Literacy Moves On Chapters 6-10

Chapter 6:

Beanie Babies:

I think it is interesting that children can understand the aim behind the producers of beanie babies action. I remember that when I was younger I was obsessed with beanie babies. I have no idea if I ever questioned why I liked them so much, or if the producer was in fact ripping me off. I am guessing that never crossed my mind. However, I think that having this conversation would lead children to think more deeply and think like adults. I think we take for granted how much children can understand. This reading proves otherwise and shows how smart children are. We can help them become critical thinkers in the classroom by talking about situations that relate to them (ex: beanie babies). This way they are knowledgeable on the subject and give some great insight.

 Chapter 7:

Neighborhoods:

I like the idea in this chapter that children learn by doing something. Children can put themselves in someone else’s shoes, or explain their own perspective of something they are thinking. This way they will think in a different way and imagining something new. When children know whom their audience is they will write to that audience. For example, when they are writing books for students from another country, they may include a lot of details or explain things that they wouldn’t to their peers in the classroom. It shows that they know their “place” in society. That they can think critically of who may be reading their story.

Chapter 8:

Curiosity Kits:

I like the idea of using these kits to get children to engage in literacy. I have learned that children are more apt. To participate in something if they are engaged in the activity. This kit provides this for them. Although some children still saw the kits as “work” and did not want to participate with them as much. It really did help some children. Even if this is only helping some students with literature, it is important to find different activities that work for everyone.

Chapter 9:

Heroes and Villains:

I have always been a person that has found more interest in fairy tales than real life events. I like being able to use my imagination and put myself in the unreal situation and compare what I would do.  In my own school experience I have read many books that I did not want to read. However, I have also read books that I really enjoyed. It seemed like when I read the books I really wanted to read I picked them out myself. My teacher would give us a variety to choose from and I would choose it myself. As a teacher I think it will be a great idea to understand the type of stories my children are interested in. I will do this by having them create stories and work of their own. I like the idea of using movies they are interested in to explore the evil characters and perhaps traits they have in common. This again is using material they find interesting.

Chapter 10:

Getting it Right For Children:

 I think that it is important for teachers to relate the curriculum of the classroom to their student’s interests in lives. Since each year will bring a new class of students, teachers may have to adapt their lesson plans annually. This will make more work for the teacher but provide a better learning experience for the students. Just as literacy has changed to include computers, technology, media, and toys, the teaching of the subject must change as well. 

Literacy Moves On ch1-5

Chapter 1:

Multimodal texts-

~Texts need to change to the way children are experiencing them in the twenty first century. I think that incorporating images in reading is important and can represent ideas. They can also serve as a resource for meaning. When I work with children who are just starting to read, they use pictures to figure out words. In chapter 1 of Janet Evens, Literacy Moves On, she talks about a boy who uses multimodal texts in his description of the rain forest. Since he is a young student, his writing is still in the primary stages. With the use of pictures he is able to give a great description of his knowledge. It is clear that if he were only able to write what he knew, he would not be able to give as much information. This is why I think in younger grades, it is important to understand and use multimodal reading/ writing. Since it is clear that reading texts does not just mean reading words, teachers need to incorporate innovative ways to read and express ideas.  

Chapter 2:

Moving Stories

I thought this chapter was very interesting and brought up some great points. However, when Evans mentions that the need for media education is urgent in early years, I disagree. I think that our technology in the new world is changing and therefore, we need to shift what we are teaching in schools. I also think that before we start teaching new technology, the primary school grades still need to teach basic skills. It is important to introduce new activities such as, moving stories, sometime throughout schooling. However, k-2 may be a little too early. I would be worried about keeping a child’s attention long enough to teach them to use the new technology, especially if they have never been introduced to it before. Creating a story and making a movie out of it seems like it would be a little tough for children who are just learning letters and sounds. I do think that we could slowly introduce this new technology every year and eventually build up to creating stories.

