I have to admit that once I created this blog, I kept coming back to it to see if it had any "activity". Since I was so curious to see, the first thing that popped in my head, was how my students would react. I teach third grade math and science. My third graders are becoming more and more curious of technology, and they love to explore new tools that I show them.
After really thinking about my students, and the content that I teach, I came up with two ways that I may implement a blog into my classroom. First, I would use it as a communication tool for home and school. The math curriculum that I teach is called Everyday Mathematics. It teaches the concepts in a new and different way, especially from how most of my students' parents were taught how to do math. I would use the blog to put the math lessons and concepts in terms that parents could understand so they could help their child at home more effectively. I could also inlcude assessment questions that could be reviewed to better prepare students for upcoming assessments. It would also be a vital tool to keep parents up to date on any events that are taking place in the classroom and the school.
The second way I wanted to implement the blog in my classroom is to showcase student work. When we do science experiments or math projects, I thought about scanning in any exemplary work to showcase to others. I would make sure parents and other teachers were aware so they could comment on any students work that is on the blog. I feel that this would be a great way to motivate students to do their best on everything. Students love to have their work on display in the hallways, and this way their work could be shown to more people and actually receive written comments.
I feel that both ways will improve the lesson that is occurring in the classroom. The first way would allow for parents to help students more effectively, therefore they would better grasp the concept I am teaching. By showcasing student work would cause students to be more attentive in class and also motivate them to give their work 100% because their project could be chosen for the blog.
I have many ideas running through my head about implementing a blog in the classroom. These are just two that I felt suited my classroom and my content area the best. If you have another idea that might work, I would love to hear it!
Happy blogging until next time!
~Sam R.
Samantha,
ReplyDeleteBeing in first grade, I had some similar ideas in the utilization of my blog. However, I like your idea of showing exemplary work to give other students an idea of what the expectation is. So often in the grade I teach, parents have the mindset that whatever their child makes in class is "wonderful." In this fashion, the blog could be used as a rubric demonstrating the teacher's expectations. Not that every child's work has to look identical, but the requirements for the assignment could be shown and how the student met that requirement. Thanks for the idea! Matt
I love your idea of using the blog to communicate with parents. Do you teach in a technology rich school district? I know my parents would not all have access to the internet. Showcasing student work would be a great way of motivating achievements. I plan to use a blog for student discussions after reading short stories or novels. Would you be able to incorporate this idea?
ReplyDelete-Joanie
Hey Matt and Joanie!
ReplyDeleteGlad ya'll were able to post comments!
Matt- My students lack motivation at times, and I feel that having an outside source to publish their work will push them a little bit harder! I hope it works for you as well!
Joanie- Access to computers would be tricky for some parents, so requiring them to respond on the blog would not be suitable. I would just ask them if they have internet access to please participate in our classroom blog. As for the short story discussion, I believe it would be a great way to involve students in the blog. However, I teach math and science so I would share the idea with my "team teacher" and maybe we could create a blog for our classes together. Thanks for the idea!
Again, thank you both for the comments! =)
-Sam R.
Great job, I really like how you are going to keep your parents informed of what Everyday Math is trying to teach their children. My district also uses Everyday Math and it has been very unpopular with the parents. Your use of a blog would definitely have helped
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