I am focusing on two aspects –
- Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
- Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
I plan on having my students read at least 1 news article a week, blog about that article, and respond to their classmates. Students already have a blackboard account and access to computers everyday. I would have them read a specific article on Monday and blog about the topic on their blackboard account. By Wednesday, I would have the students respond to at least 2 students, and by Friday, students would respond to the comments on their blogs, posting a new blog article if need be. As of now, I have not begun this process, but having the blackboard accounts and blogs already set up eliminates a lot of ground work. I need to focus on finding websites that offer news that my 7th graders can read and understand but that deals with real-world events.
7 comments:
I think keeping students informed of current events is very important, especially in light of what is happening right now in Japan. Blogging is a great way to get students to think about and share information. You will probably learn more about them too! What are some of your "ground rules" that you use with your students when it comes to writing responses. I am trying out blogging with 5th graders and no matter how many times I model they don't seem to understand how to share thoughtful opinions.
I use discussion in a similar way on my classroom wiki. I have had to spend time discussing with my middle school students that this type of "conversation" is not meant to take place like they would on FaceBook. Using a lot of modeling and visual examples of what I expect from them is vital.
Carrie, You bring up something that I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about quite yet. Of course, I plan to model the behavior that I want from the students. Perhaps showing other students' blogs as well as professional blogs. Also explaining to the students that this will be graded and should be written as such.
Hi Kim,
Having a chance to discuss the articles over a blog promotes perspective taking and new ways of thinking about a topic--allows for a deeper understanding.
Carrie raises a good point--students need guidelines about what an appropriate blog response is. I think this is a good way to connect to using the internet ethically and responsibly. Maybe they could have a brainstorming session on this--help generate the guidelines so they are more invested in them.
Thanks for sharing.
Susan
Kim - I like your idea for sharing about current events through classroom blogs. When students know that their work will be viewed by others, they will most likely take the time to produce meaningful discussions. Also, doing all the ground work ahead of time will definitely help the process run more smoothly for all of you.
Kim,
Each morning I pull up USA Today and choose an article of interest. Then we discuss and tie into whatever ELA strategy we are focusing in on for the week. My students love these authentic discussions that take place as a result of what is happening around them. You have a great idea - go for it!
Your idea makes sense and would certainly have 7th graders reading more news than they ever would on their own. The question I would have is what types of articles are you going to have them read and what type of response would you be looking for? You could think local, national or global depending on the topics and your curriculum.
Post a Comment