4th Grade Paper Blogs

Today I tried the Paper Blogs with my fourth grade class. I will share what happened and what the results were.  There will be pictures and comments about the activity from the students.

The first thing I did was explain the process of paper blogging and why we are doing it.  I showed @mcteach's post and its pictures.  They thought it was pretty neat and it looked hard but they could do it.

Next, I gave them the task of choosing their favorite thing to do/say/go/play/eat and then tell me why.  We spent 30 minutes choosing a topic and writing about it.  Many had a hard time focusing on it, but they pressed through it.

After each one was finished, I read the entry for several details that someone could comment on when they read it.  If there was enough I gave them the A5 white paper to write the final copy on.
When they finished rewriting the final copy they could select a background (12x12in scrapbooking pages) and paste the copy on to it.  Then they were able to decorate the background with the materials I provided. I gave them several hole punches with each one being a different size and shape and scissors to cut paper into designs and paste on the edges.
They did a great job. I took pictures of each one and have included them in a photo album to share.

During the process, I took pictures of two of the first ones done and posted them to twitpic here and here.  Then I had the owners refresh the page to see how many people had looked at their pictures.  Talk about excitement!  All the class was "ahhing" over how many people looked at the pictures.  I explained that many people follow me and want to know what I do in my class.  The students wanted to know who they were, but I told them we would talk about that later.

I had so much fun to day.  The next step will be discussing what is respectful commenting and then write some comments on each others blogs.
A short movie of what we did the first day.

From Paper Blogging

November 5th - Today we commented on each other's paper blogs.  I explained that we are applying the character trait of respect by commenting on what classmates wrote on their paper blogs. The instructions were such:
1) They had to write a compliment. (Being positive)
2) They had to find something they had in common with the blogger's content and write it. (Paying attention to the content)
3) They had to ask a question about the content. (Wanting more information, trying to start a conversation)
4) They had to write their name. (Telling the blogger, "You deserve to know who wrote this so you can respond to the comment")
5) They had to comment on three blogs. (Get a better picture of our classmates' lives)

The results were outstanding. I had several children who are normally not participatory, actually write more comments than required. The comments were clear and came from the heart.

I really enjoyed doing this activity with them. Now on to web-based blogs, soon.

PS. Here are a few pictures from a later day.