We’re taking a different approach to blogging this
year. I’ve read so many good ideas
via Twitter about “paper blogging” that I thought we’d try something different
and start with that. It’s not that
I’m new to blogging with students. My class was quite successful last year with
their reading blogs. But it was
just my homeroom that I taught reading to last year. This year I have 78 students, three different classes, and
they’re all excited about blogging.
So this week we’ve been working on writing book recommendations. We’ve been taking it slowly, reading examples
of both good and not-so good reviews, brainstorming characteristics of good
book reviews, completing graphic organizers as part of the prewrite process,
and finally moving on to the rough drafts today. It was amazing to watch as the students became completely engaged
in writing their recommendations. The
students moved through the writing process from rough draft, to peer
conferencing, to revising with very few snags. Taking it slowly really paid off!
But the magic started as I began to walk around the
classroom and the students eagerly asked me to listen to their writing. The
best part of my day was sitting with the students and listening to them read
their book recommendations. It was the best of both worlds. We were talking about writing, getting excited
about great books, and sharing ideas.
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