The Write Weblog

Session Synopsis

I think we're off to a good start! Everyone came in and got right to work browsing the different current events sites. I am amazed at your good choices for stories.

Copies of our categories and the Bloom's Taxonomy words were distributed.

Download Categories.doc

Download blooms_taxonomy.doc

Then you went on to comment on this site. I was impressed with your use of the comment starter sheets we used last week. That helps bump up your thinking and I can't wait until you add to the list.

Download comment_starters.doc

Next, you all put your shoulders to the wheel and made your new posts. Then you proofed your work and called on a friend to proof it for you. Mrs. Meeler and I are working on the proofing system to make it clearer for you and more "user-friendly". We'll get your input a little later. We have a ways to go in this area but you have really improved from the first posts you made. Keep up the good work!

I know some of you even managed to find time to make comments here and there on other blogs. We will try to make sure time is allotted for that next session. This is my reminder! :-)

Now I wish I had known this before today so I could tell you but you may be surprised by some wonderful visitors on December 2nd! I know you will enjoy the visit and they will love seeing what you are doing.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Give thanks for all the wonderful things we have in our life. One of the many things I'm thankful for is working with a wonderful group of students like you!!

Ready! Set! Blog!

Good morning, students!

1. Remember, the very first thing you want to do start browsing the current events resources to select your article for our next session. Try to select a category that you have not yet reported on, if possible. Try different sites so you can begin to learn the different resources. Let me know if you need help.Print your article and place it in your folder.
2. Browse through this weblog and make a comment using one of your "Comments Starters" sheet from last week. Be thinking about other comment starters that you would like to add to our list. Share them so the group can collaborate.
3. Make a new post and add your assignment from last week.
4. Take time to read your comments, answer them, comment on your friends' weblogs. Notice new links on your weblog to Mrs. Hooper's blog, Mrs. Halloran's blog, and all of our third grade teacher's blog. You might want to comment on one or more of them.

Who says elementary students can't blog?

It was a great day! I started the day by reading my previous post to the students about connecting with Chicago. The students were elated that they had been noticed by a teacher from Chicago. Now I have to say that my students think really big cause' when I asked them to guess who had written about them the guesses ranged from President Bush to Jimmy Carter to their principal and many others. I love their enthusiasm! They were pleased as punch when they heard the nice words Steve Dembo had written. Nice way to start the day! We discussed the feelings they had when they saw comments on their site. The students were ready to blog!

The first order of the day was to practice the proof-reading skills we had worked on the previous weeks. They had taken a paper copy of their blog home and marked it with proofreading symbols. I taught them how to go in and edit their posts and how to move around their sites. In TypePad they first go to that site, then log in to their individual blog. They have lots to remember like user names, URLs of TypePad and their own sites, and email addresses. After they made corrections, they proofed their blog one last time. Then the fun began!

They read their comments, responded to them, and made comments on the principal's blog, the counselor's blog and each others' blogs. They loved it! They would find a mistake on a friend's blog and would very kindly point it out so that the owner could go back in and correct it. Teamwork was the word of the day!

Next, they got to preview the current events links on their sites. They really liked the sites that had been selected. Their task was to browse, read and think about what was of high interest to them. We shared leads, created some of our own, talked about including the 5 W's and other writing pointers. Once they had made a choice, they learned how to check to see if the site had a print page so we could conserve our printers ink. These kids are quick learners! They were busy as bees and the room was humming with activity. They put their printed copies in their folders and will take them home and write an article to bring back to class to blog about next week. This is getting to the real act of blogging and it is going to be so cool. This process of browsing, reading, learning, thinking and selecting topics will be the first order of the day for each session. I think this is going to work out well.

They really shaped up their weblogs today and are beginning to take ownership and feel pride. The comments to the counselor were interesting. She had written about the responsibility of blogging. She said blogging was a little scary for her because she wanted to write well, pick topics of interest, and do a good job for the school. You should see the comments our kids wrote to her!

Jhonathan.....

This made me think about when I did my first blog.I was scared that anyone can see my blog.I was thinking that if I made a mistake peaple will laugh at me, but this group helped me and taught me it was okay to make mistakes.

Alejandra.....

Mrs.Halloran, great work on your blog. I get neurves too when I have to wright on my weblog. I just started to wright on my blog this year. I never knew fith graders could do this and teachers. Ilike how you expres your feelings on the weblog and at the same time your helping us.
Great work!!!!

Alejandro.....

