To Blog? Yes, Let’s Try It! (by Joan R.)

My special education students are often quite resistant to writing. As soon as I pull out a graphic organizer, I hear moans and groans. The students frequently perceive the organizers as having to do more work. They just want to be given the assignment and just get it done. Blogging may break this cycle. In The Write Motivation article, the information about writing to experts sounds appealing. I also liked the idea of having ePals. Since the students are so used to emails and blogging already, the ideas in this article should provide another means for their skill development.

Several more activities are described in the Scaffolding for Struggling Students article. My eighth grade team does a lot with literature activities. I often have to modify for the special education students. Now I can have all sorts of web (blogging) activities and suggestions “up my sleeve” to make the modifications more interesting. The character journals, character roundtables, and think-aloud postings could definitely be used to make the lessons more appealing to my students. I will certainly try some of these suggestions next year.