Now our voices can really be heard, thanks to Ms. Davis and her podcasting experiment! Let's go over to Podcasting Playground to hear ourselves and how we sounded. Wouldn't it be cool if our school purchased a digital recorder? Then we can do more podcasting. Do you think Mr. Brune's students in New York will want to listen to us? Thursday, I would like for you to compose a post about podcasting and include your link to your own podcast. Your readers will love it!
Tuesday was so much fun! Mrs. Davis came to try out her new quest of podcasting, and you all got to share your thoughts about weblogging using the digital recorder. I knew you would rise to the occasion and come up with many words of wisdom for all the bloggers and future bloggers.
Today, we are going to finish up our post on comments that you started Tuesday and post your idiom stories. I can't wait to read them both. I hope some of you artists decided to illustrate your story. I love looking at your awesome artwork and I know your readers will too.
Remember to focus on your ideas/content and your word choice when composing your posts!
Ask yourself the following questions:
Okay, time to blog!
Good morning! Are you ready to blog? I know I am!
Today we are going to have some fun with idioms. What are idioms anyway?
Idioms can be very confusing because it is a group of words that usually has nothing to do with the meanings of the words taken one by one. For example, if I tell you to "let the cat out of the bag", what do I really mean? I mean that you should confess the secret you are hiding, not to really let a cat out of a bag!
Can you think of some other examples?
Using idioms in our writing is a fun way to add humor and tell the story in a different way. Idioms also helps us with the second trait of writing - Word Choice. Remember you should avoid using overused words in your writing and use strong action verbs to give your writing energy. Is your reader able to create a mental picture of your story?
Now, lets go idiom crazy!
Good morning Web Writers! Today we will continue focusing on your ideas and content! Since you have already proofread your work and graded yourself using last week's rubric. I would like for you to exchange papers with a neighbor. Grade your peer on their ideas and content. Use the questions to help you:
Use the answers to the questions to help your classmate improve his/her writing. After you have proofread each other's work, continue posting. Remember to finish your post from last week. Answer all of your new comments and feel free to comment to other blogs.
Due to the 5th grade writing assessment, our session started late so we didn't have much time to post to our blogs. However, your readers will be in left in suspense as they read the first part of your post!
I must give kudos to Graciela once again! Her introduction to A Delicious Story was outstanding!
What would you do if you woke up one morning and found out that the world was made of candy? Of course, you would be shocked but excited. If you are a person who loves candy and sweets you'll love my story even better!
She started out with a question to entice her readers. Graciela then finished up her story with lots of details, descriptive vocabulary, and dialogue. Her ideas and content was so good that her story came alive as we read it outloud. Way to go Graciela!
We got an excellent writing tip from our devoted reader, Brownwyn G. She said we should think of our writing as a body.
Also, the reader can tell when the beginning and end are tight and the middle is flabby (for lack of a better word). Think of your writing as like a body. Your beginning is the head, and the end is the feet. That leaves a whole middle full of arms, legs, stomach, private parts, et cetera.
Remember to concentrate on the ideas and content in your post for next week. Ask yourself the following questions:
I can't wait until next week!
Last week, we began focusing on the Six Traits of Writing Model and how it can help you improve your writing. You will use the Six Traits to help you understand what is working well and what needs to be improved in your writing.
Let's review the Six Traits before we begin:
Today, we are going to focus on the ideas and content you include in your writing. In each post on your blog, you have a message for the readers. The ideas in your writing is your message. Make sure your ideas are fresh, original, and come from your experience. Will your post hold the readers' attention all the way through? If so, you have lots of ideas that make your writing interesting. Use lots of supporting details to enrich your main idea. Show your readers how you respond to life and to people.
I love the advice from this teacher as she describes what writers should do:
One thing I would like to add is to make sure you have a beginning, middle, and end!
Zachary and Jose-Juan did an outstanding job representing the Web Writers and JHH Tuesday Night at Georgia State University's Leadership Appreciation Night. Everyone was so impressed with our weblogs. They were most impressed with the fact that elementary students CAN blog and blog so well!
Zachary and Jose-Juan worked on laptops as the legislatures and guests walked around from booth to booth. Occasionally, someone would stop to look over their shoulders. They even taught several onlookers how to comment to our posts. Toward the end of the evening, Mrs. Davis pulled Zachary and Jose-Juan aside and interviewed them. Let's listen to their podcast!
It was an exciting evening with good food, nice goodie bags, and free caricatures!
Our blogging session went great! We were all so excited to get a surprise visit from Mrs. Davis (GSU) and Ms. Williams (ITS Coordinator from the County Office)! I know they were so impressed by your hard work and great blogging skills. Mrs. Davis had some really good advice to give us all. One thing we really need to work on include our thought-provoking questions at the end of our posts. Remember to avoid using yes or no questions. Use the Bloom's Taxonomy words to help guide you.
Mrs. Davis also showed us some really good tips from last year's group. These tips should help you in composing next week's post on your New Year's Resolutions for Writing. We will go over these tips in more detail when time permits.
You all did a good job at your first attempt at really blogging. We went over the blogging process that we will refer to in each session:
We will continue working on the process of blogging in each session!
Lastly, we are so excited about Jose-Juan and Zachary representing us at Georgia State's Leadership Appreciation Night Tuesday night! We know they will do a great job, and I know their experience will lead to a great post!
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
Just like most of you Monday morning, I was dragging in as my body was in shock from waking up so early. The two weeks off of sleeping in and enjoying family and friends really spoiled me. My attitude was quickly uplifted as I started reading my email messages (I always check my email first when I get to school).
I received an email from Cara Bafile, a freelance writer for Education World. Our weblogs were featured on their website in an article titled Writing with Weblogs! This article was exactly what I needed to motivate me into a promising 2006! I am so fortunate to have such a great group of students to work with!
Bafile sums my feelings exactly when she states:
The blogging experience has convinced Meeler that even elementary level students can participate successfully in blogging. She believes that every student has a voice that can be heard through the instant publication of a post, and that everyone can learn something from the different voices of children.
You all have proven to me that elementary students can blog! I have learned so much from reading your posts and working with you. Your voices are being heard and I am so proud of each of you!
Today we will dive right back in to blogging! Go check out your comments and get ready to compose a new post!
I hope you all had a great week off! Maybe after a little rest and a lot of eating, you are ready to get back to blogging! I know I am!
Today we are going to focus on using descriptive words to make your posts more interesting. You all are doing a great job using catchy titles, and I am really impressed with your organizational skills. However, we are still using a lot of OVERUSED words. Maybe we should have a memorial service for our overused words?
When proofreading your homework, find all of the overused words in your writing. What are some words you can replace them with? Remember to use descriptive words!
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