Student Blogging Challenge Week #8: Let’s Travel!

May 7, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

Let’s Travel..It’s Time to Explore the World!

Imagine you’ve just graduated from high school, and you have several months of freedom before college starts. Wanderlust, the down-in-your-bones hunger for travel, is consuming your every thought. So, you’ve decided to spend all your graduation gift money on a whirlwind trip abroad. Where will you go, who will you visit, what will you see and do during your globetrotting adventures? For this week’s challenge, take us to the places highest on your travel bucket list. Or, if travel doesn’t float your cruise ship, write a post about any country that mesmerizes you.

Better yet, follow in Namitha’s footsteps and devote an entire post to offering encouragement and hope to the earthquake survivors in Nepal. To read more about the earthquake, click here.

Please use one or more web tools you haven’t used before – Glogster, Storybird, Flipbook, Bitstrips, Kizoa, Note.ly, or Animoto – there are lots of tools to use here and the Edublogs staff has put together a great list including how to embed the end products into your blog.

Planning your trip

Find out the requirements for passports, visas, or work permits for 3 countries you would like to visit.
Create a map showing your proposed journey. Try this mapmaker or this one.
What will you need to pack? Remember weight limits when flying. (Try writing using enumeration/listing text structure!)
How will you travel?
Where will you stay?
Create a realistic budget for a day of your journey. What will you spend money on?

On your way

Check out international signage for toilets etc, signs on roads – find pictures to share!
What will my money buy?- explore exchange rates – How much is a cup of coffee in 3 different countries?
Contacting Mom and Dad – know your time zones; explain how to use Skype or similar tech, or insert an international clock!
Flight times – using 24 hour time – how long are flights between major cities?

Visit at least one country in each continent (include Antarctica in Oceania)

Make a collage of where you visited. Try this collage maker, which is free and doesn’t require registration.
Teach us some of the language of at least three countries. For example, how would you say “How much is a cup of coffee?” in Mandarin or “Where are the toilets?” in Bengali?
Create a story of your journey.
Interview some of your employers or relatives you visit.
Create a playlist of 9 pieces of music or dance from your journey – not in English.

Home sweet home

How will you tell your friends about your journey?
What were the highlights and lowlights of each country?
Where would you visit again and why?

Add travel photos

Images make every post better. Remember only to use free photos or clipart that are licensed under creative commons. Use Compfight or Getty Images.

I can’t wait to travel to the far corners of the world with you. Let’s pack our bags and get moving!

*Here’s another student’s travel blog post to visit for inspiration!

Mrs. Rombach

Mondays are Fun Days!

April 19, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

View image | gettyimages.com

It’s Monday, and that means I’m not in class with you today. Please be shining stars for my substitute. So, what are you doing today? Let’s take a look:

(1) Vocabuary

You’re adding Week 20 vocabulary words to your spiral notebook. For each word, draw a picture that will help you remember the word’s meaning.

(2) Poetry

First, let’s read aloud Margaret Walker’s poem, Lineage.

Next, you’ll highlight words and phrases that are rich with imagery.

After that, annotate alongside your highlighted sections, jotting down connections, questions, or observations. Remember, imagery is a writer’s use of sensory words and descriptive details to paint a mental picture for the reader.

Subsequently, you’ll brainstorm content for your own poem about an adult who is special to you (parent, relative, teacher, or coach).

Finally, you’ll write your own free-verse poem. You know we’ll be posting these on our blogs later this week! 🙂

Note: I’ll give a ticket to anyone who leaves a comment here on Monday to tell me which type of text structure I just used to tell you about our poetry workshop.

(3) Independent Reading

Catch up on your book club reading, if needed. If you’re where you need to be for tomorrow’s book clubs, read your own book. After reading, turn and talk to your table partner about what’s currently happening in your books. Ask each other about the changes you’re seeing in the main character’s thoughts and actions.

(4) Comma Rules or Text Structures Review

If you’re in Blocks 2/5 or 4/8, you’ll complete the two-sided comma rules review. If you’re in Block 3/6, you’ll review Text Structures in preparation for tomorrow’s test.

(5) Extra Time is Poetry Time

Here are a few poetry readings I’d like to share with you:

Week 4: My Favorite Color is Yellow Jeep

April 10, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

You are my funshine, my only funshine.

