Writing is important, is important to be able to communicate our thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings. We try to incorporate writing into all subject areas, and the new Texas ELA TEKS are pointing in the right direction and of course, we all know writing is a big focus on 4th grade. But beyond these, writing is a life skill. Students need to write purposefully beyond 26 lines. Last year, I stepped out of my comfort zone, gave up my control freak editing nature and, we created reading blogs in our classroom. The experiment was great, students enjoyed writing and some really surprised me with their performance.
Based on that experience, this year I wanted to stretch the idea, to make it an ongoing reflection of their learning journey.
We launched the project during the first nine weeks. My wonderful technology facilitator, Jessica, helped us set up our blogs using Google Sites. Our objective was to write a post about every two weeks. I want students to reflect on their learning, specifically Math, or write about school happenings. Last year, the blogs were much more directed, so this was a new journey for me too. I knew I had their buy-in, but we needed to figure out writing time, and revising, editing procedures.
During the second nine weeks, students had time to write their posts during computer lab time or stations. They had some topics to choose, and also the opportunity to help peers with the process. About two-thirds of the class have shared their blogs and have a few posts, with different levels of elaboration. The goal for the next period is to improve the quality of their posts and practice specific feedback. Students are growing in their confidence and taking challenges. Our blogs are not perfect, but they are authentic writing opportunities.
The next stage to implement is to share our blogs with readers beyond our community, I am seeking for reading/writing partners.