Digital Writing, the CCSS and English Language Learners: Voice and Relevance Matter Janet Ilko Cajon Valley Middle School ELL Writing Teacher San Diego Area Writing Project Fellow

Student Choice Inspires Voice

Passions to Words, Sharing Our Stories “You don’t have to be the

star, you can be the light shining on them.”

Rawanda Ibrahem Writing for Change student

Cajon Valley Middle School Grade 6

Welcome to CVMS!Expect More, Achieve More!

Student Demographics

The San Diego Area Writing Project/ NWP

Building Language: Stanford Graduate School of EducationThe Understanding Language

District Engagement subcommittee has released a set of Six Key Principles to support ELL’s in meeting the rigorous, grade level academic standards found in the Common Core Standards.

Blogging directly supports three of those standards.

Ell.stanford.edu/content/six-key-principals-ell-instruction

January 11, 2013

Instruction focuses on providing ELLs with opportunities to engage in discipline specific practices which are designed to build conceptual understanding and language competence in tandem.

Instruction leverages ELL’s home language, cultural assets and prior knowledge.

Standards aligned instruction for ELLs is rigorous, grade-level appropriate and provides deliberate and appropriate scaffolds.

Why Blog?Student blogging is not just a short term project, it’s become a forum where students can share their ideas and write for a real purpose.

The beauty of blogging is the revision process becomes seamlessly part of writing. Once you push submit, there is an instantaneous audience. That realization that you will be read, and that your words matter create a sense of urgency and need to clarify and justify the posts.

Digital Learning DayWe shared our blog work in Washington D.C. at the Second Annual Digital Learning Day.

Here is a video of the overview of the lesson.

Two Blogging Formats

Standards for the Lesson NETS for Students 2. Communications and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support

individual learning and Contribute to the learning of others. a. Interact, collaborate,

and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital

environments and media

NETS Standards for Lesson 5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues

related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students: a. Advocate safe. Legal, and responsible use of information

and technology. b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that

supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Writing Standards7th and 8th Grade CCSS Writing Standards 2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic

and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization and analysis of relevant content.

4.Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

5.With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, re-writing, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

Writing Standards 7th and 8th Grade CCSS Writing Standards 6.Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and

publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, Including linking to and citing sources.

7, Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related focused questions for further research and investigation. 

8. Gather relevant information form multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Lesson ObjectiveBy the end of today’s lesson we will:  synthesize information from an article using

the They Say, I Say, and So strategy to write informative text conveying information about the article.

What does it mean to find a source?

What is They Say, I Say, and So? . Question

Why do people blog?

They SayPeople blog to teach people

I SayI blog to inform people about our work.

So…One reason to blog is to teach people things you know.

Reviewing Articles

Your Turn: They Say, I Say, and So? . Question?

What are the key principals of EL Instruction?

They Say I Say So…

Why Do My Students Blog? What have they learned?

Using Edmodo to collaborate

Working on Kidblog site

Sources Here are some additional sites to view our work: www.writingforchange.net a site where we display

student work from the Writing for Change program and the San Diego Area Writing Project

www.sandiegokidswrite.com our class blog www.writinginmyhand.org my personal blog where I

document the work in our classroom. http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/4670 Journey to Digital Learning Day, a resource about our

blog work and travel to Washington D.C. for the Second Annual Digital Learning Day

Sources That Support The Work  Digital Learning Day Links: https://vimeo.com/58016014 The introduction to

the blogging lesson http://www.digitallearningday.org/learn-and-explore

/lesson-portals/ A lesson on academic commenting http://www.digitallearningday.org/learn-and-explore

/exemplary-models/ Exemplary Models Cajon Valley Union School

District, Cajon Valley Middle School

Sources That Support The Work Sites to Use With Your Students To Start

Blogging/Interacting with your studentswww.edmodo.comwww.kidblog.orgwww.edublog.comwww.voki.com

Sources That Support The Work Sites Used as Inspiration for this lesson/unit http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/12/25/blogging-lesson-plan-

commenting/ http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-write-a-blog-comment.aspx http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/better-blog-writing.shtml http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-write-great-blo

gcomments.

http://biancasblog.global2.vic.edu.au/2011/08/26/etiquette/ http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategyguides/ teaching-with-blogs-30108.html http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/2010/09/learning-to-blog-usingpaper.