Writing and Blogging Across the Curriculum By Tom Thompson (Lowcountry Writing Project) and Amy Hudock (Pinewood Preparatory School)

What is a blog?

The word “blog” is short for “web log” Began being used by the innovators of

the internet to track their movements on the web.

Taken up as a diary form for personal publication

Blogging programs made for first easy and direct web publication

Now blogging going respectable

Blogs Taking Over

You can now find blogs replacing columns at

The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/ref/topnews/blog-index.html

The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/columnsandblogs/

Why are blogs so popular with readers?

Readers enter into a joint publication project with the author

Readers become “authors” themselves

Readers feel that they get their say –immediately

Readers interact with other readers

Why are blogs so popular with authors/bloggers? Ease of publication Immediate publication Reach wide audience Immediate feedback

from readers Interaction with

readers Feeling “heard” Informal format A genre still

developing

What is Writing Across the

Curriculum?

Writing . . .

. . . to make connections,

. . . to make sense of facts,

. . . in short, to learn.

Students need a chance to assimilate information, make connections, and face whatever may still confuse them. This kind of writing is a way into or a means of learning, a way into understanding through articulating.S. Sorenson. “Encouraging Writing Achievement: Writing Across the Curriculum.” (1991)

Writing requires knowledge and focuses thought. In order to write, students must have something to say. Students do not merely express knowledge by writing, they also discover knowledge. Writing is an inherently integrative process, combining the total intellectual capacities of the writer.C.F. Risinger. “Improving Writing Skills Through Social Studies.” (1987)

One way to use WAC . . .

Give students the facts andlet them work with those facts.

For example,let them write a poem.

(Samples borrowed from Christy Wegmann, Lowcountry Writing Project.)

Each digit in date = number of words/line

Date Poem:

1

3

4

8

1

3

5

1

Fleas.

Unknown filthy culprits

decimating the European population.

Bodies ringed and rosy before the inevitable decay.

Everywhere

false cures spread.

Priests preached plague as punishment.

Death.Black Death: 1348 - 1351

“I AM” Poem:

I am the Church

I see my wealth throughout Europe

I feel powerful and sometimes a bit corrupt

I stand at the center of everyone’s life

I control the king, the knights, the nobles, the nobodies

I help the poor after myself

I hope the Holy Land will be regained

I’ll never stop collecting my tithes

I’ll be remembered with buildings, sculptures, windows, pain

I am the Church

Each line begins with “I” plus a verb

Two characters, one topic, some shared lines

Poem for Two Voices:

Knight Castle Chef

So many depend on me. So many depend on me.

I protect the lord, the castle,even the peasants.

I cook for the lord, his family,never the peasants.

I represent my lordin jousting tournaments

Of course, I always win.I provide food for my lord

and his huge feasts.Of course, no one ever

complains.

I serve my lord. I serve my lord.When called upon,

I’ll serve my king.When the king visits,

I’ll serve my blackbird pie.

(Knight) (Castle Chef)

I’m brave, pious, chivalrous.I’m tasteful, organized,

efficient.I don my armor with pride. I don my apron with pride.With my horse, battle ax, and sword

I face the enemies.With my mutton, suckling pig

and pudding I please the

crowds.

My lord couldn’t survive without My lord couldn’t survive without

ME! ME!

Blog Enhanced Writing Process

Prewriting  Drafting Initial Peer Response:

fact-to-face peer editing Peer Editing on Blogs Teacher Comments on

Blogs Revise and Bring New

Hardcopy Draft for Face-to-Face Peer editing

Turn in Paper (post and/or print)

What Students Say about Peer Editing on the Blogs Allows them to read the work of all their

classmates They can judge their own paper against

others They can get ideas about what to do and

not what to do They learn to set up standards and judge

against them They get good feedback from classmates They learn to write better by editing

others

What Students Say about Blogs in General After last years’ test case project, 100%

of students said “DO THIS AGAIN!” This year, with a larger groups, again,

100% say “I WANT TO KEEP MY BLOG!” 100% of students said the blogs helped

improve their writing through the peer editing process.

100% said they wrote better because they knew others would be reading their writing.

Let’s try WAC in the biology classroom…

Describe, in first person (“I”), “A Day in the Life” of a . . .

•Mitochondrion

•Nucleus

•Vacuole

•Golgi body

Earth Science.

You’re studying the planets . . .

1. You are a travel agent. Design a brochure to attract vacation travelers to the planet of your choice.

2. You are a rap star. Write and perform a rap song praising the attributes of your assigned planet.

3. You are a novelist. Write a chapter from a novel set on a planet other than Earth. Account for the characteristics of the planet.

4. You are a trading card designer. Design a card for each planet: picture on the front, stats on the back.

How can we use blogs for educational purposes?

Engage students in a writing community

Create on-line student writing portfolios

Track student writing across disciplines

Foster writing across the curriculum

Assess writing program progress

Teach internet safety and appropriateness

Class blogs

Allow the teacher to: communicate with the students encourage students to communicate back to

the teacher and with each other. post questions or writing prompts for

comments and discussion, provide a list of homework assignments, and post a list of students’ individual blogs.

Example: http://blogosphere.pinewoodprep.com/blogs/honorsenglish10thgrade/

Homework or In-Class Writing Post

The teacher posts a question or writing prompt onto the blog, to which the students respond by leaving a comment.

For example: http://

blogosphere.pinewoodprep.com/blogs/honorsenglish10thgrade/inclass_writing/

On-Line Portfolios follow students through their academic careers eliminate the need for paper portfolios. can’t be lost and don’t have to be stored can be accessed from any computer can be viewed by students, parents, and

administrators can be used to track a students progress

across time and different disciplines Example:http://

blogosphere.pinewoodprep.com/blogs/honorsenglish10thgrade/

Research Blog

Students find sources on their topic. Students post the link and an

evaluation of the usefulness and authority of the site onto their blog.

Students keep a record of what they might want to use from that source.

Students then can produce the final paper, report, or other product, and enter into the blog enhanced writing process.

Let’s get out of the box one more time . . .

It’s English class. You want students to understand the various characters (and their actions) in a story.

1. Write a letter of recommendation for Character X, who is applying for Job Y.

2. Write a letter (or IM or email) to someone who missed class, explaining a key idea discussed that day.

Should you try blogging? Blogging can

enhance what you already do

It engages students Grading on-line

homework and assignments is easy

Can foster a writing community across your campus

Can be fun!

HappyBlogging

Across the Curriculum!