Chapter 3:

Children Reading and Interpreting Stories in Print, Film, and Computer Games

I love the fact that this chapter brings up the positive side of what children engage in. She states that, “readers were able to make sense of different kinds of writing in part because photography trained them in new ways of doing so (51).” I can relate to this in the way that I view writing. When I read a book that has an “olden day” feel to the picture, I predict that the style of writing will portray something written in the past. She goes on to state that the video games kids play actually serve as learning opportunities.  When playing these games people use immersion and engagement. They have to be immersed inside the world of the game to understand it and can also be engaged with other activities such as talking about strategies.

Chapter 4:

The Dagger of Doom and the Mighty Handbag:

This chapter shows me how important it is for children to explore their writing identity in more ways than just paper pencil writing. With online or digital texts children explore the way people interact in the real world. For example, in a professional e-mail children will want to present a “coded persona” of themselves. I think it is essential that children practice this so they are prepared to do so later in life. However, children can participate in a chat room can find another way of identifying themselves in a less formal manner. Doing this will engage them in another type of writing giving them more experience with literacy.  Evans brings up offers a dilemma when she states that, “those who are less fortunate will certainly need access to the new practices involved if they are to participate fully in society (64)” This explores the idea that not everyone has access to innovative technology. School is one place where they can access and have experience using these different tools. Since society is changing to rely more on new technology, it is essential that children know how to use it. I had a class where we used everyday technology in relation to our daily assignments. For example, we used our cell phones to poll the class. We would send a text with our answer to the question. I loved using technology, and it helped me to be more engaged with the material. These points demonstrate a variety of situations where using technology can be beneficial. I will constantly be thinking of way to use technology within my classroom that will benefit children in the real world.

Chapter 5:

Creating Opportunities for Critical Literacy With Young Children

I think the story Evans presents in this chapter is very interesting. I am so impressed that a seven year old was able to make a business deal like that. He was obviously using some knowledge that he had learned in school towards a topic he was interested in. This demonstrates how important it is to use what children are interested in within the curriculum. I think this can be done by teaching basic concepts and then applying them to engaging activities. Evans also points how that you can use the material that children are interested in and pose critical literacy questions. It seems that by using items they are already interested and exposed to they will be more incline to think about it and better able to relate. 

MGRP

I think this project is a really good opportunity to learn about a certain topic one finds interesting. I found the research part of this project to be similar to a regular research paper that I was assigned in high school. However, since i was able to choose the topic, I was more involved in the reading of my topic. Since i love to be creative, my favorite part of this project was the genres. I was able to use these genres to put myself in  another persons shoes. Overall, i really enjoyed this project and I am excited to see what everyone else has created.

MGRP Ch: 5 & 7

Ch: 5 What A Character:

            I think it is a good idea to read aloud experts from good writers. In doing this, students will get ideas from the writers and apply them in their own writing. The short excerpt from, Mama Makes Up Her Mind, catches my attention and helps me see how to successfully write about a character. In order for the teacher to teach this skill, they must know how to do it on their own. I will make sure to read the books suggested to get more of an idea on how to show the character through my writing. Once I read different writings that create characters, I will ask students to describe how the author revealed their personalities. I will be looking for answers that involve writing about characters actions and dialog.

            I love the activities that are given throughout the chapter. I think creating a class character would really get students engaged.  I think this activity would better with older students, and allow them to put in their own ideas. This way when they are creating the story about the character they will be using the ideas that interested them. I think it will also be entertaining to hear different stories about the same character and point out similarities and differences.

            The quick write and revise can be something that is done with partners in any type of character writing. Students could do quick write then swap and comment on what they would like to know more of, with each others characters.

Ch: 7 Explore The Arts:

 I love the idea of having children incorporate the arts into their MGRP. By doing this, it incorporated learning from the right side of the brain. Since children will be using the left side to create their papers, the right side will come as they partake in creativity.  Since some children are more right brain users, this gives them a time to shine.

