Here are some links that I would love to share with you this week:
1. The New York Times Learning Blog – This is not an article but a resource that can be used with students in the classroom to help facilitate some conversations and get them thinking critically about the world around them. I have seen many teachers use this in a way to have students learn to write thoughtful comments or else for ideas to write in their own personal blogs. If you look on the right of the site, you will see “Lesson Plans by Category” and you can have the students explore subject areas such as math, although these categories are easily cross-curricular. Although this is a great resource, it is most likely for those in grade 7 and above (the suggestion is for 13 years and older). If you are exploring blogging with those ages, this is a great resource for students that may be stuck with a topic and can help the writing process along.
2. Global Learning the Primary Way – I have had the privilege of visiting Kathy Cassidy’s classroom last year and it was absolutely amazing watching her students use technology to connect with one another and share their learning. While many would believe that grade 1 students were too young to have the ability to do this, Kathy has shown that by working with them and guiding them, their skills will improve exponentially in a short time. While many are working with students to just “login” at that age, Kathy has them blogging and using Google Apps. This is due in part to both her willingness to work with them and having access to the technology (Kathy had brought in her own computer as an extra for students as well as any other technology she could get her hands on).
Kathy is giving her students real opportunities and using the technology for them to actually have an understanding of the world outside of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where the students reside:
“Just like their older counterparts, primary children love to connect with people from places around the world. Connections bring new perspectives, ideas, and learning in a way nothing else can. I could simply tell them that children everywhere on Earth play games and go to school just as they do, but when they are actually able to link with a class in Colorado or in New Zealand and ask questions themselves, the learning experience is much more powerful and lasting.”
Kathy’s ability to tap into her own Personal Learning Network showed the willingness of teachers around the world to work with students and help them make some amazing connections:
Our classroom blog is often the first way that we connect with people outside of our school. This year, each child posted an article in their individual blog space during the first week of school. To show them the connections that their blog could bring them, I invited people in my Twitter network to comment on one of the student’s blogs and mention their location. In my tweet, I included the hashtag#comments4kids.
You should definitely read the rest of the post to see some of the amazing things Kathy does with her students using her network. It definitely takes patience but Kathy shows it is possible.
3. Exploring Blogs During Silent Reading – Bill Ferriter is one of my favourite bloggers as he talks about school leadership while also sharing some great ideas that he is testing out in his classroom. He is a true instructional leader. In this post, Bill openly discusses the ideas of having students reading blog posts during silent reading time, while also commenting on other’s ideas as well:
The only rule that I’ll set is that if a student is reading online, he’s got to leave at least one comment on content that he’s reading. The way I see it, I want to encourage kids to interact—both with the ideas and individuals that they’re exploring.
That’s the real beauty of blogs after all: It’s not just reading. It’s reading together. It’s pushing back. It’s challenging and being challenged all at once.
Not only does he share the idea, but he also shares some of the blogs and content that he shares with students using a NetVibes account. This may be something that is rotated with kids if you do not have access to a significant amount of technology, but this is a great way to work with kids to also understand how to positively contribute and/or challenge some blogs. This is not something that students need to be doing everyday as there is definite value in the practice of silent reading offline, but this interaction is also another way of promoting literacy.
I am continuously amazed by the content that is shared every week by teachers around the world to help make our classrooms better. Hopefully there is something in these posts that will help you students 🙂
