STEM Blogs!

- Project Documents
Driving Questions: How can we make blogs interesting and relevant? And, how can sustained,
interactive writing, published over time improve author voice and style?
Goals for students during this project:

Develop personal writing voice

Grow as a writer
become more comfortable sharing your writing
Considering tone and purpose in writing
Brainstorming, drafting, facilitating peer review and feedback
Craft a professional and safe online presence

Class Blog, Submission Dates, and Logistics:

Students will submit their blog posts to both Ms. Lloyd and to their Head Editor. The
head editor will act as a blog master, and must be proficient in technology, easy to
work with, and willing to communicate effectively with team members.
o Each team will also have an Assistant Editor responsible for communication
between team and head editor, and who will schedule reminders.
Every individual who is not a Head or Assistant Editor will be a contributor
and an editor.
Each class will be split into 4 sub-teams. Your team will be the same group each six
weeks, and your entire team will post on the same day each six-weeks.
o This project is in addition to your other classwork. You will not be given class time
to work on these. You are welcome to come in on Thursdays during iNvest! to
complete this.

Team 2:

3rd Wednesday of six weeks

Team 3:
Team 4:

Post Due Dates: (Labeled by 6-weeks)

1st
9/9

2nd
10/14

3rd
12/2

9/9

10/21

12/9

th

9/16

10/28

12/16

th

9/23

11/4

1/6

4 Wednesday of six weeks

5 Wednesday of six weeks

4th
1/27

5th
3/9

6th

2/3

3/23

2/10

3/30

End of
Project

BLOG POSTS ARE DUE

EVERY:
nd
2 Wednesday of six weeks

Winter
Break

TEAM
NUMBER
Team 1:

2/17

4/6

*Due to AP and STAAR testing, the project will end at the end of the 5th six-weeks.
**Set reminders for these due dates in your phone or planner NOW.

Rubric Sections Explained:

Blog Post Expectations:
All Posts must:

be a minimum of 250 words anything shorter will not receive full credit.
have an interesting title that relates to its content.
demonstrate organization throughout and mechanically accurate writing.
include a photo video or graphic that relates to the post. (No random memes)
have citations and links sources and to original works being referenced.
be submitted by 12AM on the day it is due.
have the authors first name only at the end of the post if there is more than one person in a class
with the same first name, include the first initial of your last name

*Best Blogger Awards will be given at the end of each semester for outstanding writing craft, insightful
contributions, and entertaining posts. These will be peer voted awards (with teacher influence).

For each post, you must select one of the following prompts to write about. By the end of
the 5th 6-weeks, you should have written about each of these prompts:
1. Choose an idea, concept or topic that your journalist writes about. Discuss what he or she has
to say about the topic and your own experiences and perspectives on it. End with a point about
people or life, based on the subject you selected to write about. (Expository)
2. Discuss the experience of following your journalist so far. Explain how long you have been
following him or her, and summarize and analyze their writing style. (Style Analysis)
3. Pick a current hot topic that your journalist wrote about. Qualify, refute, or defend your
journalists stance on the issue, providing evidence from personal experiences or text-to-text/
text-to-world connections. (Persuasive/Argumentative)
4. Write a post that takes an idea or concept from one of your journalist and connect it to the
larger world. Include information from both your journalist and an outside source to support or
refute what is in the article. (Synthesis/Research) Include links! You may wish to write about:
How the ideas in the post are relevant or not
How the ideas are useful or not
How the ideas are true or not
How the ideas challenge an accepted way of thinking or not
How the ideas contribute to the CONVERSATION about the topic
5. Your choice! You choose the topic and type of post to write about. (Does not have to be
associated with journalist for this ONE post.) (Personal Choice)
o Go back to problogger.net and look for the 20 types of blog post lists or go to
protent.com/tools/title-maker for some inspiration.

Follow a Journalist Instructions: (Journalist you are to base

posts on)
You will choose one journalist whose work you will follow throughout the year. Choose an Op-Ed
(Opinion Editorial) author from a well-known news source, as those authors are able to take a stance and
provide more of a voice in their work. Explore multiple authors work before you submit your selected
journalist, as you will be reading his or her work often.
Your goal in following your journalist is to become familiar with both current events and pop
culture, and to analyze and assess author style and voice. By engaging with an authors existing work,
youre entering into a rhetorical dialogue, and by posting that dialogue on a blog, you invite others to
participate in that conversation. Youll be free to change your journalist at the semester, or if youre
attached to him or her, feel free to add 1 new journalist to your options to write about!

Commentary and Discussion:

Each student is expected to comment on a minimum of 1 blog post per week.

o The week that you publish, rather than post on a classmates blog, you will complete a
personal reflection. As a part of your reflections, you will respond to those who comment
on your blog.
By the end of the 5th week each 6-weeks period, each student will have posted 1 individual blog
post, commented on 3 peers blog posts, and reflected on their own blog post.

Guidelines for Commentary and Discussion:

Successful students ask important and relevant questions that will spawn thoughtful and
productive discussion. Write clearly and with expression.

Though humor is effective and at times relevant in discussion, be sure to avoid sarcasm, which
does not translate well in the online environment.

Be supportive, considerate and constructive when replying to your classmates. Do not use jargon,
slang, or inappropriate language. If you disagree with a classmate, please respond in a
respectful and tactful manner.

Keep your post focused on the topic, relating to the corresponding blog post.

Proofread and review your response before hitting the submit button!

Any posts deemed inappropriate by Ms. Lloyd will be removed. Student will be penalized based
on severity of the issue. At minimum, 5 points will be taken off work ethic for behavior. (May
also result in loss of credit for post, mandatory tutorials, write-ups, and/or behavioral probation.)