Top Ten Reasons We Love Blogging

Connecting with Mr. Miller’s class in California

10. Even when we are sick, we can see what’s happening in class.  ~Hannah

9. Our family and friends can see what we do in school.  ~Brooke

8. We can see slide shows of ourselves.    ~Mrs. Donofrio

7. It keeps us in touch with our class.  ~Kyle.

6. Blogging teaches us reading and writing skills.  ~Mallory

5. It helps with grammar and spelling skills.  ~Molly

4. We learn map skills.   ~Mrs. Donofrio

3. We’re learning through a new technology.  ~Mrs. Donofrio

2. We learn to set and work toward goals.  ~Mrs. Donofrio

And the number one reason we love blogging…..

1. We can interact with other classes and people.  We can learn about other places in the world and what they do.   ~Cogan and 83 % of the class

Although the above words are Cogan’s, her sentiments were shared by five sixths of the class.  Here’s what Kelsey said, “I like blogging because of how connecting it is.  I don’t ever think of it as an assignment but as fun!”

Blogging on “Hey, Kids!”

Clearly, the kids love connecting with other kids, and I do, too!  But I also love how we can work with writing skills through blogging.  In the past, we have practiced our writing exclusively with long assignments like essays and book reports.  Sometimes it is overwhelming to get so much feedback on our writing all at once.  Students only look at the grade, and place the paper into their binders, never to be seen again.  AAGH!  All that work offering suggestions for improvement gone to waste!  Blogging changes all that!  By writing shorter pieces we can FOCUS on our writing in a more precise way.  We have learned the importance of focus, organization, content, usage and style.  We see the importance of quality writing over quantity of writing.  

Today we learned that just because a piece is longer, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is stronger.  We learned that “gobbledy gook” whose only purpose is to fufill a word count or a paragraph requirement isn’t good writing.  Writing and reading comments on blogs helps us learn what makes good writing.

What do you like about blogging?

Which tools are stronger?

 

 

  

     

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41 thoughts on “Top Ten Reasons We Love Blogging

  1. Once again, I have so enjoyed reading your class blog! You are so very lucky to have such an amazing resource right at your fingertips! How fortunate you are to have Mrs. Donofrio, who is teaching you that learning truly has no limits and no boundaries! Have fun!

    • Hi Joanne,
      Thank you again not only for visiting our blog, but for your lovely comments. I want to let you know also that you have made our bulletin board! I highlighted your information about your trip to Pakistan, and it is tacked up near Pakistan on our world map. Thank you for helping us flatten our classroom walls.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  2. Hello!

    I completely agree. Blogging is so much fun! My favourite thing about blogging is number one on your list of things you like about blogging. I love that we can interact with classes around the world and see what they like to write about and what they do in school! Keep up the great work guys!
    -Summer

    • Hi Summer,
      Thanks so much for visiting our blog and leaving a comment. This week I hung up a large world map. We have red push pins in it for all of the places represented on our Clustrmap. Today we added Mongolia to our map. Yesterday we put a push pin on Cyprus. Of course, we already had one in British Columbia. Do you have a favorite place on your map?
      We’ll visit you again on Monday when we have time in the computer lab.
      See you soon,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  3. Hello, My name’s Kyle and I’m from Huzzah! How long have you and your class been blogging? I really like your top ten reasons you like blogging post. My favourite statement is “Even when we are sick, we can see what’s happening in class”. I do that all the time when I’m sick.
    Bye Bye
    Kyle

    • Hi Kyle,
      It is great to hear that you check Huzzah! when you are absent from school. We love to visit Huzzah!, too. One of my favorite parts is your commenting guidelines slide show. We also really got a kick over the list of reasons your class compiled about why you should be hired for 7th grade. We are glad to have made some blogging buddies in Canada. Thanks for visiting! We’ll check back with you on Monday. That is the day we get to go to the computer lab.
      Take care,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  4. Hello everyone.
    I am from the Huzzah blog and my most favourite thing about blogging is that you can express your thoughts to the outside world. Then you can see what other people think of it. You can visit your friends blog, even if they had moved away, you can still talk to them.

    You can also put small parts of your favourite story and ask if they had a favourite book and part.

    Chelsey

    • Hi Chelsey,
      What a clever idea about staying in touch with old classmates. We had a classmate who moved to Ireland a few years ago, and she visited our blog just this week. It was such a treat to hear from her, and I think she enjoyed seeing photos of her old friends. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
      We’ll keep in touch,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

    • Hi Trevor,
      Thanks for visiting our blog. We are so glad you like it. We will return the compliment as well since we really like the Huzzah! blog. In fact, it is one of our models that is helping us to learn about blogging.
      It doesn’t get very cold in the part of Florida where we live, but Florida is a pretty big state, so it does get chilly in some parts of the state in the winter time. For a few days each year it is cold enough for a frost, and so the farmers have to work all through the night to keep the crops from getting damaged by the cold. Where we live, it can get down into the 50s in January at night, but by the time the sun comes up, it usually stays around 70. In the summer it is always hot, day or night, and temperatures will be in the 90s from May through September. It is just starting to cool off a little now in early October. It is in the upper 80s today. What’s the weather like in B.C.?
      Talk to you soon,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

    • Hi Trevor!
      Hi I’m Zeth and I’m in Mrs.Donofrio’s class. Good question Trevor. It does get somewhat cold here in Florida. The lowest temperature I’ve experienced in Florida was probably in the 30’s. It has been chilly the past few days in the morning. Thanks for the question!
      -Zeth

  5. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    My name is Jenna and I’m from Huzzah! You have an amazing blog, and it’s so cool to be able to read all about you and your students. This is my first year blogging and lots of fun! I agree with your list of fun things about blogging, and I also think it’s amazing the way it connects us!

