Here's what I'm setting up for my students:

Please check out the blog that I'm thinking about sharing with my students. Ideas, opinion, etc are much appreciated! Thanks!

http://englishwithgerdes.blogspot.com/

How to bring this into the classroom...hmm?

I've thought about setting up a blog spot for my students many times. I've toyed with the idea of creating a space for them to discuss our poetry, mythology, and class novel units. I really like the idea of having a place for my students to publish their work. They always work harder and with more effort when they know it's not just for my eyes.

I think that the first blog my students would write would be answering and then responding to a simple journal-type question. Most of my students are familiar with the social networking spaces like myspace.com and facebook.com, but blogging (for our benefit) would be more educational. We'd start slowly at first to get the hang of the layout and format required, but I would eventually want our blog to showcase their work.

Blogging would be most beneficial in sharing ideas between all seventh English grade students and classes and possibly from other seventh graders within the district. Students would build some amazing verbal skills as they practiced their grammar via the web and real life situations. They will be using these learned skills for life!

Any helpful tips from those who have also had the pleasure of beginning a blog with their own students? Have you found anything that has really worked?

Here are a few blogs I've been reading. Check them out. Let me know what you think.

http://leekraus.blogspot.com/

http://leekraus.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-learning-tool-siftables.html

I posted a comment about siftables. I don't think it's been approved yet. However, make sure you watch the video. How amazing would it be to have siftables in your classroom?

http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

Take care, all!