- Helps students learn anytime and anywhere
- Builds community
- Gives students a voice
- Gives students an authentic audience
- Improves writing
You are convinced that you want to try it. How do you go about getting started and where do you get the time? In this Getting Started series I want to feature Read Write Think's awesome source of lessons on how to get started blogging with students. Their Strategy Guide - Teaching with Blogs will help you get started and save you time because they have done some of the ground work.
The guide has a section on the whys blogging with students is important. It also has a section called Strategy in Practice which helps you think about all the practical things you need to know before you start blogging.
The thing that made me decide to include them in this series is the grade level lessons they feature. These lessons have done a lot of the ground work for you to help you get started with the right foot. If you read nothing else on this site go over this lesson Weekly Writer’s Blogs: Building a Reflective Community of Support. In this lesson students explore the conventions of blog writing. It features a Writer's Log Assignment and a checklist for student's blog entry to help them evaluate their posts before they publish. It's targeted for High School, but with some innovative modifications you can use it for any grade.
Don't try to reinvent the wheel and take advantage of these great lessons.
