The Write Weblog

Meet our up and coming Blooming Webloggers

Today Hillary and I are beginning with the students. We have a bright-eyed and bushy tailed group! It is going to be fun. Meet our students and enjoy their very first writing introductions.....

Yessenia........
The way I feel about writing is that in my opinion I think it could be very personal.
To me it’s like having a diary of yourself. I like to learn about the news because
it is very interesting. I would have to say that the most thing that surprised me was
how all the hurricanes hit different states. Writing could be fun to me. The only way
writing could be fun to me is if I’m interested in what I am writing.

Paulina........
My name is Paulina and I am 11 years old. I am in Mrs. Mahan’s class. My favorite subjects are music and science. I think that those subjects are very interesting. Some people may say that learning is fun others may say that is boring. Even though people say it’s boring I think that learning is very important because if you didn’t learn you wouldn’t know anything. In order to live you have to know things because people aren’t born with knowledge. It is also important that you know what’s going all around the world. That is why learning current events are also important, and not just to learn but some current events are really interesting you may even end up liking them, so give learning a try.

Jonathan........
My name is Jonathan. I like to learn a lot of new stuff like the war on terror in Iraq. The new planets they found in outer space. The earthquakes in Alaska. I like Social Studies. I am going to get all As. I am in Ms. Mahan.

Alejandra.......
The way I feel about writing is that it is a way to express your self.
By writing you could express your feelings and thoughts about everything
You would like .I think what I am good at is learning. I like to learn about any-
thing Science, Social Studies and m

Lacey........
My name is Lacey. I am 11years old. My talent is talking. I love to learn. It is great. My writing is still improving. I to come to school .Writing let’s you write what want to. My mom makes me write about something every day when I finish my homework. It’s making me become a better writer. I practice what I want to write. The more I think about something the better I get .My writing is good , but not great .That is what I’m good at.

Maria........
Hi my name is Maria and I am in Mrs. Mateling’s class and I am 11 years old and I love to learn new things and I also love to write. I love to write about wonderful things and about imaginative thing. Writing helps me to express my mind. Writing to me is like a hobby to do after school and on school breaks. That is why I love writing.
Learning is also a good thing to me because it helps me to be a person who has a wonderful mind. I love learning because I can do many things when I grow up I could have a good job. Learning is good for you because you can learn many thing many other people haven’t learned. That is why I love learning.

Wilian........
My name is Wilian and my favorite subject is math.I like math because it is fun and easy. I like to watch CNN because I get to know what is going all around the world.My favorite sport is soccer because I like to run.

Alejandro........
I will tell you about what I’m learning and what I already know. I am trying to learn about what I can do to get better grades in Math, Science, Social Studies, Grammar, Reading, and Spelling. I want to learn about being one of the best soccer players in the world. Also, I wish to learn about writing a book.
I already know about The Quiz Bowl, my friend and I participated in it while I was in 4th grade. Marcos went crazy when we answered the questions to the competition. We always got 2nd; at first I thought it was going to be fun. At the end, I hated it just as much as I hate cats. I also want to learn about the history about the past like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Lewis & Clark.

Ashley........
Hi my name is Ashley. I am in Mrs. Mateling’s Class. I think learning is wonderful you can learn what ever you want. I think my purpose is to tell the world about a lot of things.
School is not really fun to me. I rather do a lot more fun stuff. But school can be fun and enjoying.
I do a lot of things after school. I like thinking about that new plant that was found. I enjoy talking about our solar system.
Writing to me is boring but, I like to express my feelings. It is fun to just dive into journal time. When I am not writing, I am expressing my feelings verbally.

Juan........
My name is Juan and I’m 11 years old and I’m in Ms. Mahan and something unique about me is I learn something new everyday in school. The earthquakes in Alaska, new planets in outer space .I like math, reading, and science. I like to do sports and draw. I have 4sisters and 2 brothers. And I like to study on war and terror

Patrick........
My name is Patrick. I am in Mrs. Matelings class my best subject is math.
I live with my mom who is working as a truck driver. I have no pets my father
does not live far from me I still can visit him though. My teacher had taught
my mother when she was in fifth grade also. I am in a high math class, and
I am also the school flag raiser.

