The article, Blogging for English Language Learners,
demonstrates the benefits of using blogs when teaching ELLs. Blogging can be done by the teacher but can
also be done by the students using sites like Blogger, Kidblog, or
Edublog. The main suggestions for
student blogging were: creating and
sharing an example blog before the students start blogging, having students
blog consistently using at time frame that works for the student and the
teacher, and give ELL students key points to follow when providing feedback to
students. The suggestion of using an
example first is especially important at the elementary level. It’s a fine line, because a teacher doesn’t
want to creating an example that the students will simply mimic. Students should use blogging to write
creatively and collaborate with others.
I think the elementary years are a great time to start modeling the
procedures for blogging. ELL students
especially need repeated practice and opportunities for communication. Each student can write at his/her pace and
ability level.
The article suggests using a classroom blog to help ELLs in
the classroom as well. Some of the main
benefits include: sharing pictures and
videos to reinforce content, posting vocabulary lists, and sharing links to
games and resources to reinforce English skills. I agree that these would greatly benefit the students,
as well as parents. I’ve used a
classroom blog the past few years, but I have no used it consistently for
communication. It’s a quick and easy way
to share links with students, but the benefits could go much farther. I think our team level would benefit from
creating a class website with the incorporation of blog as well. Teachers could have access to the blog to
share pictures, videos, and discussions about currently classroom
happenings. While individual teachers
could have their own blogs as well, the team option gives teachers the
opportunity to work together and reduce the workload.
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