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discussionCollaboration & Communication:
Blogging to E-Newsletters

The following activities explore ways to create collaborations and communications in your classroom.

Activity
1
 Speaking of JournalsJournaling
Read Speaking of Journals: Children's Book Writers Talk About Their Diaries, Notebooks and Sketchbooks by Paula W. Graham (Editor).
Falcon Cam
Fifth Grade Falcon Journal Project
Jean Craighead George Website - My Side of the Mountain
Will Hobbs - The Maze

Standards-based collaborative reading and writing projects
Kid Learn
 
Activity
2
 Explore Blogs and Discussions
Explore a few blogs:
Awesome Readers and Writers (Grade 2)
Molecules in Motion (Kindergarten)
Jack's Science Fair Project
M&M Magazine (Grade 6 with podcasting)
Geoblog (Schools in Poland and Scotland)
Student Trip to Krakow and Auschwitz
High School Blog
High School Book Reviews
Learn to Question from the Boston Latin School
Bloggers As
Teacher and Class Blog Links
Teaching Blogs
Ed Blog List and Directories for more blog exploration.
Mr. Wright's Third Grade

Explore Teaching and Learning and Blog Starters.
 
Activity
3
 Let's Blog!
Go to the School-Home Communications Blog developed for this workshop. Click on comments and describe your experiences with home-school communications.
Go to Blogger and start a blog for your school or classroom.

Learn more about at Blogs and Blogging from escrapbooking.

An alternative approach is the use of threaded discussions. Go to nicenet.org.
 
Activity
4
 Explore Online Student Newsletters and Magazines
Using the following websites as starting points, evaluate three school-home communications. Compare and contrast the three communications.

Teacher Tap: School Newsletters
Teacher Tap: Online School Magazines and Newspapers
• National Scholastic Press Contest Winners - 2005
• Paly Voice from Palo Alto High School
Teacher Tap: Cool Classroom and Teacher Pages
Teacher Tap: Cool School Websites
Teacher Tap: Cool School Library Websites
Teacher Tap: Cool Project and Center Pages
Learn more at Evaluating Communications
 
Activity
5
 Go to Teacher Generated Content and Student Generated Content. Create a list of topics and resources for students publications.
Learn more at Planning Communications.

Go to Babelfish Translation. Try it. Discuss discuss issues in language translation and the use of other languages in home communication.
 
Activity
6
 Explore the options for Interdisciplinary Newsletters. Download your favorite. Then, (1) repurpose the template for your setting, (2) create a sample document for your students, or (3) write directions for use of the template. Try ReadWriteThink Printing Press for simple newsletters.
 
Activity
7
 Go to Lessons and Activities that incorporate the production of newsletters as a student project. Select a lesson or WebQuest that you think might be useful. Using Microsoft Word, adapt the assignment to fit the needs of your classroom.

Go to Student Assessment. Examine rubrics for evaluating students newsletter projects. Learn more at Managing Communications.

Go to Resources and Tools. Explore resources for use in projects. Learn more at Producing Communications.
 
Activity
8
 Collaborations and Contests
Poetic Power
Teacher Tap: Contests, Fairs, and Publishing
- Scholastic Contests
Reading, Writing, and Online Collaborative Projects
 
| Experiences Home | Reading & Writing Home | REAL | Lit-Tech Connections | Collaboration & Communication |
Created by Annette Lamb, 6/05. Updated 7/05.