Shelby........
My name is Shelby and I am in Mrs. Tobler’s 5th grade class. I’m 11 years of age and I love school. I am a very emotional person. When I say emotional, I mean that, well, lets say that if I were away from home for a long time, and I heard a slow song, I would start to cry. Any type of slow song can you believe that!? I LOVE to play softball. My father (who just happens to be my coach) says that I am very good at what I do. People tell me all the time that I am very, very good at singing. Last year Mrs. Goode put on a play called ‘’The Granny Awards ‘’and I was the character Snow White. From that day on when I would walk down the hall people would say,’’ Oh, hi Snow White, how you doi’n Snow White!

Adrieana........

Most of the time I like to write but most of the time I don’t like it. My best thing is
Math or typing and grade 3grade I always go got A’s I am good at time test
(most of the time ) I wish we did not have test. I am not so good at some things.

Marcos........
I’m in Ms. Mahan’s fifth grade class. I like to watch the news. I see the news because they are fascinating. I like science, social studies, math, and reading. I’m still learning in writing. I also like soccer. When I grow up I want to be a Historian. My favorite color is blue.
I was in quiz bowl last year. I was in fourth grade last year. Alejandro answered questions too. He couldn’t think because he had to go to the restroom. This is what like do.

Here we go! These writings were unedited and posted as is.

"Blooming" Bloggers

I am really looking forward to going to House in the morning. The kids have been selected and we start tomorrow. Yay!

Hillary sent me the names. I can't wait to meet them and start the learning journey. Today I have been working on a WebQuest to introduce them to blogging. We hope to develop some "Blooming" bloggers! Wish us the best!

Brainstorming Session

Today Hillary (ITS) and I brainstormed ideas to pose to the teachers for ways to use weblogs in their classrooms. We talked about how teachers have so many things on their plate and are feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes adding new things can seem like the straw that broke the camel's back. We don't want to overwhelm nor do we want to add to their full agenda. However, we feel they will see the value and we want to have some ideas ready that fit right in with their daily curriculum. We want to start simple and build from there. I am impressed with Hillary. She is a good thinker and willing to jump right in and learn. I am glad she ended up at this school. She is also in the midst of developing an awesome online KidsVote project. Students will be registering to vote in the computer lab and registration cards will be emailed to their teachers. Then in November, she is using the technology trailer to set up the "JHH Poll" with laptops and dividers. The students will bring their cards and vote privately. How cool is that? We are hoping to start with the students next week.

I also worked with the counselor today. We are in the midst of designing her blog and she should be posting soon. I'll share that URL when she is ready to go public!

Catching Up

It's good to get back to posting on this weblog. Over the past few weeks we have been working on the biz pal project but General Mills has decided to stick with the email program instead of trying out blogs. I am disappointed but understand that they do not have enough computers in one place to set it up in the way that would be needed for this type of project. We're learning about the problems that can occur when businesses have complete access to the internet when it is really not needed for the job at hand. Maybe down the road it will be a possibility. Too bad!

So, back to the drawing board for other projects. Today Hillary created her first blog and she named it EduBlog Quest. I like it! She is just jumping in and learning by doing! She is using Manila so she can learn more of the ins and outs of weblogs. I like TypePad for the school projects and Hillary will be learning how to manage those but she needs to just have one all her own to really learn.

We're going to start a student group soon, then add some teachers to the mix.

The focus for the writing on the weblogs will be to encourage writing as a meaning-making process and  a tool for learning. Possibilities for writing/blogging include:

what they are learning in their classrooms

getting more involved in what they are studying so they can make real learning connections

extend their knowledge on subjects of interest by using the internet

ask and research questions they have plus pose questions for their audience

make predictions about what they are learning

have fun with language as they write about class activities

review and reflect on books or texts read

write about knowledge and facts learned in different ways

 

use Bloom's Taxonomy key words to help students expand their thinking and learning

The other important piece is to get the students to reflect on what they are doing and evaluate it. This will help them integrate and internalize the curriculum they are learning. It could help us as teachers know what is getting through and what isn’t.

The goal is to get students to connect what they are studying with the rest of their experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Learn how to write to learn! Then use the web to extend their learning.

Another goal is to use the comments feature by the students. They need training and guidance to do this in a worthwhile manner. We need to go beyond general statements and help the students learn how to make interesting and helpful feedback.

I can't wait to get started!