The superintendent, board members, and audience at Tuesday's board meeting was so impressed by your writing and blogging. I was so PROUD to show off your weblogs. Who knows, they may even comment to your blogs?
So, let's continue to bump up our writing. Today we will discuss one very important writing tip that you should use in EVERY post - descriptive words! Then we will have some fun creating a wacky web tale for you to post to your blog.
Let's get busy blogging!
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference in Atlanta, GA. Of course, my presentation was about my favorite subject - Blogging! I have to admit that I was a little discouraged when I read that Patrick Crispen, a featured speaker from California State University who travels all over the world speaking at conferences, was holding a session on Blogging 101. My first thought was that everyone would attend his session and skip ours since he is a well-known and featured speaker.
As I sat in his session with about 250 other people, Crispen began discussing weblogs and how/why they are used in education. "Let me show you a great example that I found," Crispen told his audience. And then on the screen popped up our weblog - BlogWrite! He then clicked on your picture and said these are the writers of this blog!
I was beaming with pride as I introduced myself when his session ended. Crispen explained how he shows off our blogs as he travels all over the U.S. speaking at educational conferences. Isn't that wonderful?
Keep up the good blogging as JHH continues to shine in the limelight!
We aren't meeting this week due to the GaETC Conference in Atlanta, GA. I will be attending the conference to learn more about educational technology such as weblogs! Guess what? I am even presenting at the conference Wednesday afternoon in which I will have the opportunity to show off our blogs!
See you next week!
Do you know that some people say that elementary students can't blog? Well those people should check out Jason's post on Black's the New Grey! His well-written post attracted many readers with some interesting comments. In addition, Jason even added a picture and the hyperlink to the article for his readers if they wanted more information! Now, that is an elementary student blogging at his best!
Thank you Jason and all of you Web Writers for showing everyone that Elementary Students Can Blog!
Yesterday, I got a phone a call from a parent asking me if I knew about the article on MSN.com. When I went to the site, I realized it was the article Blogging 101 -- Web logs go to School published by CNET News last month.
As a result, several MSN readers logged on to our blogs and began commenting. Our blogging buddies in Mr. Brune's 5th grade class from NY received many comments too! I know they were excited!
Elementary students are getting heard! You have a voice, and I am proud of you for putting such great effort into your work!
Your revised posts turned out great! While proofreading isn't the most exciting part of writing, it is one of the most important parts. No matter how much practice you get or how old you are, everyone must proofread and revise their work! Don't get lazy or complacent and stop proofing. You have an attentive and caring audience out there who deserves to read well-written and thought-out posts.
This is so cool! A fifth grade class from Mamaroneck (NY) Avenue School commented to our weblogs this week. Mr. Brune is their teacher:
I am very impressed by all of your writings. I am trying to have my class use blogs to improve their writing, too, and I will definitely show them your work. Thanks for sharing!
Here is their class weblog. The students are posting about current events as well! Wasn't it fun reading their comments? Now, it is your turn to comment to them.
For the last two weeks, the phrase "Use Your Writing Tips" has been spoken over and over! The first question I ask you when you begin your post is always "Did you use your writing tips sheet to help guide you?" By the end of the year, these tips will come naturally and you won't even need your handout to guide you. In the meantime, however, I want you to use the sheet as a guide to help you continue to bump up your writing/thinking skills.
Ask yourself the following questions:
I know asking yourself these questions and going through the tips takes time, but isn't it worth it when you compose a good post and get so many good comments from all over the world? Remember, you are writing for a huge audience who wants to know what/how you think. You have a voice! Back up your voice with excellent writing and thinking skills. Let's show everyone that JHH students are the smartest students in the world!
Zachary was "speechless" as he read the article in CNET News and saw the pictures and exerpts of our very own Web Writers! All of you seemed very excited about some of your new comments. I think you are starting to realize that you do have a voice and that people - everywhere - really care about how you feel and what you think!
Some of you brought in some outstanding pieces today! I can tell you used your writing tips and proof read your work. Others of you still need to remember to apply the tips we went over in class and bring a well-composed and thought-out writing piece to class.
Although we are making great strides, we still have some "bumping up" to do. Remember to add lots of details like Graciela did in My Sister's Sweet 15. Zachary used a great metaphor in his new post on life.
I was glad some of you had time to post comments to the Teacher Cadets and Getting Heard students at Rockdale High School. We will try to comment as often as possible to them throughout the year.
We are really starting to work on our proofreading and revising skills this week. Remember that writing is a process. It doesn't just happen over night. It is something that we need to work on and improve throughout our whole life.
I can't wait to read your revised posts next week! Maybe we will have time to work on our Keeper's Poems some next week as well. We have lots to do!
I was on top of the world as I read this article on cnet news! The article, written by Alorie Gilbert, features schools and students who are implementing web logs into their curriculum. Yes - J.H. House and the Web Writers are among the three schools discussed.
Take Hillary Meeler's group of fifth-graders at J.H. House Elementary in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers. Every Thursday morning, the students spend two hours writing about current events on their blogs. Meeler, an instructional technology specialist, asks them to choose topics from CNN's student news program and use writing skills they're learning in English class.
The kids love having an audience, she said. Parents, teachers, students and sometimes complete strangers from as far away as Brazil will respond to the blogs with comments. And depending on the tools they're using, student bloggers can track how many times people have clicked on their entries. In an effort to build a following, they often clean up their grammar, stretch their vocabulary and generally write more creatively, Meeler said. "They take a lot of pride in it," she said. "They have to write a title that gets attention, or people won't leave comments or come back."
There are even pictures of you all blogging in the article! Graciela's My Sister's Sweet 15 post is used as an example in the post.
In addition to the wonderful article, some of you have some awesome comments to check out!
Today was a day of hard work! You were busy as beavers from the moment you came in to the moment you left! We spent the first portion of class reviewing our writing tips after you read and responded to your comments. Some of you used the tips in your post, but ALL of you will use them next week. Right?
After our brief review and discussion of the "Give Me 5" high school writing strategy, we then began editing our homework. One of the most important steps in proofing your work is reading it outloud to yourself to see if it makes sense. From now on, I want you all to do this before you come to class. This will save us valuable time and allow us to explore other possibilities with blogging.
I was glad to work with some of you one on one today. I hope to get around to the rest of you next week for one on one time.
After you typed your posts, I showed you the Sandaig Poets blog from a school in Scotland. We read some of their poems outloud and even got to hear them read it to us! Wasn't it cool listening to their English? Next week, we will try to comment to them. I bet they will be so surprised to get comments from us in Georgia. Who knows, they may even comment to our weblog?
This week, you should be working on your piece of What Matters Most To You. Let all of us know what is important to elementary students. This is your chance to have a voice and to be heard. I can't wait to read them!
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