A Separate Peace Blog Overview
Fall 2011
For our study of A Separate Peace, both of my 8th grade classes will be contributing to one web log (blog). The goal of this class project is to create an accessible, detailed and organized archive of all of our thoughts about John Knowles’ novel.
The goals of using this medium are to…
• Enrich your understanding of the novel by asking you to read and respond to your classmates’ analysis and thoughts about the novel.
• Improve your writing by asking you to post and comment regularly.
• Save paper!
• Help you remember important details, characters and themes from the novel by storing all of this critical information online.
• Improve your 21st century literary skills by asking you to post, comment, create links and embed videos and imagery into the blog.
• Get you thinking about what it means to blog safely and to publish something for public consumption.
Set-up:
In order to participate, you will have to accept my invitation that I have sent to your FirstClass email account. When you accept it, you will be sent to a log in screen – login in using your BBN Google Account (username: first initial last name@bbns.org; password: google4me). If you don’t have one or are having issues, email Ms. Grinshpan from your FirstClass email account.
Using your Google username and password, you will be able to log into www.blogger.com and access our class blog: http://rossiterasp.blogspot.com. You must always post and comment using your username or you will not receive credit.
Posting and Commenting:
A post is an official entry which is published on the front page of the blog. Each of you will be asked to post twice throughout our work with the novel. This will involve you responding to specific discussion questions we have generated for you. You may also include hyperlinks in your posts and/or embed relevant video and imagery.
A comment is a response to a specific post. You can comment on a post by clicking the posting title of the post or you can click on comments at the bottom of the post. A comment can be less formal than a post, but it should demonstrate both an understanding of the ideas in the post as well as add more ideas/information to what is presented in the post.
Safe Blogging:
In creating your profile, please remember that our blog is a public space, therefore you should take appropriate steps to protect yourself. Do not include your last name in your Google profile (nor should you attach a real photo to it). Do not include any personal information (like last name, address, phone number, school name, friends’ last names, etc.) in your published writing. Above all, please notify me immediately if any inappropriate contact occurs via our blog.
Publishing Guidelines
Posting:
A post is a two-paragraph (at least ten good sentences) entry that is published on the front page of the blog. Posts are published in chronological order and are available for commenting. In order to post, you will need to log into www.blogger.com or our blog at: http://rossiterasp.blogspot.com and click on “New Post.” You will be provided with space to type. The title should always start with the chapter # and then be followed by a question: either the one I’ve asked you to answer or one you’ve come up with yourself. Proofread your post carefully before you publish. You can’t make any changes once you’ve published. Once you’ve finished your post, click on “Publish Post.” You should plan on posting twice during the novel.
Structure and Content of Post: Check your assignment sheet to see what question you’ve been asked to answer. In your response you should briefly provide context for your post (what are the key scenes from the novel that helped you shape your answer?), respond to the question in detail, and connect your response to other ideas/themes/details you’ve read in the novel. When you begin your post, be sure to start with the Chapter # in your title. Your response should include at least one quotation from the night’s reading (make sure to include page #’s). Excellent posts not only give complete, thoughtful answers, but also encourage discussion in the comments section, either by asking questions at the end or by providing links to relevant sits/video/imagery that you’d like your classmates to comment on.
Grading Criteria: Your posts are graded like journal entries
• Outstanding = “Plus” = Title is a question, post addresses the title question, post includes details from text (including one good quotation with page #), post is analysis and not just summary, post ends with thoughtful question(s) that encourages further discussion. Post is perfectly proofread!
• Excellent = "Check plus” = Post is missing/doesn’t fulfill one of above criteria
• Okay = “Check” = Post is missing/doesn’t fulfill two of above criteria
• Subpart = “Check minus” = post missing more than three of above criteria
Commenting:
You can comment on a post by clicking on the “Comments” link at the bottom of the post or by clicking on the title bar of the post. Don’t forget you must be logged in to get credit for your comment. Comments should be direct responses to the information and ideas in the post OR to a previous comment to that post. Comments let the writer know he/she has an audience, encourage people to write more and better pieces and help people to think more deeply about an issue. It's just like a discussion in class: if you don't "listen" to the post and other comments, the conversation isn't productive. Proofread your comments carefully before publishing.
You will be expected to comment or post for every reading assignment, either on your classmates’ posts or on mine. An excellent comment is four to five good sentences and includes at least one sentence that shows you understand the ideas expressed in the post you just read, at least two sentences that respond to the post in a thoughtful way that adds information to the post (this can be in agreeing with what’s stated or disagreeing) and at least one sentence/question that encourages further discussion.
Grading criteria: You are graded on the frequency and quality of your comments. In a regular week, with four assignments:
• Four or more excellent posts and comments to the blog per four assignments: “Check plus”
• Three excellent posts and comments or four “OK” posts and comments per four assignments: “Check”
• Two excellent posts and comments or three "OK" posts and comments per four assignments: “Check minus”
• And so on…