            I think it will be important to keep copies of MGRP from years past. I love looking at past examples because it helps me to think of my own. Since I am going to encourage my students to be artistic, I will take pictures of the items they create. Also, I will videotape their presentations to have on file and show to the class. 

Van Sluys-Setting up Invitations:

In Van Sluys chapter, Setting up Invitations, I read about using invitations in the classroom. I think this project would allow children to have fun with learning and explore questions they are interested in. Although time may be an issue with this assignment, linking it to other subjects (social studies, science) would allow an overlap of learning. However, in doing this, would it be beneficial for the teacher to give a list of questions for students to choose from? Would choosing the questions take away from the children exploring topics that interest them?
It seems like the teacher may have to spend a lot of time bringing in resources for the children to use. Would there be a way for children to look for their own resources? Perhaps if the teacher created a broad list of topics (ex:animals) and allowed students to base their question off of the list. This way the teacher could find resources on the same topic and not have to look for each topic.
Formulating the groups for the invitation could be tricky. I wonder how many students should be in each invitation group. How should the groups be determined? If they are in groups will they be able to work on the project outside of class.
Van Sluys mentions how this project should be fun and not labeled as an assignment that you want to get over with. I am wondering how we make the project appealing to all students in the classroom. If they are exploring questions that they chose on their own without any regulations, perhaps the topics will be something appealing to them.
Overall, i think this project could be very beneficial in the classroom. It can be tied into different subjects, literature, writing, reflection, which are all important learning elements.

MGRP-Ch 4: Poetic Surprises

In chapter 4 of Allen’s, The Muiltigenre research paper, she brings up the topic of poetry. I can relate to what she says about not feeling confident with our own writing. It is only when we are free of self-conscious that people can freely write. I like the idea of using poetry in the classroom to share with one another and talk about certain aspect of writing we feel weak in.

I agree with her when she writes, “poetry and song evoke emotions”. Sometimes when I hear a certain song my mood totally changes, and it’s the same with certain works of poetry. In the classroom I will bring this topic up and show children how writing comes from the heart. Including poetry in a MGRP can bring out certain emotions one wishes to evoke.

I like the idea of having children write down everything they are thinking and feeling without worrying about writing mechanics. They can then use what they wrote to construct poetry. Sometimes figuring out how to start a poem and what to write about is the hardest part. With this activity they are not thinking about writing a poem and can just cross out whatever they do not want to add in. 

The Multigenre Research Paper ch: 1,2,3,6 and Powell, Davidson Article

Ch: 1 its contagious

I agree that research papers are tedious and my least favorite kind of paper. With multi-genre research papers are more entertaining and use a variety of skills. I think our students will benefit from this and see the overall assignment as something that can be enjoyed. They will also be practicing a variety of skills that will be important to function in society and when they get into the working world. Practicing these skills now will only help them to benefit. I definitely want to use this in my language arts teaching.

I really like how she showed the fifth grades student multigenre research paper. It helped me to see what an elementary paper may be like. Since I have only seen examples from college students in class I wasn’t sure how a younger Childs might appear.

I am questioning weather children will have trouble finding professional writings to use as references. Since they are choosing their own topics this might be hard. Not every child has parents that will assist them and take them to the library. How do I deal with this problem?

I also question how long to spend working on the paper? Should this go on throughout the whole year. It seems like it would take a big chuck of time to see everyone’s work. Would it be beneficial to continue it throughout the whole year?

Ch 2 Nuts & Bolts-Getting started on a Multigenre Project

This chapter seems to answer some of my questions I had from the previous one. I really like the idea of giving children a big chuck of time to choose their topic. This way they can do a little research and talk to others about their topic. The resource notebook is something I want to implement into my classroom. This will ensure everything is in one place and allows me the opportunity to look at it.

I hope that I am able to be flexible with the multigenre teaching each year as the needs of the students change.

I think the response journals are a great idea not only for the research papers but to use in class all of the time. This allows the teacher to be available to all of their students. It also reminds students of their accomplishments.