On a sunny, 70 degree day, there’s nothing better than unsnapping the two black levers that release my sunshine yellow Jeep’s cloth top. In about two minutes flat, the top is down, my Maui Jim shades are on, and I’m putting the pedal to the metal to soak up the world. Meghan Trainor or Pharell Williams gives me an open air concert as I navigate one of the Loudoun’s signature, pot-hole-dappled, gravel backroads.

The license plate, the creation of my daughter, Cady, says it all: Funshne. Whenever I’m behind the steering wheel of my instantly convertible Funshne, life is good. The breeze threads my hair. The sun toasts my face. There are no bad days–or nights–in the driver’s seat of my Jeep Wrangler. The sweet serenade of spring peepers, the twinkling dance of a thousand lightning bugs, and the perfectness of a full moon are all the more stunning when viewed from a topless Jeep.

A few weeks back, I had one of the best drives home from work…potholes, flooded roadways, overflowing ditches that became fast-running streams. While other cars struggled to straddle the potholes and slowed to a snail’s pace to circumvent the six inches of water that covered the road, I reveled in every bump. I swerved into the stream and hooted and hollered as waves of water washed over the hood of Funshne. When I burst through the door at home, I announced, “I just had the most fun drive home ever!” My husband smiled and said, “You came home on Shreve Mill, didn’t you?” Why yes, like-minded husband of mine, I did.

This summer, we’ll head to Corolla, North Carolina and take Funshne four-wheeling, dipping our Bridgestone tires in the Atlantic Ocean, drawing zigzag paths in the sand, and roaring hysterically as we celebrate life in our favorite, top-down yellow Jeep.

What’s your favorite place to celebrate life?

Students: Your Missions in the Computer Lab Today:

1. This week, your assignment is to write about favorites (dessert, vacation, book, movie, video game, board game, birthday party, restaurant, subject, sport, or anything else that’s a favorite of yours!).

2. Visit a student in Mrs. Donofrio’s class. Leave a quality comment that includes a question and a link back to your blog (add URL, such as https://mrsrombachreads.edublogs.org).

Week 5: Favorites

This post is going to be for a three-week period as schools in Australia are on Easter break soon. The next official post will be on Sunday 19th April. Miss W will do a fun post in between with some great sites to visit.

Our topic this week is favorites. This will give you infinite options for composing posts.

Your post should include all of the following:

at least three paragraphs if you are 11 or older
an image or video or music with correct attribution
a title that grabs the attention of the readers
at least one link to another website so readers can build on the information you have written
a question for readers to answer
leave a comment for Miss Waters telling her about your post (include the URL for your post)

On this or a future post, try some of the new tools presented by the Student Blogging Challenge (see below).

Five-Minute PHOTO Friday!

March 27, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

Happy Last Day of the Quarter!

I’m pleased to present Five-Minute Photo Friday. Here are four photos to light your creative fires. What story could you tell with one of these pictures? Is there a poem, a slice of life narrative, or perhaps a journal entry bubbling inside of you? If not, that’s okay. Just write. Whether you’re silly or serious or somewhere smack in the middle, the most important thing I want you to accomplish today is to keep your fingers moving across the keyboard for a full five minutes.

Giving Credit…Where Credit is Due.

Before you begin, notice that all of my photos give credit (AKA attribution) to their creators. As I’m learning more about following copyright laws for sharing photos and videos, it’s important that I make clear that just because you find an image on Google, doesn’t mean it’s free to use. Writers, photographers, and videographers make a living selling their copyrighted work. It’s essential that we only use photographs that have been approved for use by the person behind the camera. Your best bet for embedding photos on your blog is with the Compfight widget we’ve already installed. However, you know my One Little Word this year is CHOICES--so I’m offering a few more photo resources that I’ve found through the Student Blogging Challenge.

First, say hello to Getty Images, which gives you access to over 50 million photos — including Hollywood celebrities and pro athletes! (Place pointer over an image and click the </> icon.) Getty also sells photos for commercial use (for big $) so only use the link provided. Next is MorgueFile, which serves up a lively body of free photos. 🙂 As always, give credit where credit is due–even if the photo is free to use.

