I'm SO excited to announce that I am starting a Blogging Writing Club at my school for 4th and 5th grade students! My Principal came to me asking me if I was interested in starting some sort of writing club at our school. Of course I said I was interested, since I am the Literacy Consultant for the building. However, I knew that I didn't want to do just any ordinary club. I didn't want to do a school newspaper...I thought about a poetry club...maybe an extension off of the school website somehow? No, nothing seemed right. It wasn't until I sat down with our District's Technology Coach, Jim Treloar, that we came up with the idea of creating a club where students would be able to make their own blog!
What would they blog about? ANYTHING is the answer. We are constantly asking students to write for us...but, how much experience have they had sharing their thoughts on an on-line blog? I bet none! Do they even know what a blog is? I want my students to make their blog about what interests them. A place for them to share their thoughts...maybe like an on-line writer's notebook? Now, that would be cool. I can't wait to discover what THEY want to write about and share with the world. My plan is to share with them my blog and what I write about: literacy of course! I'm sure they will figure that out before I even show it to them.
When we first thought of this idea, Jim asked me, "How many students are you thinking?" I laughed at him and said, "I don't think that many will show, maybe 10? I mean they have to write. You think they really will want to come and write for me? For an hour in the morning, before school?" Boy, was I blown away by the response that we received back from our students. In our small school with only two sections of each grade level, we received 22 responses! TWENTY-TWO! That's a whole class worth! Wow! I just realized I have a blogging class. :) I wasn't expecting that!
Well, tomorrow is the first day full of introductions and getting them started. I can't wait to get these blogs off the ground and see what they come up with to write about.
Are you blogging in your class?
Wish us luck!
xo
