The Blog Assignment Handout

Mayfair High School
Senior Expository Reading and Writing Course
Second Semester Blog
http://erwcclassof2009.blogspot.com/
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There are 3 Objectives:
• To create a community “book club” where we, as a class, can discuss the books we’ve read during SSR; to create a forum where we may share and recommend books to one another
• To discuss ideas and insights gleaned through our common reading of Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
• To explore new electronic resources (Blogs/Website of the Week) to support lifelong learning of the 21st century; to deepen and expand digital literacy

Standards:
• English Language Arts Standards for Reading & Writing
• Technology Standard
o Creativity and Innovation
• Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
o Communication and Collaboration
• Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
o Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
o Research and Information Fluency
• Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
o Digital Citizenship
• Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
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Instructions:
• You must send an email to me at afletcher@busd.k12.ca.us
• I will send you a link; once you create a Google account (it’s free) and access the link, you are a member of the blogging community and you will be able to write and publish posts, and respond to your classmates.

SSR Blog Requirement:
• All students will post a book review for 3rd quarter, and a book review for 4th quarter; these reviews are of the books you read during our weekly SSR sessions
• Book reviews are no less than 500 words in length, and include title, author, genre, page count; a brief summary of the book (without plot spoilers), and your reaction and thoughts about the book
• To encourage discussion among students, all bloggers will comment on the posts of others three times per quarter
• All students should keep track of the date of their posts, and the titles of the posts they write or comment on

Unit Requirement (ie. Into the Wild):
• At least once per unit (Into the Wild/Childhood Love Lessons/Etc.), students will post a response to the unit to extend or generate class discussion; responses to one another are strongly encouraged.

Website of the Week/Blogs:
• Once a month, beginning in March, students will access a link to a website or blog recommended by Fletcher, and explore the site, and post a brief description of the site and an evaluation of the website’s usefulness.
• If a student has already posted about the website you visited, you may comment rather than write a new post (although you may, if you wish); however, your comment should be substantial and add new information not already provided by the other blogger

Assessment:
• Students will be assessed for the following:
o Participation — completion of all requirements (keep track!)
o Quality of writing – your voice may be more informal and conversational on a blog than in an essay, but the writing itself should be lively, engaged, authentic, and relatively free from error
o Quality of response to one another – in conjunction with the technology standard on Digital Citizenship, students must treat each other professionally and with respect; the blog is an extension of the classroom, and we work with a higher communication standard than if we were on MySpace or Facebook

These are the categories that will be in my gradebook:
SSR Blog Post 3Q
Comment on SSR Blog Posts 3Q
Into the Wild Blog Post
Into the Wild Blog Commentary
Website/Blog (March)
SSR Blog Post 4Q
Comment on SSR Blog Post 4Q
New Unit Blog Post
Website/Blog (April)

I reserve the right to add assignments and information as necessary; however, this should be enough information to get you started (if you haven’t already). We’ll cover questions in class!