Such a good point! I wonder if it’s possible to find some blogs that focus on specific genres because that’s what the author likes to write? Or if the reason that they can contain many genres is because that’s naturally what writers like to do – try out different forms for different purposes. The whole ideas of self publishing as an avenue for writers is something new to Writer’s Workshop, I think, and especially instantaneous self-publishing like blogging. It does make me wonder how formal programs like WW can adapt to social media and new forms of communication…

I totally agree – somehow digital literacy seems totally separate from the rest of the workshop model. Our hope is that this type of unit will bring the two together in a way that teachers can easily implement in their classroom.

@John,

Thank you! We’re thinking that students will post some of their earlier ideas on their blog, as well as finished work. We feel that this reflects a true practice of blogging – sometimes you post unfinished thoughts in order to gain insight and expertise from your readers. Of course, any drafts that are to be posted will be those that students would like to seek feedback on, and are ready to be seen by a wider audience.

A reflective blog post could link back to those previous versions and reflect on how interacting with their audience helped refine and improve their own writing (and thinking). I had an especially powerful experience with this earlier this school year: Going Full Circle.

@Mark,

Thanks for your points – they are exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

There is nothing I hate more than professors assigning me “3 responses a week” and then grading me on quantity instead of quality – we need to make sure we’re not doing the same thing.

I also like the idea of different types of comments which serve different purposes. I usually tell students to stay away from the grammar check type comments because I want them to focus on the content, but just looking at your list makes me realize that all of those forms of feedback are valid, we just need to know when to use them.

Maybe your students would be interested in working with us next year?

@Carol,

I agree!

@Diane,

Yes, you are totally right, this is something we need to work on as well. This might have to become a project for me and Jeff. One thing that frustrates me about student blogging is that it doesn’t always meet my understanding of true blogging (I like Will’s definition in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom).

Thinking about that, we might actually be better off looking for adult blogging samples – because usually don’t students look at published books (which are usually written by adults?). Those blogs, of course, would have to be appropriate for our grade level and understandable by the students, but I think looking at true examples of blogging would be better than looking at mediocre examples of student blogging. What do you think?

@cnakazaki,

I agree! Yes, we are going to have students post drafts and get feedback (see my comment to John above). I’ve done the “never ending story” idea a few times with both blogs and wikis, that would be a nice addition to the unit.

One of the things I see happening in the Calkins units of study and in the units that some teachers have written themselves is that they usually begin with immersion in the genre that will be taught in the unit. During this immersion, they would begin to help students understand the elements of, for example, narrative writing.

Using what I’ve seen as a model, I know that I would need to begin to gather some good examples of student writing on blogs so we would be able to recognize the different ways that blogs are written. If you were going to provide your students with models as you enter this unit, can you think of any student blogs that would be used? I’m thinking that I’ll begin by looking through some of the blogs at Classblogmeister.

1) perhaps focus on quality, not just meeting the minimum

2) acknowledge / teach that there are different types of comments (content, grammar, spelling, ideas, encouragement, etc.) that all have different functions and value

Good luck – I’ll be following and keen to see the results.

Mark

I am thoroughly impressed with the idea of you being transparent and willing to share what you are working on with the students.

Using a Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop model combined with Unit by Design is certainly strong pedagogical approach, and by the sounds of it your consultant has a sense of the changing times of what it means to be literate as well.

I have already bookmarked your Google Doc on this and look forward to any changes as you progress through this project. After reading it through you had me wondering about one of your bullet points under your mini-lessons:

“Final reflective blog post linking back to prior drafts.”

Will students be posting “rough drafts” on their blogs? Or is the final reflective blog post a result of the comments made to the finished work that the student posted?

Thanks for all that you do!

John