to think about how we can use some of these new web tools to make learning more relevant and fun! See you Friday!

New designs on our blogs

I like your new designs for your weblogs! They look good. Isn't it amazing how quickly the time flies during class?  We are always busy trying to do several things. Last week you all worked on a new post and weblog designing. You had the opportunity to scroll through the different templates. We will try to do more on design a little later.

I can't believe this week is the last session for some of you. In January we will be blogging about U.S. history. I know some of you will be in that class. You will be the seasoned bloggers helping other new students. We start off with the Civil War! I know we'll have lots of interesting posts and experience new ways of learning.

Chris's new blog is now up! We welcome him to the class! See you Thursday!

Talking about being heard

I have had a lot on my mind lately. One of the things I have been thinking about is our group. First, I want to thank you for your honesty during our class discussions. I did hear you loud and clear! I just want you to know that your efforts are most appreciated! I have been struggling with just how to write up our conversations. See writing can also be hard for a teacher. It is worth the struggle though, especially when we're talking about students like you.

I heard you say that you don't think your opinions will count. I hope you heard your teacher. She stressed the importance of trying and not giving up. She gave an excellent example with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I also understand that writing has not been your favorite subject. I even think I understand why.

Blogging is writing but a different type of writing for you. You are really putting forth some good effort. You are "Getting Heard." I know the audience is small now but you need to give it time. I really believe that as we continue learning from and with each other we will figure out ways to make your learning more relevant and exciting for you.

I know you look forward to the blogging days. I will do everything I can to make this blogging experience a good one for you. At the same time, I expect you to be mature and continue trying your best. That is a must. A lot of what is important to you right doesn't have a lot to do with school. You may be focused on  wearing the right kind of clothes, hanging out with your friends, and just figuring out what is important to you.You may be focused on other things. You could tell that story and maybe you would want to blog about things important to you.  I hope you believe me when I say that there are a lot of teachers around who want school to matter for you and who want it to be relevant for you. Your help is needed. When you start blogging and learning for yourself, you may begin to appreciate learning and yes, even writing or blogging on a whole different level.

I think writing is discovering. I have been trying to figure out just what to say and I decided to let writing help me. I'm trying to express what I have been thinking. I haven't got it all figured out yet. I'm counting on your help!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Just think, Christmas is right around the corner! Now that's a nice thought! Can't wait to see you in the morning!

Kudos to Keith!

Keith gave this heart-warming comment to Marisela, a fifth grade blogger in the same school system. Marisela blogged about What Matters to Me. Marisela blogged about her family. Listen to Keith's comment to her........

I can relate to this Marisela because I have a mom that works at your school who love me very much.I think you have wonderful parents that gaurds you and keep you in a child place. and always remember that everytime you get into trouble by both of your parents don't never think they don't love you they love you very much.

Kudos to Keith! What a great response!

Talking about writing

We only had half of the class today but we did get to post, finally! Laptops worked well, too!  Double success!

Do you see  writing as a meaning-making process and a tool for learning? 

Possibilities for writing/blogging include:

• describing  what you are learning in your classrooms
• sharing connections you make from something you are learning
• extending your knowledge on subjects that are of interest to you
• making  predictions about something you have learned
• having some fun with language - idioms, word fun, riddles, etc.
• talking about a magazine article or a book you have read
• teaching someone about something you know a lot about

If you could choose what kinds of writing you would do on your blog, what would they be? We'll talk about these items in class next Wednesday. Let's think possibilities!

I hope you had a great weekend and are having a good week! I'm looking forward to our next session.
 

Back on board!

Fuel shortages and fall break kept us from meeting but we're back in gear now. I'm glad you missed the blogging. Ms. Baros said you kept asking when you could get back to it. I am glad to get back on board! 

There is one bit of sad news though, Vincent has moved out of the class. We will miss him! We wish him well!

You all had several comments to think about and then respond to. We spent a little time  reviewing what we had learned so far. At first our laptops wouldn't connect so we had to troubleshoot to get everything going correctly. Ms. Baros has some desktop computers in her class but not enough for each of the students. Mrs. Tincher is going to see if she can find any spare desktops or at least find one desktop that we could add to the three that are already in the room. I hope that happens because that will give us more time for writing, (instead of waiting for connections, set-up, etc.)

You  guys are lucky to have Ms. Baros for a teacher. She is sharp and always on top of things! She is a quick learner with the weblogs. She is eager to give you more time on the blogs. I liked what she said to you about weblogs requiring a sense of responsibility. You are blogging and your writing is open to the world. You have lots of very definite opinions. That's great! We want to share those and at the same time be responsible. We want to make sure that you represent yourself well for your class and for yourself.

Here are some other things to think about in reference to writing on blogs:

• Remember that your blog can be viewed by students, teachers, and parents Anybody can read your blog. What you say could be taken wrong. Then again what you say may be very helpful and encouraging. Be aware of both of these points.
• Use appropiate language for school. You want to represent your school as this is a "school" weblog.
• Be careful about what you write. You may state your opinion but try not to be offensive to anyone when you state your opinion. Give facts and reasons so people can understand your point of view.
• Only use your first names and for now, no school names.
• Proof read your work, and make corrections as necessary.

Can you think of other things we need to think about? Be ready to toss your good ideas out to the group.
 
So, while you  were commenting, Ms. Baros and I shared ideas. She is very willing to continue with letting you blog additional times rather than just when I'm there. Hooray! I was able to show her a few sites that could be relevant for things you are doing in class.

Guys, you did a super job! You got right to work and were really giving some thought to your replys to the comments you received. Where does the time go? I thought we would get to a post but things will speed up as we get more into the routine. There sure are lots of things to remember when you first learn about blogging.  I know you have been working on a writing piece that you want to share in your next post. We will get to that next time. See you next Thursday! I can't wait!