    Over all I love reading your blog,
    See you soon!

    • Hi Jenna,
      Thanks so much for your lovely compliment. It always feels good when other people acknowledge your work. My class and I really like the Huzzah! blog. As a matter of fact, I thought about your example of each student offering a sentence or two about why they should be hired for 7th grade as I imagined organizing our Top Ten list. That was a funny list! We look forward to more exchanges with your class.
      Happy blogging!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  6. Bonjour Mrs Donofrio,

    Hi, my name is Roxanne and I am new to blogging at Huzzah. I would love some tips about how to make my replys more interesting for you to read.

    Let me tell you a little about myself, I speak fluent French because I lived in in Quebec for 7 years and moved to Alberta for 5 more years then moved here last year I love it here in B.C no more snow awe yeah!, but I do miss it it once in a while…

    see you soon,

    Roxanne Thibaudeau

    • Bonjour Roxanne,
      Like you I am new to blogging. My class just started blogging this school year. We began classes in August, so it has been about ten weeks. I learned about blogging while on summer vacation. I sat at my computer in our kitchen and learned and practiced a little bit every day.
      Also, similar to you, I moved from a snowy part of our country, Boston, to a place where it never snows, Florida. I miss the snow sometimes, too, especially at Christmas. However, it is also nice to be outside biking or swimming throughout the winter.
      Unlike you, I don’t speak any other language fluently. I can speak a little bit of Spanish, but not too much. I think it is very cool to be bilingual.
      You already wrote an interesting comment, so I would just say keep up the good work! We really like reading the Huzzah! blog. You kids have great senses of humor, and I bet your teacher does, too!
      Keep in touch!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

        • You are so welcome, Roxanne. I will bring my students to the computer lab on Monday, and some of them will visit your blog. Have a great weekend!
          ~Mrs. Donofrio

  7. Hi I’m from Huzzah,

    I have been blogging since grade 4 and I’m in grade 7. I really enjoy telling people what I like through the internet and getting responses to posts.
    My suggestion is to reply to all comments unless they’re spam or meaningless.
    Tristan

    • Hi Tristan,
      Thanks so much for your nice comment. We love reading Huzzah’s blog. Have all your teachers since fourth grade had a class blog? If so, you are very lucky.
      My students like to get responses to their comments as well. I will add that to our Top Ten list.
      You have a great suggestion, too. So far we have been able to respond to everyone we have heard from on our blog. That is great way for us to practice our writing skills.
      We’ll visit again soon,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  8. I was one of the 83% that said they liked blogging because you get to communicate with other classes around the world that we may never meet in real life. Thanks for posting this Mrs.D.!!!

  9. Hi Chelsey,
    I could not agree more about blogging. I have experience with moving across the country and it is amazing to see what your old friends are doing! It is so important to keep in contact with them and so glad you agree. Thanks so much for visiting us. I hope to see you again soon.
    ~Mrs. Donofrio

    • Greetings to you from across the pond! Thank you for visiting. I was lucky enough to visit London a few times while I was studying at Cambridge University, Gonville and Caius College. I saw a number of plays and enjoyed walking through the city. Do you go to school in London? Have you ever been to Florida?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

      • Hi Mrs.Donofrio,
        Cecelia is my cousin and Gabe is my future cousin!! She got engaged at London while visiting family members. See you later!

        ~Brooke

        • Brooke, you should go into PR or Marketing when you grow up! Thanks for spreading the world about our blog!! I think I should have a contest for whoever brings in the most visitors. What do you think?
          ~Mrs. Donofrio

          • That sounds fun!! That is why it is great to live in a Italian family!! I’ll try to get more family members to come on! See you later

            ~Brooke

          • Thanks, Brooke! And thanks also for the birthday wishes! You made my day.
            ~Mrs. Donofrio

  10. Mrs. Donofrio,
    I just came across this blog, I love this idea. What a great tool this is for the class room as well as a fantastic learning experience for the kids! I would like to personally thank you for being such an inspiration to Nick. With your help, he has come a long way in Language Arts and is very rarely without a book in his hand. Again, thank you!

  11. Hi Mrs.Donofrio!
    I miss blogging, we don’t do it at Incarnation. I love this blog though! I like how Kyle said “It keeps us in touch with our class.” Indeed it does, now that I have switched schools I can still keep in touch with you guys. Language Arts class is a lot harder, and the teacher is not as energetic as you Mrs.Donofrio. We do have this book called DGP, Daily Grammar Practice, and we have a whole thick book of vocab for the year. I will keep in touch with you guys, and I will ask the students at ICS to check the blog out, once I get warmed up there. I miss you all at Epiphany!
    Love, Kelsey S.

