For the class assignment, I chose to review edublogs. Specifically, I viewed an edublog pertaining to the novel The Secret Life of Bees. On the edublog, students posted discussions on themes and symbols found in the reading. The entries are divided by chapters and it appears that students are divided into teams. One team is responsible for posting entries related to themes and another team posts graphics or visual art to accompany the reading. I like that students had assigned roles to perform on the class blog. The coolest part of the blog was the section where students posted questions for Sue Monk Kidd, the author of the book. On the blog, Sue Monk Kidd answered the students' questions!
Last year during my student teaching experience, I was able to work on a curriculum team that integrated blogging into a culminating assignment for the memoir The Color of Water. By completing the activity, students were able to compose blog entries from the perspective of the protagonist. The assignment called for students to apply various components of the novel to demonstrate their understanding of the text. English teachers constantly look for creative ways to get students to think critically about the content for the class and blogging activities are a creative and practical format for students to interact with the text.
In my current setting, regular access to a computer will be pretty tough. I would love to include an edublog assignment in my class but need to find a way to cope with limited resources. Any suggestions?
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Sounds like the blogging unit was fun. I know students enjoy blogs, and it would be really interesting to actually chat with an author.
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds really neat! I would love to do something similar with my students, but as you said, it's pretty difficult to have everyday access to computers and the internet. But it would be something great for students to do on their own time at home.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of edublogs before this. They sound really interesting. I like how the author even responds to questions on the educational blog you looked at for Secret Life of Bees. I thought it would be cool since I teach first grade if I read a book to the class and then we utilized an edublog together. Great idea!
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