New Resources 

• Integrating Web 2.0 Tools into the Classroom: Changing the Culture of Learning - specific blogging strategies - http://cct.edc.org/report.asp?id=271
• Individual student blogs - not successful when public - best when it is student to teacher private - these were private journals, not necessary for other students to read the work
• Classroom blogs -  Prompts posted by teacher, student comments.  Can be used to for prior knowledge as an introduction to the topic, generate interest in the topic, debates, and student peer feedback on writing, art, etc.
• Audience -  "just the class, the school and parents, or broader Internet"
• Behavior - "Offline and online communities need to be supportive and encourage students to share ideas, take intellectual risks, and receive critical yet respectful feedback." 
• http://philly-teacher.blogspot.com/2010/11/taking-look-at-schoology.html
• Instructors Role in Online Discussions - http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=opinion&article=160-1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+akiptagooglereader+%28Allison%27s+Google+Reader%29
• Three Purposes for Classroom Blogs - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/07/three-purposes-for-classroom-blogs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29 

Why is Blogging a good tool for education?

• authentic audience - the world. 
• allows for "writing partnerships" either locally or globally with peers, authors, etc
• because of the above students are more motivated to write
• expressing of views
• dialogue and a conversation

Blogging Etiquette

• Good rule of thumb - if you wouldn't say it to someone's face don't say it in a post or comment.
• The Core Rules of Netiquette http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
• Blog Etiquettehttp://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1204.asp
• How to disagree - http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html

Guides to Blogging in Education

• Classroom Blogging Wiki - http://classroomblogging.wikispaces.com/
• Virtual Training Center - Blogs in the Classroom http://www.lane.k12.or.us/insttech/vtc/blog.html
• Using Blogs to Promote Authentic Learning in the Classroom - http://web20intheclassroom.blogspot.com/2008/01/blogging-in-classroom-why-how-and-lots.html

Dialogue Journal Statement Starters

I began to think of...

I was surprised...

I wonder why...

I was sad...

This story reminds me of...

I never thought that...

I thought...

I really can't understand...

I think the author...

I know the feeling...

What if...

I can't believe...

I love the way...

My favorite character...

The beginning...

Remember to always support your statement with your reasons why!

50 Ideas for using writing with literature

1. Journal/Diary entries of a character.
2. Job application.
3. Rewrite - The lead, a chapter, the ending.
4. Create a new character and add a chapter showing how she or he changed the story.
5. Cookbooks or recipes.
6. Write a letter to/from a character.
7. Write the eulogy of a character.
8. Write to the author.  Tell him what you liked/didn't like or would change.
9. Create a game which includes scenes/events/characters from the story.  Include directions.
10. Transform a novel into a picture book for a younger audience.  Include important characters and events.
11. Write the biography of a main character.
12. Write the last will and testament of a character.
13. Recreate a chapter as a cartoon with captions.
14.  Write an interview with a character.
15. Change a novel into a play script.
16. Write an epitaph or a eulogy for a character.
17. Write a chapter in the future life of a character.
18. Create a grocery list a character might make.
19. Write a newspaper article or television news story about an event or a character.
20. Write guess who/what descriptions.
21. Create a Jeopardy or trivia game about a novel.
22. If a character were elected to a public office what would her inaugural speech say.
23. Write a rap or the lyrics of song about the book or a character.
24. Compare and contrast the book and movie.
25. Create a math story problem using a stories events and characters.
26. Write a marriage proposal from one character to another.
27. Write a menu of what a character might eat on an average day or a special event (i.e. birthday).
28. Write a motto that each character might have.
29. Rewrite the story from another characters point of view.
30. Write poetry reflecting the characters or events from a story.
31. Create a time capsule and letter for the book or a character.
32. Create a slide show and write the script of the story.
33. Write the resume of a character.
34. Write a debate based on an issue presented in, or, as a result of the book.
35. Write a Biopoem of a character.
36. Write an invitation to a party that a character might have.
37. Write a letter of complaint from a character.
38. Make a list of ten reasons someone else would like a particular book.
39. Make a WANTED poster of a character.
40. Write a Diamante about a novel or a character.
41. Write a Limerick about a character.
42. Borrow a memorable line from the book as a start to your own piece.
43. Borrow some characters from a novel to write your own piece.
44. Write a fairy tale, novel, or any well known piece in a different setting, time periiod, or from a different characters view point.
45. Make a list of twenty different ways an author describes the way a character speaks.  Try these variations in your own piece.
46. Draw a map and write the directions to a character's house.
47. Rewrite a part of the story and introduce a well known character from another story.
48. Write the birth announcement of a character.
49. Write the "lost chapters" of a novel that the author chose not to include.
50. Write a travel brochure luring people to visit a scene or specific places in a book.