The document discusses the integration of blogging into the writing curriculum at Sycamore Elementary School to motivate students and enhance their writing skills. It outlines guidelines for student blogging, including privacy measures and commenting rules, while emphasizing the importance of audience engagement to boost student motivation. The author, Louise Morgan, shares her experiences and resources for effective classroom blogging since 2011.

1. Motivating Your Students to
Write Through Blogging!
Louise Morgan
Sycamore Elementary School
Fort Worth, Texas
@mrsmorgansclass
Link to this Google Presentation:
http://www.frugalteacher.com/2013/06/tcea-tots-and-technology-conference.html

2. HOW do I manage student
blogging?

3. www.kidblog.org

4. Setting it up...

5. How do I incorporate
blogging into my writing
curriculum?

6. Incorporate blogging into the daily
literacy block as a choice or center.

7. Teach writing the
traditional way.
The blog post is
the final
product.
Or....

8. Encourage students to draft, edit,
proofread, and publish
right on the blog!

9. Reading other posts and commenting

10. Blog Post Guidelines
Blog Post Guidelines:
● Students will only be identified by their first names.
● Posts written by students are checked by Mrs. Morgan before they are
published on the blog.
● Posts will not include personal details about students such as
addresses and family information.
● All comments submitted will be approved by Mrs. Morgan before they
are included on the blog.
● All students must have parental permission to post on the blog and to
have their photo published on the blog.
● Parents who leave comments are asked to use their first name only so
as not to identify their child (Please post comments as“Jimmy’s mom” or
“Megan’s grandfather”, etc.)
● Proof-read your comments carefully.
● All students must abide by the blogging rules that we have established
as a class.
Mrs. Watson’s 2/3 Class http:
//mrswatson.ca/our-blog-guidelines/

11. Commenting Guidelines
How to Write an Amazing Comment:
1. READ the blog post very carefully.
2. If you enjoyed the post, WRITE BACK!
3. Open or begin your comment with a GREETING.
4. Begin with a COMPLIMENT … something you enjoyed … be SPECIFIC!
5. SHARE other interesting facts or information, if you have any, as long as
no one else said it in another comment!
6. Make a CONNECTION … by asking a question to try to get a
CONVERSATION going!
7. Proofread for C.O.P.S. (Capitals, Organization, Punctuation and
Spelling).
8. Sign your FIRST name, or if you are a parent sign as “Jimmy’s mom” or
“Megan’s Grandpa”.
9. Hit POST … and check BACK for a RESPONSE!
Global 3rd Grade – Connecting and Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls
http://globalgrade3.cbegloballearning.ca/blogging-resources/

12. How do I find an audience
for my students' blogs?

13. Connecting with other Classrooms
#comments4kids

14. Why Classroom Blogging?
Students are motivated to do their best
because they know they have an audience that
includes other teachers, administrators, friends,
and parents.

15. Resources

16. Credits
Presentation Script (slide explanation)
The Frugal Teacher
www.frugalteacher.com
Classroom Blogging 101
Using Blogging with The Daily 5
Mrs. Morgan's Superstars - Edublog
http://mrsmorgansstars.edublogs.org/
Mrs. Morgan's Superstars - Kidblog
http://kidblog.org/MrsMorgansSuperstars2012-
13/

17. Slide explanations
Intro - Hello! My name is Louise Morgan. I am a second grade teacher in Fort Worth, Texas and
I have been using blogging in my classroom since August 2011. Bogging is both a motivator and
source of pride for students and teachers. Having a global audience read and comment on our
blogs challenges the students to do their very best.
Slide 1 - I spent a lot of time thinking about how I would incorporate blogging into my already
jammed-packed school day. I also wondered if all of the students would be able to get enough
time on the computers. I have 3 desktop computers in my classroom and we go to the
computer lab once a week. I wasn’t sure if this would this be enough for every student.
The same year, I also implemented The Daily 5 (a framework for the literacy block that fosters
independence). I realized that blogging would fit nicely with the “Work on Writing” component
and decided to dive on in!
After 2 sessions with the portable laptop carts and a few extra visits to the computer lab, my
students quickly learned how to navigate the blog.
Slide 2 - Now we were ready to incorporate blogging in to our Daily 5 rounds. During these
rounds (usually 2-3 per day) students choose which component to work on: Read to self, work
on writing, word work, listen to reading, or read with someone. Work on Writing includes
finding a comfy spot and journal writing OR posting one of their completed stories on the blog.

18. Slide explanations con't
Slide 3 - We always have an ongoing writing assignment where the students use the traditional
writing process: Pre-write, rough draft, revise and edit, proofread, and publish. They do all of
the steps in their journal, conference with me, and then they publish it on their blog. The
conference allows me to work on specific skills with them. The students work at their own pace
so there never seems to be an issue with a lot of kids waiting to get on the computer - it tends
to work itself out.
Slide 4 - Students are also encouraged to do the writing process right on the blog (just like we
would do). Sometimes when they come to school with something exciting or interesting to share
I encourage them to get it on the blog - taking time to write it down may squelch the
enthusiasm, but typing it on the blog allows for a bigger audience and more feedback.
Slide 5 - In addition to posting, work on writing also consists of reading other blogs and making
good comments. I have specific guidelines for posting and commenting. I moderate everything
so if something does not meet the requirement, I help the students edit it. This is a post that a
student did at home about putting Christmas lights on the house. The students were very
impressed with her colored font, so she became the expert and showed the students how to
change font colors.
Slide 6 - These are my posting guidelines that can be found on our class blog. The focus is on
internet safety and following procedures.
Slide 7 - Our commenting guidelines help the student say more than “nice job” or “that’s cool”.
We work very hard on leaving good comments.
Slide 8 - I have several links to other classroom blogs on our site. This allows students to visit
and read the work of their peers in other states or countries. The students visit, read, and
comment using our guidelines.

19. Slide explanations con't
Connecting with other teachers who blog can be done through Twitter, Skype in the
Classroom, Quadblogging, and many other places. One of the best places to find other
class bloggers is Twitter. By following the #comments4kids hashtag you can visit many
blogs and connect with the teachers. Use #comments4kids to get a global audience for
your blog too!
Slide 9 - Students are motivated to do their best because they know they have an
audience that includes other teachers, administrators, friends, and parents.
Blogging has definitely changed the way I teach and manage my classroom. Who would
believe that 7-8 year old students could learn to be so independent and engaged!
I hope that this information has been helpful. You can read more about my experiences
with blogging at www.frugalteacher.com and about our classroom fun at
mrsmorgansstars.edublogs.org.
Thank you!

20. www.frugalteacher.com
www.frugalteacher.com by Louise Morgan is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.