Ch:3 Care Enough To Really Search-Finding Ways into a Topic

I question if we should give our students some sort of guidance when they select their topic. In our class it related to literacy, should we do the same with our own students?

I like the idea of having students fill out a questionnaire. I think this will help guide them to something they are really interested in. I also think it is important to take them outside their school for resources. Letting them see a university could be very beneficial and inspire them to go one day.

I think a good way for note taking is for students to use different color highlighters. This way they can highlight information that applies to each subject.

Ch: 6 The Voice Of Nonfiction-valuing real, Everyday Writing:

I like how she writes the paper each year along with her students. I think this will allow teachers to remember what parts may be tricky for students to understand and allow them to connect with them.

I think the list of possible genres will really help children be creative. The can use the ideas past students have used and build off of them.

I think that by adding non-fiction students will be able to think about their subject on a different level. They will be able to relate to the subject on a personal aspect and have a better understanding.

All of the genres listed within the chapter seem like they would be really fun for create. I think students will really like this part of the project. Children will have a chance to use their strengths. For example, if a child is artistic they can use this to create some sort of picture. Similarly, if they are into drama they can create a short play. There are so many options to choose from allowing children to explore different options.

Article: The Donut House: Real World Literacy in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom

The authors Rebecca Powell and Nancy Davidson talk about incorporating literacy events in student’s lives. They point out that the texts in school are not likely to be read outside school for fun. This could be one reason that children don’t pay attention to the teaching. If they had more engaging material they may be more apt to pay attention.

I like the idea of implementing literacy activities into something that is important to the students. For example, writing letters. Brochures, and proposals on important topic.

I really like how the teacher used real-life experiences in the children’s life. She also put it with a creative tasks and acting aspects by pretending to be storeowners, neighbors, etc. The writing aspect of the project was important to the overall goal of the creation. This included writing out the special recipe for the donut house, or filling out the permit for the building. The teacher can them implement mini lessons that have to do with the project such as compound words (strawberry).

I really like this literacy instruction that is situated in students lives. I want to use this in my classroom with my students. I think there will be many benefits from this that range from students being more engaged to including people outside the classroom, within the community. 

Crafting Writers Chapters 10, 11, 12 and Wohlwend Article

  

             In chapter 10 Elizabeth Hale focuses on teaching the conference. Relating this chapter to how my own conferences might go, I can predict a couple of things. I think as a teacher it will be important to know a lot of specific crafts. I think it will be difficult to be on the ball with finding the strengths in everyone’s writing. I want to make sure what I am pointing out is actually something useful to the child not just some vague in order to move onto something to improve. I am worried that I will not be able to relate their strengths to the “next step.”

          I really like the idea of having the student say the strengths back to me after the conference. I have noticed that while working with children they often pretend like they know what I am talking about. When I come back to check on their work they have not used the specific skill that I taught. I think this is one way to ensure the student understand the skill, or if they need more explanation. I love the wording she uses when teaching a child something new. I know I will use the phrase, “one thing I think you are ready for as a writer is….” This is a very positive way of giving them different strategies to try.

          I also like the idea of keeping a record of our conferences. I think it is important for the child to be included on the record keeping as well. The reason for this is because as a child when a teacher was writing about me I got nervous. However, if a child is part of the process,(perhaps recording their strengths) they will understand that keeping notes is nothing threatening.

          In chapter 11 Hale brings up some good points about group conferences and management. She brings up the point that during the day teachers may be pressed for time. In this case it may be a good idea to bring a group of students together that are struggling with the same topic. After the conference it is important to still have the children say the teaching point back. One idea I have is for them to each write the teaching point down and then say it. This will ensure that it is their own thinking and they are not just repeating what someone else said. In the primary grades these conferences may be more about the set up of writing (spacing, periods) and as they get older more focused on craft skills.

         It is important to have a layout in the room that supports the group conferencing and teaching on mini lessons. It may be good to get them out of their desks and away from distraction. It is also important to start off the year showing children what will happen in conferences and letting them practice.