It’s time to tap, tap, tap on the keyboard. Before or after you write, add the photo you used to your blog! 🙂 I can’t wait to read what you’ve written. — Mrs. Rombach

P.S. – Wow! A gaggle of global visitors responded to our country questions.

Click here to read their comments.

Then, visit their blogs to answer the questions they left for us.

Remember to leave your blog URL in every comment!

View image | gettyimages.com

credit: By: seenicks/MorgueFiles

credit: By JoeysPhotos from MorgueFile.com

Avatars -Create Your Blog Alter Ego

If you haven’t already done so, today is the perfect time to avatar yourself. Check out these options:

1. Build Your Wild Self – If you adore unique animals.

2. Hero Factory – If superhero powers are calling your name.

3. The Mini-Mizer – If you’d like to be a Lego brickhead.

4. Picasso Head – If abstract art speaks to you.

5. Dude Factory – If you’re too cool for school.

6. DoppelMe – If you’ve always wanted a mini me.

7. BitStrips – If your life is like a comic strip.

8. MyBlueRobot – If you like Mrs. Rombach’s avatar below.

9. Mii – If Wii is your gaming platform, grab a Mii avatar. (Save this for another day; I can’t figure out how to download or embed this yet.)

10. Cuteki – If a bubble-face cutie-pie is you.

Create your own avatar at mybluerobot.com.

Student Blogging Challenge: Week 4

March 24, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

Katie via Compfight

Week 4: Let’s Join Globally

This week’s activities revolve around the world in which we live. Choose ONE activity to complete today in class. Carefully proofread and spellcheck your work. Miss W of Edublogs is compiling the best and brightest of this week’s blog posts into a showcase flip book. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your blog post was in an international spotlight? What are you waiting for? It’s time to go global!

This Saturday, from 8:30-9:30pm, the world celebrates Earth Hour.

Check out the video for the 2015 event.

Now add an image to a widget on your blog sidebar – you might need to change the size to 200 by 200
Check out the starter kit for banners, logos and posters. Teachers might get some ideas from the guides to use in class during the week.
Find out what is happening in your country and in other countries around the world.

Activity 1. (*Rombach Recommended)

Activity #1

Join our Free Rice group called Student Blogging Challenge or create one for your class. Every answer you get right, means 10 grains of rice donated to the World Food Programme. Since October 2011, we have had 86 students join and donate 116, 300 grains of rice. I wonder how many we could have by the end of Easter? Can you add a widget to Free Rice on your blog?

In addition, you’re to write a post about Free Rice. Tell visitors how they participate, who it benefits, and why you chose this activity. Be sure to include a link to the Free Rice website.

Activity 2.

Write a list of international events you have taken part in since Christmas 2014. What were they celebrating? What did you do to celebrate?

Activity 3. (*Rombach Recommended)

Click here and visit at least five (5) blogs from countries other than your own. Leave a quality comment on each blog (include your blog’s URL). Next, write your own post about what you discovered and include a link to each blog you commented on. To learn how to insert a hyperlink to another blog, follow these step-by-step directions.

Activity 4. (*Rombach Recommended)

If you could create an international event, what would it be called? What would we be celebrating? Create some of the advertising material you might use – eg logo, banner, image, flyer

Activity 5.

Think of a special celebration in one country of the world. Find three images of the event. Under each image, give a clue as to the event.

On the final line, write a bit more about the event for your visitors to read. Include a link to another website giving more information on the event. Remember to include attribution for each image and perhaps a question for your readers to answer.

Activity 6.

Write about one special event you have taken part in. It might be an educational global event or an international event from the United Nations or a special event from your country. Find an image to add to your post. Remember to use attribution correctly. Include a link to another website giving more information on the event.

Activity 7. (*Rombach Recommended)

Add at least five international blogs to your blogroll or links ready for a game we will hold after Easter. If you can’t add links on your blog, add them in a post instead.

Activity 8. (*Rombach Recommended)

Álvaro Ibáñez via Compfight

What are some games or apps you use that relate to global studies or geography of the world? Write a paragraph showcasing your 2-3 recommended apps. For each featured app, include at least one supporting sentence to tell visitors the benefits. Provide a link to the website or app. To learn how to insert a hyperlink to another website or blog into your post, follow these step-by-step directions.

