Elementary Students Reflections on Weblogs
Today I worked for the last time with my fourth graders at J. H. House (sniff). The fifth graders were on a field trip so I will be getting their reflections next week. I always have a hard time when I lose a group of kids - I just can’t stand it and think I will never have as good a group again. My husband, however, says I say that every year.
We started the day off sharing the simulated teacher interviews that the students had done last week. Mrs. Barandiaran was quite impressed. I asked her to rate the students on a scale of 1-10 how well they knew her - Jennifer got a 9 and Emily and Derrick got a 7. They were elated and their teacher is going to provide them with the real answers! Perhaps we will get to post them later.
Now for the reflection and self-evaluation questions we worked on the past week or so. I had prepared the 20 questions and asked them to choose 10. These are worth reading. I am really looking forward to reading the fifth graders reflections next week!
Emily
- What have you learned?
I have learned that you should always try to do your best and not to give up. - How have you changed?
My writing has definitely changed. I look at it differently now & I have less mistakes and more paragraphs. - What has been the most challenging or frustrating thing for you and how have you met this challenge or overcome the frustration?
Choosing the topic is one of the most frustrating. I usually turn on the TV to a news station and see what interests me. - How have you integrated your learning of schoolblogs with any other area of your life?
I try to use it in math and reading to write more descriptive answers to questions. - What skills do you have that you didn’t have that are most valuble to you now?
(see above) - In what ways have you become a better writer?
I learned how to write very good leads and ending paragraphs. - How does having a weblog effect how you learn? How does it effect how you write?
I start to look at all the things you are asked to do and I think about them more. For writing, I make the lead be extensive and for the story to be longer, but to the point. - If you start a weblog of your own, what topic would it be on?
I would have to say I would want to work on telling about the latest games. I would give hints, walkthroughs and everything in between. - Do you have any words of wisdom for future webloggers?
All I can say is for you to not do your work the night before you have to turn it in (trust me from experience) as it’s harder to do. - Discuss your feeling on weblogs now.
I used to think of it just to get out of class, but now I look forward to things like this…
- to see what comments I have
- to tell about a really neat news story
- to learn
- to share my thoughts and my ideas with my classmates and other people too
- to read other peoples schoolblogs
- to post my sotry and let my voice be heard
- to keep discovering new ways to improve my writing
Derrick
- What is your favorite things about weblogs?
What I like about weblogs is that you can choose your background and have comments. - How have you changed?
I have changed with my writing and punctuation errors and misprints. I have more confidence. - Do you feel more confident abut any of your skills: computer? writing? reading? Explain.
I feel more confident about my writing, reading, and how to use the weblogs because I have a good computer teacher. (Mrs. Davis) - Do you ever find yourself helping others to learn something? How does that feel? Is this normal?
Yes, I find myself helping others and it doesn’t feel bad at all unless you screw it up. - If an outsider visited your site, what would you hope he or she would think about it?
If someone did look at my site than I hope they say it is very good looking at the writings. - What skills do you have that you didn’t have that are most valuble to you now?
I think that I do have some skills that are now valuable to use because now I think I feel like a computer geek. - In what ways have you become a better writer?
The way that I became a better writer is that I can write a little faster than before. My ideas aren’t as scrambled as they used to be. - If you start a weblog of your own, what would you write about?
If I made my own weblog than I would write about the life that I live in. - What did you think of the Georgia-NJ Connection?
What I thought of the Georgia-NJ Connection was that it was awesome and I liked whom I worked with. As soon as I came int the lab the first thing I would do is to check if Dave and Vennesa B. had responded to me. - Did you tell anyone about your weblog? Did others read your weblog? What feedback did you get from people outside the class, if any?
I told a few people about the weblog and I got some great feedback on my weblog. One person said that I had no spelling errors and that I have been typing better.
Jennifer
- What is your favorite things about weblogs?
My favorite thing about weblogs is that I can share my thoughts with others. - What have you learned?
I have learned new things in writing skills like a good lead and what a nutgraph is. - How have you changed?
I have changed into not being in my shy stage anymore. - If an outsider visited your site, what would you hope he or she would think about it?
I hope an outsider would like my weblog and might learn something new. - In what ways have you become a better writer?
I have become a better writer by using my new writing skills. - If you start a weblog of your own, what would you write about?
I would write my thoughts and feelings about what happened in the news. - What did you think about the Georgia-NJ Connection?
I thought that the Georgia-NJ Connection was very helpful and educational. Travis and Jeremy were my mentors. I would always be waiting to see what they would say about my weblog. - Did you tell anyone about your weblog? Did others read your weblog? What feedback did you get from people outside the class, if any?
Yes I told people about my weblog. Yes others read my page. Yes I got lots of feedback to give me some advice. - Do you have any words of wisdom for future students?
Yes I do and I want to tell them to have fun and work hard to achieve your goal! - Discuss your feelings about weblogs now.
Well I love my weblog so much. It is like I have an extra friend with me.
May 9th, 2003 at 8:07 am
Great job, Anne! I was showing some new teachers the work we did and they were very impressed. I wish I had had your kids’ comments to show them as well. So what do we do for an encore???? Congratulations on some great work!
May 9th, 2003 at 9:33 am
Thanks, Will! We definitely have to have an encore. I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head. We’ll collaborate later…
May 10th, 2003 at 12:00 am
Wonderful feedback Anne. I really enjoy reading student comments like this since it makes clear that something special is happening with these students. Thanks for sharing.