In order to find student blogs close to my level of teaching, I did research on various web tools that we were introduced to this week and I used Google. I came across the website “13 Examples Of Great Class Blogs” which is shown below.
On this website, I found an example of 1st grade blogging but the website was taken down so I had to keep looking. Some other early elementary blogs were password protected which is great for the students’ privacy but I was unable to see anything. Then, I came across the link for Amber Moore’s class blog. Her class earned the 2019 Student Blogging Challenge Award. I am sure that she is proud of this accomplishment! The blogs that I looked at were on the page titled “Fifth Grade Champion Learners.”
These can be found at: https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/
Upon reading the blogs, I noticed that the teacher must have assigned them an activity based on writing a short story with one hundred words that go along with a picture of a light house. All of the students used creative titles to name their short story and used many descriptive words along with dialogue. I like that you can only see the first name of the student so it protects their privacy.
On the bottom right of her page, you will see a “Blogroll” which lists all of the blogs related to hers, including other student blogs. On the “About Us” tab at the top, you can find out more about this 5th grade class based in Arizona. They have a class Instagram, as well. There were two students who wrote the “About Us” information. A few more students wrote about their favorite things based on various topics (like apps, food, books, hobbies, and etc.).
Post to your blog what impressed you about the project and what you discovered that you could use in your own classroom.
What impressed me about Mrs. Moore’s classroom blog and the 100 Word Challenge posts was that the students were able to have a wider audience but also still have their privacy protected. It is integral that we protect our students’ personal information and keep them safe online when using web technologies, such as blogging websites. What also impressed me was the quality of their short stories and their ability to navigate a blog at such a young age. Although, they have been exposed to more technology than I was at their age in 2005!
Even though I would be unable to have my students blog, I think that students in 1st or 2nd grade would be able to blog in a more simplistic way to match their writing development and technology skills. If I taught older students, my idea would be to have them hand-write a sentence or two as a rough draft then type it into a blog along with a picture. This picture is what they would based their writing off of, similarly to Mrs. Moore’s 5th graders. They could describe the picture in their sentence or come up with a sentence about what they think is happening in the picture.
You can view a particular student’s (Katelyn) post called “The Witches Tower” at: https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/2021/05/29/the-witches-tower/
My comment on her post is below:
Hi, Katelyn and Mrs. Moore!
I am a Kindergarten Learning Support Teacher in Pennsylvania. I am researching about student blog examples for elementary school students for one of my college classes. I am working towards earning a Master’s Degree in Online Teaching & Instruction. I have really enjoyed reading all of the 100 Word Challenge posts that you and your class made. You did an excellent job with building suspense, using dialogue, and using a variety of words to convey your short story idea. You definitely should write more and continue your story! Keep writing and working hard! Have a wonderful summer!
From, Ms. D.
Hello Ms. D!
This is fantastic! I’m not sure if you are familiar with the 100 word challenge website, but it is an actual weekly global challenge! https://100wc.net Students that are selected are put on the ‘100 WC showcase.’ This was a big honor to be selected this year, and several of my students made the list.
Good luck with your degree!
Amber Moore
I just learned about the 100 Word Challenge recently (after seeing your blog)! That is so incredibly exciting that your students made it onto the website! I am certain that you are proud of them! Thank you so much! 🙂
Love this idea! I think the title part is super important too! I have my students always title their work, no matter how small it is. I think it allows them to show off their creativity and also gives ownership and control of their work. I also agree about the protection component, especially when working with younger students. Way to go to Ms. Moore’s class and to you for finding this great blog!
Yes, titles are so important! I am sure you have seen some awesome, creative titles from your students! I totally feel the same way about protecting their privacy. All of the data leaks and hacking going on make me nervous!
This is a neat idea! I like your addition as well and I think it would be great for the students to do this not just several times throughout the year but every year after that too. I can imagine a student starting this in 1st grade then by the time they are in high school they would be able to see their progress throughout the years. They could see how their story telling has improved to the type of words they used as they grew up. I’m a math person but I think this would have had me hooked from the start! Great post!
-Chris
Yes, you are so right! I am sure kids that are young now will be able to see all of their digital footprints from activities over the years and see how much they improved. I know I like seeing the things I did as a Kindergartener that my mom saved. I have brought some things in to show my students!