Blogging

I love blogging!  Granted, I am new at it and probably have not designed the best activities yet for my students.  I loved the information I got from the following article:  "HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking" by Lisa Zawilinski.  She states that on the Internet, writing is integrated with the reading comprehension process.  Blogging is a great way to practice online reading comprehension, as well as the skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  She said that the biggest advantage of blogs is that they provide an authentic audience for student writing.  Blogging can be pretty basic, but Zawilinski provided a framework for teachers to use to help focus on more higher order thinking.  This process consists of four steps: bolster the background, prime the pump, continue the conversation, and make multiplicity exist.  Teachers start by building background knowledge, provide initial activities, help students synthesize what has been shared, and allow students to post their many interpretations.  This allows them a chance to see and think about different perspectives (Zawilinski, 2009).  I also printed off two diagrams from this article that show teachers how to scaffold synthesis statements.  I love this article from the May 2009 edition of The Reading Teacher.  

Check it out:  "HOT Blogging:  A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking."