How to Use Blogs: Grades 3–5

• PRINT
• EMAIL

In this lesson students learn what blogs are and how to write blog entries.

OBJECTIVE

Students will:

1. Understand how to write blogs
2. Express their opinion in a blog entry
3. Assess other students' blog entries

MATERIALS

1. Blogging Rules (PDF)
2. Blog Rubric (PDF) 
3. Scholastic News Online Blogs

 

SET UP AND PREPARE

1. Print the Blogging Rules (PDF) and Blog Rubric (PDF)
2. Review Scholastic News Online Blogs and choose a few examples to show to the class.  Check out Sticky Situations, Reviews by You, or the Daily News Blog for examples.

DIRECTIONS

1. Ask students if they have heard of a blog. Explain what a blog is.
• A blog is a Web site that allows groups or individuals to contribute their ideas, comments, or opinions in a journal format. Blog entries are often short and appear in reverse chronological order.
• A blog entry can be created any time and any place from any Internet-enabled computer.
2. Discuss rules for blogging. Add any more rules to the Blogging Rules list that your class determines.
3. Show examples of educational blogs, such as those on Scholastic News Online.
4. Using the Blog Rubric, have the students assess some of the blog entries.
5. Choose a blog to join in the discussion. You may want to have the students practice what they would write before they type in their first entry.
6. Allow time for the students to type their blog entries.
7. If time allows, have the students repond to another student's blog entry.

SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERS

• Pair struggling writers with more-fluent writers
• Assign a volunteer to help a struggling writer.

LESSION EXTENSION

• Create additional blog topics on your class Web site or free Internet blog site such as 21 Classes.
• Topics might include poetry, recipes, goals for the year, "When I grow up."
• Have students evaluate Scholastic News Online blog topics. Did the topics stimulate discussion? How could they be made better?
• Either as a class or as individuals, have students submit their comments and suggestions to the Tell Us What You Think message board. That message board is a direct link to Scholastic News Online Editors who will answer questions and consider all comments.

ASSESS STUDENTS

• Assess the students' blog entries with the Blog Rubric.

EVALUATE THE LESSON

• How well did the students understand the blog-writing process?
• How interested were the students in the discussion topics?
• What technical problems arose?
• Don't forget to have your students let the Scholastic News Online Editors know their opinions by using the Tell Us What You Think message board.

 

How to Use Blogs: Grades 6–8
Teach your students how to use Scholastic News Online blogs to express their opinions on non-fiction topics. Includes reproducibles.

How to Use Scholastic News Online in Your Classroom
Learn how to utilize free online activities and lesson plans to meet state standards in social studies, language arts, and more. This article collection offers teachers fun ways to use Scholastic News Online in the classroom.

LESSON PLAN	How Do Reading Partnerships Work? Students will complete a survey that the teacher can use to compare similar reading interests and reading abilities before assigning reading...
UNIT PLAN	New Creations from Six Simple Machines Students explore simple machines and their importance in the development of modern technology.