I mentioned to the Wednesday Metronet folks about how I was trying to get parents to read along with their students the book A Long Way Gone. I had about 80 parents, when it was all said and done, tell me they wanted to join us. I was shocked and completely blown away. I expected 20...maybe. So I decided I really needed to do more than just an email every couple of weeks. Using the Metronet teachings, I created a parent wiki and blog. On the parent wiki, I post all of the information for the book, discussion questions, things to think about, videos for parents to watch, page numbers they should be reading, and a few links. Then on the blog, I have invited parents to actually be others on a group blog where they can discuss the book with each other. So far only 1o parents have signed up for the blog, but we have already had a good discussion about the graphic nature of the book and how powerful that can be. I will be sending out another round of emails late this week where I will encourage parents to join our blogging and discussion once more. I am really excited by the possibilities and I am thankful that I have a student teacher this first time around so I have more time to PLAY with these web 2.0 tools.
3 comments:
Travis~
I am so impressed with the communication link you have created. You have such great ideas on how to use technology, and you make it user friendly so others are willing to try it too. I might regret saying this, but you are my idol:)
This is so amazing! I love that you have parents connecting on the reading and the blog. How cool! Is your class wiki available for us to look at? Please post the link if we can see what's going on.
Travis -
This is really great. From the time I finished reading the book A Long Way Gone, I knew it was a book that had to be taught. I'm thrilled that you are getting this much parent involvment. Be sure to share this with our curriculum group. I think it really makes a case for selecting engaging kids with literature. Since we added more current literature, I've had several parents reading the books with their kids. How cool is that? The blog is a great idea - maybe something I would do with Kite Runner or Into the Wild or whatever great book that we add to our curriculum. Keep up the great work. Cheesy as it sounds, you really are inspirational:)!
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