Got Blogging?

Lisa Bowen

EDT5410

Sharon Peterson

August 12, 2011

Final Synthesis Project

Writer’s Workshop Blog & Anthology

Targeted Audience: This project is designed for Language Arts students ranging from 5^th to 8^th grade.

Context: This project is designed as a year long at home extension of writing taught in the classroom.  It requires the use of Google Blogger and GoogleDocs.

Learning Objectives:  Students will learn how to identify literary genres, analyze and respond to profession writing, write several writing pieces of their own, and publish a writing piece they feel proud of. 

Detailed Description of Lesson/Intervention: Students will be required to create their own writing blog that is linked with the teacher’s blog list.  Each month in class a different literacy genre will be introduced and studied (autobiographies, persuasive writing, memoirs, expository, poetry x2, narrative, compare and contrast, and informational reports).  Each month students will be required to complete four assignments using the blog system.  It will be their responsibility to find a computer with Internet access to use each week. They may use a personal/family computer, a public library computer, or a school computer if they set up a time with the teacher before or after school.  Time will not be provided to work on these assignments during class time.  The four blogging assignments for each month are as follows:

Week One:  Find and post a short example of this month’s genre being sure to cite the author and source.

Week Two:  Respond to two examples posted by the teacher or one of your classmates.

Week Three: Write and post your own example of this month’s genre.

Week Four:  Read and respond to two classmates writing.

At the end of the year, students will learn about publishing and create a Writing Anthology.  Students will be required to choose their favorite piece of their own writing, revise it, and add it to the Writing Anthology File using GoogleDocs.  Standard font size and style will be enforced to establish coherency. The teacher will then print the final document as the class/team’s Writing Anthology for the school year. 

Artifact:  I have posted artifacts on my blog (http://mrsbowen.blogspot.com/) as an example of a month of learning about memoirs.  I have also created an artifact of a Writing Anthology in progress. (emailed to instructor as a collaborator) 

Justification:  This blogging project transforms Writing Education because it allows space for more collaboration when sharing professional examples and personal writing, and it requires no extra classroom time.  When students write in their own paper journals the teacher sees their writing and perhaps one or two other students.  However, with online blogging, students are able to see and read everyone’s writing (including that of students is different classes).  Because students are sharing their ideas with the entire class/team, they are encouraged to find and create better writing and because the writing takes place at home, they have time to make sure it is done well.  It would take the majority of class to provide time to find professional examples, respond to examples, have students create their own writing, and respond to each others’ writing.  Often teachers run out of class time and students are rushed and never finish.  Whereas blogging provides time at home for students to work at their own pace, and the teacher only needs to introduce and highlight key elements of writing with plenty of time to also focus on reading. 

The GoogleDocs portion of this project is also transformative because it saves the teacher time and makes creating a Writing Anthology more feasible.  In the past, when I have created writing anthologies, the students submitted somewhat legible paper copies that I was then required to hand type and format into a document.  It took hours to decipher students’ writing, type their work, and format the document.  This gave me little incentive to continue with the project in upcoming years.  GoogleDocs allows students to type and format their own writing.  It takes the responsibility off from the teacher and places it on the students.  It also allows students to take more ownership of their work.