        Hale brings up a good point about giving children an intermission during writing time. A big distraction for children is when they are off task. This uses up valuable time during writing time. If you let children know that they will have a chance to chat then they will be more willing to write for a certain amount of time.  It is also important that they find comfortable spots around the room to write.

     In chapter 12 Hale talks about assessment. A great way to assess a students writing is by using a rubric. It is important to use a new rubric for each new unit of study. I think it will be important for me to look at other rubrics that were created in the past for ideas on how to word and what to include in a writing rubric.

   I think it will be important for the student to understand the rubric. This will ensure that I use “student friendly wording”. I am still a little unsure of the point system that should be assigned to each section of the rubric and how much a piece of writing should be worth.

          Karen E. Wohlwends article, “Dilemmas and Discourses of Learning to Write: Assessment as a Contested Site, makes some good points about the struggles teachers face with trying to keep children up with standards. At the end of the article she makes a very good point about how hard it is to point out certain child’s strengths when they have to be labeled as “at risk.” For teachers it is tough when they are trying to get all of their students to meet the goals of the elementary education system. I found it sad when she talks about Jamal and how he was shunned at the writing table. One reason for this shunning was because he had to physically leave the classroom to work on special skills. The kids that would not allow him to participate in game where phonetic proficiency were needed because he did not have this skill.

        I also found it disturbing that a test determines if you are up to par with your teaching. There were specific skills that the students needed to be able to complete in order to move up in grade level. Just because a student held a pencil a certain way stopped her from meeting criteria. Overall, I think it should be the teacher’s decision to whether a student can move on. However, I do agree that opinions can vary from teacher to teacher and some requirements are needed. It can be a struggle for teachers to allow students to experiment and learn at their own pace when they have the high demand of meeting certain standards. 

Crafting Writers Chapters 7, 8, & 9

          In chapter 7 of Elizabeth Hales, “Crafty Writers”, she talks about teaching craft lessons. I thought it was interesting how she related good teaching to thinking about the person on the receiving end. I totally agree with this concept as I think about how I am training with a new member of my bike team. Since I was new to the team last year, I can understand exactly what she is going through, and what I found difficult to understand about riding. She recently told me that I was a great teacher and that she really feels comfortable with me rather than Caroline (our bike captain) because I can relate to what she is going through and explain things better. It is important for the teacher to think about how she would take in these new concepts that she is teaching and what others may find difficult to understand.

              I also liked how she talked about using lessons to actually teach new things. I think it will be important as I am making up lessons to ask myself: What exactly am I teaching, and how will this lesson help students to become better writers. I can relate to what she said about having students do something with what they are learning. From my own experience as a student, I listen much more when I know I have to do something with the material. My favorite “try-it” method is the writing journal. This way they will have a written list of exactly what they have learned.

       In Chapter 8, Hales focuses on looking at strengths in a writing conference. When I think about conferences, I imagine my teacher pointing out and circling all of my spelling mistakes. I think Hales approach would be a much more beneficial for students. I love how the boy, Jonathan, ended up choosing writing for his favorite class. In the beginning he dreaded this class but because his teacher saw strengths in his writing, he did as well.

          I  like how she pointed out that students use craft methods they have never been taught (like the echo method). They use these crafts because of the types of literature they have been exposed to. This shows that it is beneficial for students to be exposed to all types of reading material.

          Finally, it is important to point out something good about the students writing. It doesn’t matter how primary it may be. Even if it is a craft that you have never thought of before, pointing out something will help the student to feel good about their writing and continue to grow.

Finally, in chapter 9, Hales talks about what issues teachers can address in conferences. Working in a school right now I can see that children in the classroom are not all at the same level.  I am guessing that within my own classroom this will also be the case. It is important for the teacher not to teach on where the student should be. By this I mean it is not beneficial for the teacher to throw 50 things at the child to fix in their writing.

         I really like how she emphasizes to use the Childs writing as an actual starting point and to look at situations where you can introduce craft because it would fit in perfectly. It is also beneficial to look at all the things that could possibly be taught and to focus on one. 

