For today's class session, examples of narrative and expository texts were shared. Now, we are going to explore using blogging as response to literature and consider the potential that this application has on comprehension.
First, please read the article by Lisa Zawilinski:
Zawilinski's HOT Blogging Article.pdf
Then, I would like you to write a response to share with your classmates about one of the books that was viewed in class today. As entries are being posted, please read and respond to others' comments, along with previewing the online resources that are provided in the article. The last entry that I would like for you to make on this blog is a comment that evaluates how Zawilinski's informative article may impact your teaching practice.
First, please read the article by Lisa Zawilinski:
Zawilinski's HOT Blogging Article.pdf
Then, I would like you to write a response to share with your classmates about one of the books that was viewed in class today. As entries are being posted, please read and respond to others' comments, along with previewing the online resources that are provided in the article. The last entry that I would like for you to make on this blog is a comment that evaluates how Zawilinski's informative article may impact your teaching practice.
I'm sorry I missed this class session because I was really looking forward to seeing some of the other books that were brought to class for sharing.
This is a test. This is only a test.
Testing...
I am becoming increasingly aware that students in sixth grade have a very limited point of view on just about everything. The world truly revolves around them, not out of arrogance but rather ingnorance. Having the ability to understand another person's or other people's point of view is a necessary quality of an educated individual. I think using The Wolf who Cried Boy and The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs is a fun way to give the students an experience with familiar stories while looking at the story from a different perspective. If possible, the students could then write about a personal experience from the point of view of another person who was present at that time. Students could also respond by rewriting one of their favorite stories from the perspsective of another character.
"Quickly, however, she began
to sense student interest waning. Comments were
becoming more brief, superficial, and formulaic."
The challenge for the teacher is to keep the blogging relevant and interesting. Nothing worse than a non-current blog.
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In response to previous research Zawilinski quotes a teacher's response to the importance of blogging. I agree with using blogging in classrooms vehemently. Authentic tasks increase interest and create intrinsic motivation.
I find that time constraints often squeeze out proper assessment of students' background knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of using blogs to 'bolster' students’ prior knowledge and excite them about the topic or book to be studies. Having students 'buy in' to a book or topic before they enter the classroom door is a strong tool; any activity that increases the probability of this occurring is an excellent strategy!
In today's class, I enjoyed viewing the books everyone shared with the class. In our first grade classroom, students have been learning sequencing. The books, If You Give a Pig a Party and If You Give a Moose a Muffin were excellent narrative stories to read aloud with the students. After reading the story, I could ask them to sequence the events of the story: beginning, middle, and end. Another strategy that I liked from our chapter readings was sketch to stretch. Many of the first grade students draw during bus time and recess. This activity could be used after reading the students a book or correlating with their language arts lesson for the day. The final motive for writing that we learned about today was author studies. Several of our books in the curriculum include information about the author and illustrator. The library is a great resource for finding books about the author and other books written by the author. This will also assist the student in learning how to find books independently.
I love the idea of using authentic literature (like the great books we had in class today) to teach the concepts that are being presented in the STORYtown series. The concepts just seem so forced when we teach them from the textbook stories. It would be nice if they could see that something like author's perspective can be investigated in real pieces of literature too!
I want to read Shawna's book about the safety guy and the dog. What a great way to prepare young students for a classroom visit from a local community service person and how to make him/her feel welcome.
I always assumed that reader's theatre could not be used for kindergarten since they aren't able to read on their own. However, I think I would be able to use the ghost reader's theatre that we used today, and have the kids make the noises of the different characters. I think that they would love being able to participate in that way.
It feels good to be able to blog about my feelings, opinions, and personal stories without needing peer reviewed research to validate them.
I agree Bernadette. I hate it when I go to a website or blog and find that is hasn't been updated for months or years. It makes me think the person either forgot about it or does not care. This creates more work for us as the teacher. Perhaps an ambitious student could help with the set-up, etc... Hmmm.
It feels good to be able to blog about my feelings, opinions, and personal stories without needing peer reviewed research to validate them.
I love the idea of using Reader's Theater. It was fun and can be so informative! With the Language Arts curriculum used in my classroom, there doesn't seem to be much time to spend on this type of activity (unless it's specifically in the Storytown textbook). However, I'm hoping that when I take over the LA lessons, I will be able to incorporate it into the lessons.
Yeah Shawna. So true. I can see how they both have their place, but this feels more like what I think of as blogging.
I really enjoyed the portion of today's class where we shared our examples of children's literature. I am always looking for good books to share with my classroom kids and my own children. I cannot wait to use the story "The Wolf Cried Boy" in an intro to a lesson. We do writing on point of view in a few weeks and I think the students will really get the picture with this as an example. Also, I will definately use the cute little similie book, and I will look for literature on all of the various parts of grammar. I believe it was Barb, from our last meeting, that suggested "Eats, Shoots and leaves" for a punctuation lesson. I not only used that specific book, but I also made use of the opther books in that particular series. (Thanks Barb) I hope we all continue to share our creative ideas and continue learning from each other and our collaborative experiences.
I agree with you. Our language arts text includes several stories for the students; however, I feel that they need additional resources. The use of expository and narrative books create memorable experiences for the students. When I was in fifth grade we learned about World War II and the Holocaust. Our text had many stories, but reading The Diary of Anne Frank made the events more realistic. I know much of the information that I learned about the Holocaust, but I remember the book clearly.
This was an interesting and helpful article. I agree that blogging is a good way to see the diversity in reading and writing skills among children. With the book that I brought in, "Where the Wild Things Are," students can blog about the themes from the book. Since the version I have does not contain much dialogue, students can imagine their own dialogue for the story where only pictures are presented. I can see a lot of learning with blogging.
I really enjoyed gathering a wide array of relevant, useful book titles that could be used in my classroom now... or in the future. I have always loved If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and didn't realize the multitude of spin-offs that incorporate the same story elements and ideas. I love using books to enhance or support lessons!
Great point you make Brigid. I love that you brought up that we can use these books to lead into the students using the library resources on their own, to find other works by the same author.
There are so few students in 6th grade that really use the library and know how.
Kenjamin!
This article is not only up-to-date with technology, it offers a practical guide for implementation of the various styles of blogging.
I like that the parallel is drawn between the traditional classroom and the technological classroom (blog. "Furthermore, a blog does not simply develop communication skills. Instead, online communication has become an essential aspect of online reading comprehension (Castek et al., 2007). I think this article offers the tools needed for a teacher to properly explain and model, as well as consistently implement an effective educational blog.
I think a classroom blog may be a fun way to incorporate technology with a reading log. Students could write about literature they are reading in my sixth grade classroom. Barb brings up a good point however, how do you ask students to participate who may not have access to the Internet at home?
You can borrow the book if you want, Heather. I just found it in our school library.
I really enjoyed class today. I find that this information will be used in my classroom. Its great that we are able to share ideas with each other to make this experience successful.
I think that blogging can serve as a very non-threatening way for students to voice their feelings and thoughts. It seems that when I ask students to voice their thoughts in class about something we are reading they tend to be very hesitant.