Mia Morgan, Ed.D., M.L.S.
One of my favorite activities from the 2016/2017 was the blog I created for a first grade reading group. My little readers used the blog to answer questions I posed about the books we read, and ask and answer questions for each other. They also used the blog to do short writing activities inspired by the books. For example, one of the books we read was about a father and son who went West during the Gold Rush to pan for gold. The format of the book was a series of letters written by the son to his mother and sisters back home. In one writing exercise my little bloggers wrote a letter from home to the son and father, and in another writing exercise they wrote an alternate ending.

 

The 1st grader’s typing and spelling skills did not get in the way of their enthusiasm for the blog. They could not wait to log into the blog to take on the task of the day. The marriage of traditional book to modern technology was almost poetic. I saw students using the books often while blogging, to check facts, look up answers to questions, and to look up possible questions to ask. They sat at the computers, eagerly typing and participating, books, open and by their sides, excited by the activity.

My 1st grade blogging book group perfectly represented the 21st century student.