Mrs. Halloran! I wonder why you said that web logs scare you. Last year, you told me to always have effort of facing my fears. I am writing web logs and I am not scared. Actually I love to write web logs. I bet you will love them as much as I do.

Now that's just three of twelve comments. This is great and I feel charged. They were really starting to get it today!

We also touched on categories today. This is hard for elementary students. We don't give them enough real time practice with it but after a slow start they started coming up with some good ones. We'll work on this some more but this week I'll add the categories we listed.

Who says elementary kids can't blog? Go get some kids and start teaching them how writing matters on weblogs!!!! These kids would love to communicate with you!

Connecting with Chicago!

Steve Dembo is a director of technology at a school in Chicago. I found his site after he had made a nice comment on my other weblog. Now, I feel sure that he won't mind if I quote one of his posts because it is all about you and J.H. House. He is fascinated by what you have to say and wants to communicate with you. Wow! Someone in Chicago has noticed you, boys and girls! Isn't it exciting? Here is what he has to say:

"I believe I've met Anne Davis before. I think we met at NECC last year or the year before. I just discovered her blog today, and I think it's a fantastic example of how blogging can be integrated into a school community.

She started off with the school's principal, Joyce Hooper. Joyce has a blog called Principal's Quest. Her goal was to blog at least once a week, but admitted that she thought it might be a challenge to. So far, she's managed to keep it up. I love the fact that students have been commenting on her entries. It really provides s unique environment for the students and principal to bond together.

A few days ago, Anne launched blogs for an entire fifth grade class.  She used this webquest to introduce blogging to the children.  Now each student has their own blog.  It's theirs, to type up entries for school purposes, but several are also using it as an online journal.  Obviously there are concerns about abuse, but the students understand that the blog is a privilege.  Most of the students have about 4 or 5 entries in their weblog already.

This very afternoon, Anne did an inservice for four third grade teachers. She taught them all about blogging and got them each started with their own blog. Of course, each site only has a single post, but I think we can forgive them. After all, the sites are less than 12 hours old.

These blogs are nothing fancy. There aren't any incredible themes or pretty pictures. There isn't any content in particular that I think will make the front page of the New York Times. And yet, I've read through nearly every post on Anne's site, the Principals, the four third grade teachers and all fourteen students. I also remember how excited I was when I first found that someone had commented on my site, so I plan to provide some comments on the students' sites.

And that's one of the incredible things about blogs. These students in Georgia have been blogging for a few days. And here I am in Chicago, with no connection to them, their school or their community, and yet I'm fascinated by what they have to say and want to communicate with them.

Dominic Ouellet-Tremblay says it pretty well in an article on Educause.

....Blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more. When we publish on our blog, people from the entire world can respond by using the comments link. This way, they can ask questions or simply tell us what they like. We can then know if people like what we write and this indicate[s to] us what to do better. By reading these comments, we can know our weaknesses and our talents. Blogging is an opportunity to exchange our point of view with the rest of the world not just people in our immediate environment.

Did I mention that Dominic is a fifth grader? He goes to school at Institut St. Joseph. If you can read French, I think you can find his blog somewhere on this site."

How about that? We'll talk more about this in the morning, but that's the power of weblogs! Get ready to collaborate, comment, read, think, write, proofread, and blog!  It's going to be a great session with all of you! I can't wait!

                              

More on Proofreading

This session was spent learning the "ins and outs" of proofreading our work. Murphy was loose once again, but we did not let him get the best of us. He did succeed, however, in keeping the internet down but we just went to Word and posted there. Don't worry, I will put your posts up for you a little later. As all good technology people do, we did not let this deter us from having a good session. We are flexible and we know how to adapt! Students quickly formed in pairs and helped each other proof their work. We practiced using the editing marking system. I'm glad you liked the little mini-gel pens that I brought for you to use. They will get lots of use! We will have to adapt the proofreading form based on your input. we will come up with a good proofing form that meets our needs.

As students were typing their stories, Mrs. Meeler and I took the opportunity to work one-on-one with the students. That was time well spent. We don't get that opportunity half as much as we would like.

We did not get to commenting and previewing the wonderful current events sites but there's always next time. Mrs. Hooper loved your comments and was looking forward to a new round!

Students, I appreciate your attention as we learn what we need to do to make sure our writing is good. It takes lots of time in the beginning but trust me, it will go quicker as you get more proficient at the skills. So remember, Rome was not built in a day so keep your shoulder to the wheel and we will all have feathers in our caps!!