Rick’s Inter Teen 2 Blog

I have just created my group’s blog (www.it2itaim.wordpress.com, just for the record). I told my students to think of a couple of things to say about themselves as an introduction of the group members and wrote one myself as a sample for my students to follow. I know that introducing themselves is an easy language task, but the purpose is for them to get used to writing a blog. Plus, I don’t want to discourage them with all the bureaucratic procedures of signing up at WordPress, etc. Also, I wanted them to have the sensation that this is going to be a light activity and not another way of assigning homework.

My plan is, once they all sort of introduce themselves, including their likes and dislikes, is for me to start commenting on their hobbies, and to encourage them to start doing the same. Next week, I am finishing a short video activity I have prepared on the Little Mermaid, where King Triton asks Sebastian to keep tabs on Ariel, which ties Northstar Unit 7 to a teen reality. I was thinking of making this blog a discussion forum for the topics we discuss in class. Many times, some students withdraw from class discussion for being shy and fearful of group pressure, but that on-line, may feel more at ease at sharing their thoughts.

I am not so sure we are supposed to be using the blog as an extension of our class discussions, or if it is supposed to be a looser, freer way for them to express themselves in English. Most of their posting should be done next Wednesday. At the end of next week, you guys will be able to see how our blog is going and I am really open to feedback