Activity 9. (*Rombach Recommended)

What could you, your class, your school, or your town do to help with the climate change problem for more than the one hour on Saturday, March 28, 2015?

Previous week’s activities: Visit and leave quality comments.

Eagle Wordsmiths have a question for students or classes in each country in the challenge. Please answer their questions.

Mr Jewell’s class would like some feedback from other bloggers re use of images.

Ms Andrews’ class wrote lots of poems and stories using images

Olivia wrote a brilliant post about copyright

Commenting: Brooke created a Prezi, Tess and Jamie created a video,

A-Z paragraph: Eagle Wordsmiths, 3/4 Coe,

Zoom Out: Brianna and her ladybird, Miss Scarrott and keyring, Lucas and Spencer made a zoom movie, Jennifer used Kizoa for a movie,

Controversy – iPhones at school, BYOT at school, School start later, New York Yankees,

Book Review: Delirium,

Poems: Danielle, AlexR, Kayla, Jazzy, Rachel, Jamie, Xander, Hank, Sophia, Isabel, Paige, Keyan,

Stories to finish: Jonah, Cassie, Andrew, Chelsea, Hannah, Penelope,

Conversations are happening: Kendall and Merry, Nelly and Merry,

About pages: Compare Hobart to your town, Riley, Cloie’s slideshow about family, Hailey, Lucasand family,

Passionate about: Flying with AlexS, elephants with Ava,

Sentences to read: Erica, Mackenzie, Andrew,

Using images in lots of activities: Renee, Aymen, Nelly, Lucas,

Jigsaw puzzle: Kendall,

Still got time left this week?

1. Visit other student and class blogs, and leave some quality comments.

2. Reply to comments on your own blog.

3. Start using tags and categories with each post you write to make it easier for people to find posts on certain topics. Make sure you have the tags and categories widgets in your sidebar.

Having lots of links to student blogs from other countries will help spread the game.

Here are the instructions for adding links to your sidebars.

Edublogs, Blogger, Kidblog – not sure if this widget goes on the class page or each student page

UPDATE – UPDATE – UPDATE

Miss W has now created the flipboard magazine for this set of challenges. She will only be adding posts that:

are written in paragraphs
have been proofread
include an image, sound or video with attribution(use only free images found on sites listed below)
- Compfight (on your blog already-camera icon)
- MorgueFiles (find your image, download photo, open new post, click on Add Media, upload photo from your download file, add photographer credit, insert into post)
- GettyImages (must use their embed code </>)

Student Blogging Challenge #2: Questions for our Visitors

March 12, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

Making Comments. Making Connections.

This week, our sixth grade class has been busy leaving comments on blogs around the world. On Tuesday, we delivered comments to Mr. Jewell’s class in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. On Wednesday, we left a myriad of comments for our Aussie friends in Mrs. Coffa’s class. Today, my students opened up the student page of the Student Blogging Challenge and reached out to their peers with common interests. As every student found a connection, a little squeal would rise from the chatter. They were so excited to find 12-year-olds in another part of the world who shared their passions–or had pets they’d never dreamed of having (like alpacas). Tomorrow, we’ll be adding a new post–and leaving more comments.

If you’ve landed on our blog, please take a few minutes and leave a comment responding to one of our questions.

We promise to return the visit if you leave your URL.