    • Kelsey!!
      I am so glad to hear from you!! I called your name today to walk to Venice Theater, and you weren’t there. We sure miss you at Epiphany. I know you will do fine in your language arts class. Hopefully the class isn’t too much harder, just different and new. We are getting ready for the Medieval Fair now. I am glad we have the blog, too, so we can keep in touch. I’ll let the kids know you are still reading and writing on Hey, Kids! Good luck and God bless you, Kelsey. Keep in touch.
      Love, Mrs. Donofrio

      • Hey Kelsey!

        We’re in the computer lab right now for language arts class. We miss you a lot at Epiphany. Hopefully launguage arts class gets easier for you at your new school. I’m so glad we can still keep in touch through the blog.

        Brooke

      • Hey Kelsey ,
        We miss you so much! I hope you are having fun at Incarnation! I am happy we can still talk and communicate with you. Well we got to go … bye!

  12. Hello Mrs Donofrio! My name is Uriel from Mr Miller’s class. I enjoyed reading your class top 10 reasons why they love blogging.The reason I like blogging is because we connect,meet,and make new friends from across the world.I also like it because we write blog post and sometimes we get comments and write back and then visit there blog.I also like blogging because it helps you type better. Well I enjoyed reading and commenting on your class blog.I hope your class can visit mine at http://mrmillersstudent202.edublogs.org/ Thank you 🙂

    • Hi Uriel,
      Thanks so much for visiting our blog and commenting. We have visited your class and look forward to doing so again tomorrow. I loved the photo of Mr. Miller rock climbing with his dogs. I have been rock climbing in Massachusetts, but there are no rocks to climb in Florida where I live now. Florida is a very flat state.
      We look forward to continuing to connect with you as we improve our typing skills as well! See you soon!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  13. Hi there Mrs.Donofrio,
    It’s Letty again from Mr. Miller’s class. First of all, I would really like to thank your class for all those amazing comments on my blog. I really enjoyed them, and I still need to reply to couple comments. By the way, those are great reasons to love blogging. I have two reasons on why I love blogging: First, you can express yourselves with writing. Second, you get to meet all kinds of great friends around the world. Now I have a question: Is your class enjoying blogging, and what have you learned so far?

    – Letty
    By the way: Thank you so much again for the comments!!!! 🙂

    • Hi Letty,
      You are welcome for the comments! We’d like to thank you as well. Our class is definitely enjoying blogging. One of the things we like is mapping the countries from which we’ve had visitors. Last week we had a visitor from a new country in Asia. One girl in the class was trying to guess the country with the new yellow dot on the ClustrMap. At first she said, “New Hampshire” because she heard me say the word “new”. Another girl said, “I’ll give you a hint,” and she began to sing words in another language that I had never heard before. Then the first girl shouted, “Korea!” I was amazed. Do you know what song my student sang? It is called “Gangnam Style” and it is from Korea. All the words are in Korean. I had never heard it before, but my whole class knew all the lyrics, and they started singing and doing a dance that goes with the song. They said it is the number one song in the world. I thought it was great that my students could now find the country of their new favorite song on the map. I learned about a new international hit song, and my student learned that New Hampshire is no way near Korea!
      We’ll visit you again soon!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  14. Hey Mrs.Donofrio my name is Cristina I’m in Mr.Miller’s class and I stop by in you blog I was looking at your Ten Top Reasons You Like Blogging.I really agree with your students and you those are some reasons I like blogging.I really enjoy reading your posts and I also enjoy visiting your blog.I have a question for you are there other reasons you like blogging.
    Come by and visit my blog anytime at http://mrmillersstudent119.edublogs.org/ Have a great day.
    ~Cristina

    • Hi Cristina,
      We will definitely stop by your blog tomorrow morning when we go to the computer lab. I know my students will be interested to see what you are up to in your class. I think blogging is a modern pen-pal program. Have you ever heard of pen-pals?
      We’ll see you soon,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  15. Hi Mrs. Bonofrio and class! My name is Natalie and I am from Mr.Miller’s class. My favorite reasons for blogging are the same thing! I love visiting other peoples blogs, especially yours. I always like to blog about what weird,but fun prompts Mr.Miller gives us. My favorite thing to do while blogging, is reading about what happens in your class. The activities sound so interesting. My favorite blog you have posted is the 500 visitors. Congrats! Well it’s bye for now!
    P.S. Here is my blog address if you would ever like to visit.
    ~Natalie 🙂

    • Hi Natalie,
      Thanks so much for your very kind comment. We like to visit your class blog, too. We are almost up to 1000 visitors now. Our new goal for our next blogging party is to get a visitor from all 50 states. We are a little more than half way there. How many states have you visited?
      We will plan to visit your blog tomorrow when our class goes to the computer lab.
      See you then,
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

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