Crafting Writers Chapters 4 & 5

Students who are exposed to reading and like to read usually receive high appraisal on their work. Students who are not as strong in this area often just received comments on how their writing could be corrected/improved. Teachers can create a new mindset and atmosphere in the classroom by introducing craft.

Teachers can use craft by first naming the specific craft. Giving an example of where the student used this craft, and finally explaining why it was good. Students should be introduced to these crafts and see them modeled by a teacher or in literature. Using craft instruction can help students enhance the craft they are already using and help them elaborate.

Some of the different crafts include; the five senses, show not tell, dialogue, sentence variety, and word choice. Students may use these concepts, but it is not until the student teacher conference that children will elaborate. For example, the student may write about how the shoes were pretty. It is not until the conference with them that the teacher will find what they were recalling, and really thinking about the shoes. In reality they might like the green sparkle the shoes had. You can offer the suggestion that when the student is talking about clothing items they can add a couple sentences describing the item. This will help them in the future when they write about the same topic.

An important writing craft for students is sentence varitiy. In order to assist children with this, it is important to introduce lots of different types of writing.  One way to so this is introducing the idea of starting sentences with different words and using different sized sentences. To make sentences longer (without making them run-on), it is good to use the combination words, while, as, during, before, and after.

Punctuation is a part of writing that may not be empathized right away. Students will start to experiment with punctuation by putting certain symbols randomly within their writing. They may also need reminders to use punctuation, as they understand how to use it but forget to put it in their writing. It is important for the teacher to describe why punctuation is needed.

Students will start to see punctuation such as parentheses used in the books they read. Students should understand that they could use commas to add more detail to a sentence without making it confusing. For example, rather than using “things” in a sentence, you can describe what this things are using commas (shoes, hats, rings, scarf’s).

Teachers can support a student use of punctuation in a variety of ways.  They can set aside time for students to explore punctuation. One example of this is having students look for how authors have used punctuation in their writing and why they use these punctuation marks. Another way to encourage students to use punctuation during independent reading time is to set aside a few minutes at the end to set down their pencils and re-read what they have written adding in any missing marks. 

The Spell of Spelling

   Oglan's article “Writing and Spelling” opened up my eyes to a variety of factors about spelling. For example, some of the rules of spelling are very irrational and were created on arbitrary decisions by people such as William Caxton and Noah Webster. With these irrational rules spelling is a process that needs to be practiced.  Although spelling is a big factor of writing they are actually two different cognitive processes.

     I never knew that there were 3 types of spellers. The reluctant speller is someone I can relate to. I am a weak speller and sometimes use the safe word that I know how to spell.  As a teacher it will be important to encourage these spellers to go past their comfort zone. To do this the article suggests that I have them work with writing partner, a parental volunteer, and have word walls, dictionaries and charts. I also need to make it clear that spelling doesn’t make a good writer but the content of the work.

    The developing speller uses two strategies to spell. Spelling the word as it sounds and visually looking at how the word is spelt. It Is important that this type of student practices spelling correct words in order to internalize it. This student will eventually turn into independent spellers and may be called on others for assistance.

     Students with issues such as, ESL need extra help when it comes to spelling. It is important for them to read and have conversation about stories and combine drawing with spelling in order to establish English words.

       In Lawrence R Sipe's article, "Invention, convention, and intervention: Invented spelling and the teacher's role," the idea of expectations in brought into play. While a student named Kelly will spell words correctly with her reading teacher she does not spell them the same with her regular teacher. This is due to the fact that the expectations for her regular teacher are not as high and therefore she does not try as hard.  

      It is important for teachers to support child’s willingness and desire to write and not inhibit. One way for teachers to do this is by scaffolding. She can help the student discover how the word is spelt by making it clearer without giving the total word away. I think it is important that the teacher doesn’t give the whole answer away and rather when a student asks a question the teacher respond back with a question that fosters their thinking to find the answer.