COUNTRY	STUDENT INTERVIEWERS	OUR QUESTIONS
USA (one of the other 50 states!)	Hannah and Sammy	Do you get to go home anytime during the school day?If we came to visit, what would you recommend?
Australia	Clare and Sofia	What’s your favorite candy only in Australia?
New Zealand	Jasmin and Emma	What kind of animals live there?What kinds of shows do you guys like to watch?What is your native foods that you guys eat? What is your favorite youtube channel?
Mexico	Topher and Ian	What is the most popular tv channel or show?Do you really like tacos?What do you do for work?
China	Sophia *and* *Haily*	Do they read right to left?What’s the most common animal species there?What other languages do they speak besides Chinese?
Bangladesh	*Patrick* *and* *Kyle*	What kind of board games do you play there?What is your geographical location?
Canada	Julia and Sarah	What is the climate?What different foods do they have there?
United Arab Emirates UAE	Sahar and Hannah	Where is United Arab Emirates?Types of food?Is there a well-known YouTuber from UAE?
Russia	*Jenna* and Collin	What kind or sports do they play? Do they play football?What kind of climate is there?Is it really cold, really hot? What kind of animals live there?
Scotland	Christian and Aidan	What is your favorite snack in Scotland?What is a common name?
England	Rhea and Leilani	-How many types of languages do they speak?What animals are endangered in England?
Wales	Mariya and Namitha	What are your favorite activities to do in Wales?What are your favorite snacks in Wales?
Ireland	Taken by Ale and Abhi	-What is a traditional famous dish that you enjoy having?Do you think that the culture is different in Ireland than in America?What do you do to celebrate Saint Patricks Day?
Philippines	Siddharth and Shashank	Are there poor people there?What kind of sports do they play there?
South Korea	Maggie and Ashley	What’s you favorite candy?What are some special foods that you eat on holidays?
Taiwan	WHOLE CLASS	What do you have for lunch at school?What subjects do you study?
Spain	Gia and Natalie	How many classes do you have each day?How long are your classes?
Indonesia	*Pranav and Cooper*	How are the volcanoes there?What are the cities like?How do you get from place to place?
Vietnam	Kate & Kelly	What’s your main form of transportation?What are some of your favorite foods?
Madagascar	Brianna and Major	Does your island have many schools and colleges?What kinds of technology do you have?
Japan	Teddy and Colleen	What is your favorite type of foods?What kind of animals live in your area?
Italy	Mikayla and Leila	Does everyone in Italy speak ItalianAre there any famous traditions?I have heard that there are many vineyards in Italy. Is this true?
Marshall Islands	Austin and Jacob	Why do you call them the Marshall Islands?What’s your favorite movie?What is your favorite food? What type of animals are around your islands?
Turkey	Srihitha and Ramya	What type of traditional festivals do you have?What is your largest festival of the year?
Saudi Arabia	Srihitha and Ramya	What is your daily routine like?What is the most special part of your day?
Netherlands	Morgan and Casey	What do you do for fun after school? What is your daily routine? What are your customs and traditions?
Ukraine	Alexander and Gabriel	What are your recreational activities?
Sweden	Ethan & Matt >	How do you say “I love video games,” in Swedish? 😉What do people usually like to do in Sweden? 🙂
Armenia	WHOLE CLASS	If we visited your town, what should we see and do?
South Africa	Raeva and Aimee	What foods do you eat?Do some people still live in tribes ?What holidays do you celebrate?
Romania	Srihitha and Ramya	What type of recreational activities do you have?Which ones are unique and cultural?
Georgia	(: ELLA and JENNY 🙂	What do you do after school?What kind of lunches do you get at school?What kind of recreational activities do you do for fun?
India	*Emre and Andrew*	What do you guys do after school?What are your hobbies?
Bahrain	WHOLE CLASS	What are the top three places a tourist should visit in your country?What’s the weather like there?
Kenya	*Jake And ADAM*	*What are your hobbies do you still live in tribes?What are your favorite foods? 🙂***
Nigeria	Ben, Kael, and Joey	What is it like there for the schools and your computers?
Guam	Nick, Emma, and David	What kind of sports do they play?What is the weather like in Guam?What language do they speak?
Uganda	Noemi and Sarah	What language do you speak?What’s the weather like in Uganda?What kind of foods do you eat in Uganda? What are your hobbies? What kind of sports do you play?
Brazil	Trang and Shriya	What languages do you speak?How many people talk Portuguese in Brazil?What are some traditional dishes in your country?
Norway	Laila and Daniela	What types of food do they eat?What is the population where you live?
Honduras	WHOLE CLASS	What’s your typical school day like?What movies are your favorite?
Algeria Hong Kong	WHOLE CLASS	What are you favorite books?What do you study?What do you do for fun? How far is school from your house? What are your recreational activities? What are some of your cultural and traditional activities?

Quality Comments Start with You!

March 9, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

Week Two: Let’s Comment!

