Blogging for Good Writing

Two arguments for blogging in the classroom:  First it creates an artifact that can be reviewed indefinitely.  Second, it causes young writers to think more critically about their writing.

Assignments given at the beginning of the year can be compared against assignments given towards the end of the year.  Students will be able to view their progress, and more specifically, where and when they mastered certain essential concepts.  Editing their own work for grammar errors would be a powerful means of reinforcing good writing practices.

I believe students are much more interested in what their peers think about them than a teacher or even a parent.  Creating a safe and structured environment where they could work collaboratively on writing assignments would be a powerful means of instruction.  It might also be fun.  Here is a link to a writing assignment lesson plan I would use in a language arts classroom.