     Some of the activities I found to be interesting include the have a go chart. This is where students recognize a word that is spelt wrong within their text.  They then attempt to spell the word correctly with assistance from a teacher or peer. If the spelling is wrong the teacher has them look the word up in the dictionary or spells it for them. Finally they copy the word to see how it is spelt. I think this is a good process to use because the student not only tries to spell the word themselves but will end up with the correct spelling and practicing that spelling. Practicing the correct spelling is a strategy that is pointed out in the last article to be helpful.

Coffee Lovers Unite!

A group of five from class met at the Boarder's book store coffee shop. Most of the things my group noticed about this place were interesting because they were repeatedly seen. For example, it was easy to point out that many people were reading something.  This idea of looking at what stands out relates to the reading in, “Crafting Writers”. Chapter 3 talks about naming specific craft and in particular the parts of speech. In order to recognize the parts of speech we have to realize what made it stand out. This compared to what we are doing at the coffee shop because we were recognizing things that stand out to us then, evaluating why. Why do the items that people are reading in the coffee shop stand out? This is because all of the reading material is similar. Information based (newspaper, news week magazines).

Some of the things that occurred in the coffee shop may seem odd to someone who has never been in this type of atmosphere. For example the name of the drinks (latte, kulas, java). When you hear a person saying these things it is because they are used to this type of place, they know the language and can use it to order something to eat or drink.  I can tell they have ordered before because they seem confident when they order with no anticipation.

Chapter 6 in the book tells why drawing is an important ability of young writers in order to provide information. This applies to our coffee shop dig as we drew the map of the coffee shop. With this map we were able to show a lot of details about the shop without writing a word.  Drawing this map helped me recognize why the shop was arranged this way. For example, the sitting area was located away from the actual ordering spot. This is most likely to make sure the sitting area remain quiet and it not interrupted with the sounds of drinks being prepared.  The colors and arrangement of the room is relaxing and because most people were reading (also a relaxing activity) it draws people to come here. From my experience with coffee shops I know that is it a quiet place to relax or work on something, which is what most people were doing and what it seemed to be set up for.

Writing Made Fun

In Shelbie Witte’s article, “that’s online writing not boring school writing”: Writing with blogs and the talkback project, she talked about how online writing is something that can help increase students desire to write. While in a parent teacher conference with a student who had no aspiration to write in the classroom, she found that the student was actively involved in writing online each evening. The student responded by saying that online writing was fun and classroom writing was boring.


The teacher started a project called the talkback project where she found that students were much more engaged. I think that the project this teacher created was a good idea and presented many benefits for the classroom. For example one teacher who implemented blogs into the classroom found that students were, “hungry for writing on their classroom blog”. Something that is rarely found in typical pencil paper responses. Also students today come from a digital way of life and will need little to no instruction or education on how to use digital tools such as blogs. Also, this gives students the opportunity to look for information and ideas from people outside the classroom since the internet extend to people all over the world.

As with all new assignments the teacher also ran into some problems during the talkback project. Since students use the internet for their own social purposes the blog somewhat turned into a place where students were posting things that were not related to class discussion. For this reason I think that when using this tool teachers need to make the instructions extra clear with rules about sticking to the assigned topics. The resources available in the classroom can also be a problem teachers can run into. Since not every school is blessed with a classroom set of computers, making arrangements so that each student has time to blog can become a problem. Also, if blogging is done from the home the issue of students having computers at home can become a problem.

After a while the teacher decided to refrain from the talkback project and go back to the old way of journaling in the classroom. She found that students were upset with this decision referring to the decision as “using leeches instead of nuclear medicine. Another student stated that “By taking away our access to the talkback project blog you have taken away my voice”. Since it was such a disappointment for the talkback project to be taken away from students, this is evidence that students are more engaged when using the blog. With my experience as a student I find that when I have an assignment I am excited to work on I put in more of an effort and more of an effort leads to more engagement in the materal. Overall these types of experiments can lead the classroom to a place where more learning occurs.