In response to this week’s challenge, our class presents an Animoto video about leaving quality comments. In a day or two, we’ll add to this post with a list of questions for our blogging friends in other countries. Until then, enjoy our video…and leave us a quality comment. My 74 student bloggers are counting visitors and comments. I know they’d be thrilled to have you take that extra few minutes and explore some of their blogs. You’ll find links in our blog roll in the right sidebar. Each time you comment, please be sure to include your blog’s URL so we can return the visit. We’d love to start a comment conversation with you!

MARCH 8, 2015 BY MISS W.

Week 2: Let’s comment!

Let’s start talking online. Here are this week’s activities for the Student Blogging Challenge. Choose one to complete on YOUR blog.

It has been great to see a number of students and classes starting to visit other blogs and leave comments. Which of the following comments would you prefer to find on your blog?

1. wassup

2. this is a great blog. i like Katy Perry too. plz visit my blog at ……………..

3. G’day John, I enjoyed reading your post about Talk like a Pirate Day. We also did that in our class. We dressed as pirates, spoke using pirate terms, but also found out there are still pirates roaming the seas even in modern times. Do you know how they are different to the old time pirates? Visit our class blog to read what we found out. ……………. Miss Wyatt

Activity 1: Write a post, create a video or create a poster about commenting.

Might be tips to get more visitors, guidelines for acceptable comments on your blog, examples of good and bad comments – think outside the square. Remember you don’t have to approve all comments. It is your blog; send some to the trash and if it is a company trying to get you to visit their blog to buy something, then label it as spam.

Here are some links to commenting guidelines written by students and classes. Class in New Zealand, grade 11/12 class in USA, Huzzah class blog in Canada, Abbey has a blogging guideline page, Mrs Allen created a poster about commenting, Shaffer writers, WarriorKat uses lots of visuals in her guidelines, Sophie had a great post, the Blogging Frogs have some great tips, Cole wrote about commenting,

Activity 2: Write a really interesting post that you think will get lots of comments.

Often writing about one of your passions will get lots of comments, so will something controversial where your readers could agree or disagree with your opinion. Remember to end with a question so your readers can give an answer. If you are on Twitter use the hashtag #stubc15 to mention your post. Otherwise leave a comment on this challenge post so I can add it to twitter.

Here are some posts written by students saying how to attract visitors to your blog –Alexandra,Jake, Ashleigh, Leif, Mrs Vazquez’ class wrote about a global challenge they took part in,Corinna asked a question about the school year, Alex asked about iPhones

Activity 3: Have a family member write a post for you to add to your blog.

They could write it and email or post it to you. Does this post attract more visitors or family members leaving comments? One family member regularly blogs on Mrs Yollis’ blog – Where is nonno ?

Activity 4: Write a post about the overseas blogs you have commented on.

We have over 35 countries represented in our class and student blogging participants. Visit some of them, read their posts and leave a quality comment. Why did you choose that blog and particular post?

Check out how Ms Bliss’ class wrote their post. Beatrice wrote about Ocean’s blog,

Here are the countries from classes and students participating in this challenge: USA, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, China, Bangladesh, Canada, UAE, Russia, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Indonesia, Vietnam, Madagascar, Japan, Italy, Marshall Islands, Turkey, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Sweden, Armenia, South Africa, Romania, Georgia, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Guam, Uganda, Brazil, Norway, Honduras, Algeria . You will need to search the lists to find them – any that have bright pink countries means you might not be able to read posts or leave comments.

Activity 5: Adding great blogs to your blogroll

Now you have started visiting other blogs, there might be some you want to visit often. Instead of having to go to the student participation page each time, you can add them as links on the sidebar of your blog. If using Edublogs Pro or campus with My Class activated, in your dashboard> appearance> widgets> drag across Class blogs to your sidebar. Change the number to 30 or however many in your class.

PS Students using Kidblog might have to write a post including the links as I don’t think you can have a blogroll on your own sidebar.

To make it easy for visitors to find the blogs of your classmates and friends you need to add their link on your blogroll.

If using Edublogs or campus and you want to add classmates, overseas blogs or links to other websites you use often like mathletics, reading eggs etc then dashboard> appearance> widgets> links or blogroll
If you want to group your links, then use link categories. These might be ‘Overseas friends’ or for links about your hobbies you might need a category for ‘Cricket’ or ‘Tasmanian Devils’ or ‘Online Games’.
To create these link categories, go to dashboard> links> Link Categories> put in the name of a category and save.
Back to your dashboard> links> add new link. Fill in the name of the person or website, then under web address put in the URL of their blog. Remember to include the http:// part. Choose which category you want the link to be under then click add link.

