book blogs - interactive online journals for literature circles

Book BlogsInteractive Online Journals for Lit. Circles

Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/book-club-blogsHandouts: http://tinyurl.com/book-club-handouts

Matt HardyGrade 5 Teacher

Eden Prairie Schoolsmatth@edenpr.org

My Background

• B.A., Computer Science, U of MN, Morris• Web Development• M. Ed., U of MN, Twin Cities• 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade in Eden Prairie, 8 years

Goals for This Session How To:

• Implement student-centered, technology-driven small-group/whole-group book clubs

• Use blogs to maximize student responses and discussion around texts

• Motivate your students using an authentic publishing context

• Use technology in a transformative way

This Session is Not About:

• Setting up a classroom webpage/teacher blog

– Blogger– Wordpress– Moodle– Custom district solution

• Full rationale for the benefits of social media

Our Class Website

Book Clubs/Literature Circles

• Facilitate students’ in-depth exploration of a novel

• Small group environment

• Everyone has a voice and ideas can be freely discussed

• Can be scaffolded by adult group leader

• 4 - 6 Students per Group• Each member has their own “Job” for

the week– Question Captain– Connection Maker– Excerpt Expert – Character Analyzer– Image Illustrator

Book Clubs/Literature Circles

Student Blogs as a Literature Response Log and Discussion Tool

• Read• Write• Discuss

• Access from anywhere (no forgotten/lost assignments)

• Monitor progress during the week

• Maintain a record of work throughout year

• Highly motivating and authentic

• Practice/apply keyboarding skills

• Incorporate different media (images, videos, links)

Benefits of Blogs Over Traditional Paper Journals

vs.

Benefits of Blogs Over Traditional Paper Journals• Asynchronous discussions • Discussion Priming

(facilitate conversation during meeting time)• Join discussion remotely when a student is

absent• Ownership• Accountability

vs.

Student Blogging Platforms

• kidblog.org• edmodo.com

• 21classes.com

• edublogs.org

• gaggle.net

Model on Teacher Blog

Title

Summary

Job-of-the-Week

Example Blog Discussions

• Hannah (Image Illustrator)• Adi (Question Captain)• Anna (Excerpt Expert)• Sylvia (Connection Maker)• Mack(Character Analyzer)

Question Captain

• Write down 4-5 good questions that you think your group would want to talk about. Questions should be thought-provoking and open-ended (no simple, one-word answers).

• Try these starters:– Why do you think…?– What will happen…?– If…?– Who…?– How…? – Compare…?

Connection Maker

• Proficient readers make connections to the text as they read. Three main types of connections are – text-to-self– text-to-text– text-to-world

• In your post, write about 3 connections you made to the book. The connections can be about how the book reminds you of yourself or an event in your life (text-to-self), how the book reminds you of another book you’ve read (text-to-text), or how the book reminds you of something happening in the world today or in the past (text-to-world).

Excerpt Expert

• Choose one or two important passages (1-3 sentences each) from the story. Copy them down in your blog.

• These passages should help your group remember some interesting, powerful, puzzling, or important sections of the text. Justify your reasons for selecting these passages.

• Some reasons for choosing passages to share might include: *Key events *Descriptive *Surprising *Scary *Funny *Controversial *Confusing

Character Analyzer

• Select 3 adjectives that describe the traits of some of the characters from the novel, and support your selection with examples taken from your reading assignment. Each time you write down an idea, be sure to include:

• - Character’s name- Trait (Adjective)- Specific Example of Behavior/Action

(with the page number where it happens in the book)• Possible Character Adjectives: adventurous, artistic, athletic, active, beautiful, belligerent,

brave, bold, bossy, cheerful, curious, creative, courageous, considerate, daring, impulsive, dainty, dangerous, exciting, entertaining, energetic, funny, friendly, fun-loving, gentle, generous, happy, humble, hostile, honest, iconoclastic, intelligent, independent, inventive, a leader, lazy, loyal, loud, messy, mischievous, mean, melancholy, mellow, neat, nasty, nice, nosy, open, poor, proud, pretty, prudent, quiet, rich, respectful, sad, silly, sloppy, serious, successful, shy, short, smart, studious, selfish, simple, tall, trustworthy, thoughtful, unselfish, warm, witty, wild (or think of your own!)

Image Illustrator

• Create a graphical blog post! Do a Google image search for pictures that relate to events or characters in the novel. (Remember to use “Strict Safe Search.”)

• Copy and paste these images in your blog. Be sure to cite your source!

• Write a brief caption under each image that explains how it relates to your reading. Your images may be about a character, the setting, a problem, an exciting part, a surprise, or anything else about the chapters for this week

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning http://www.co-operation.org/?page_id=65

• Positive Interdependence – “Sink or swim together”

• Promotive Interaction – Helping, supporting, encouraging, and applauding

each other's efforts to achieve

Cooperative Learning http://www.co-operation.org/?page_id=65

• Individual and Group Accountability – The group is accountable for achieving its goals – Each member accountable for contributing his or

her share of the work

• Group Processing – Group members discuss how well hey are

achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships.

Logistics• Choose books (interest, ability)

• Reading done by Tuesday

• Lab time (30-45 min) Tuesday afternoon: publish blog posts

• Clubs Meet Wednesday in lab (30 min): leave comments for each member

Job Rotation

Response Model: Single-Post, Single-Response

Comment

Response Model: Mulit-Post, Multi-Response

Comment

Comment

Comment

Blog Assignment Progression

• Build confidence, good habits1. Start with student comments on a teacher post2. Students publish their own, structured posts3. Student choice of topic, open-ended posts

Tips

• Emphasize comments(the engine of dynamic blogs)

• Look at posts/comments as a class– What did we do well?– Discuss ways to make better– Depth of thought, specificity, relevance

• Don’t stress over spelling

Assessment

• Digital portfolio• Growth over time• Timestamps• Writing standards, conventions, traits

Thank You!

Matt HardyGrade 5 Teacher

Eden Prairie Schoolsmatth@edenpr.org

Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/book-club-blogsHandouts: http://tinyurl.com/book-club-handouts