Click here for blogspot, click here for weebly, teachers click here for kidblog

Activity 6: Learn some HTML code to include a link in a comment or to improve the look of a comment.

Mrs Yollis explains this in her post link above. Might be a way to include a link to your blog whenever you leave a comment. On my challenge blog, I have a post called do not publish and this is where I keep HTML code to help with my blog URL at the end of a comment. You might want to leave a comment on this post and tell me what you have found interesting about commenting. Use some HTML code in your comment. If <b> doesn’t work try <strong> instead.

Activity 7: What makes a great conversation in the comment area?

Check out these students – Max and Abbey, Jack and Abbey, Colton and Lily – take note their conversation continues further down the page, Merry Beau and Mackenzie – lots of conversations

These are threaded comments where the reader clicks on reply underneath the first comment – this is then indented slightly and the next reply is indented further. Some themes are good for 5 threads while other themes you might end up with only one word on each line on the 5th thread. To change the number of threads go to dashboard> settings> discussion and change to whatever number you want from 1-10

Do you have to answer every comment? That is up to you. Some comments allow for a great conversation while others might just need a “Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog.”

How do you know if someone has answered your comment on their blog? When you leave a comment on a blog, there might be a tick box about notify me by email. Click on that box and you will be notified every time someone leaves a comment on that post. You can easily unsubscribe later if you want to stop having the emails, by checking the bottom of the email where there should be an unsubscribe link.

Activity 8: Add a widget to find out where your readers are coming from.

There are many different widgets you can use – clustrmaps, flag counter, feedjit Have you seen any others while visiting blogs of other students? Maybe you could write a post about why you chose the reader widget you have put on your blog. Remember you might get lots of readers, but not everyone is comfortable leaving a comment.

Activity 9. Questions in a post

Write a post asking questions about one country mentioned in activity 4. Have at least 6 questions in your post. If your questions are interesting you might get lots of comments. Remember to tweet about it or leave a comment on this post, so I can tweet. #stubc15

All About Us

March 8, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

The 2015 Student Blogging Challenge begins–and we’re so excited to take part in this global online connection. Consider this class blog your one-stop portal to the awesome student blogs of 74 splendiferous sixth graders. I’m their truly blessed English teacher. Here’s our response to Week One’s Activity #6 — an A to Z paragraph that shares a little about us,

We’re from Ashburn, Virginia – 35 miles west of Washington, D.C.

We are an active, bright class of dedicated, enthusiastic, friendly middle school girls and guys who have interests as varied as our names. We jump into each day keen on learning Language Arts. From mastering challenging new vocabulary words to opening the pages of countless books, we’re quintessential learners ready to launch ourselves into the world. Serious or silly, talkative or taciturn, we’re a unique collection of sixth grade Virginians who want to make a difference in the world. Explore our ever-expanding blogs and you’ll meet one-of-a-kind kids who have a zillion things to say. We hope you’ll always be a commenter!

Whether you’re a teacher or student, I’d love to visit your blog and learn how you’re integrating technology into the classroom. Tonight, as I clicked on some of the links provided on this week’s Student Blogging Challenge recap, I found some wonderful tools I intend to incorporate into my teaching. Thanks for sharing out ThingLink and Tellagami. Plus, I learned some really cool coding shortcuts from Royce, one of Mrs. Yollis’ students. Click to visit his Learn HTML Code Page.

In Ashburn, Virginia, we’ve missed 12 days of school due to snow and ice. What’s the weather like in your part of the world?

Weather Ashburn, VA

Snow Day #12 – March 6, 2015

March 5, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

It’s been another short week! Two days of school this week…crazy!

Since Wayde called with the big snow day announcement, I wonder what you’ve got planned for today. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll check this blog. If you do, take a minute and answer the poll. After that, help me prepare our All About Me page for the 2015 Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge. I need your input…and you know how much I love a little Padlet in my life.

Besides reading–which of course you’ll be doing tomorrow–I invite you to visit a few student bloggers I discovered today. When you visit another blogger, be sure to leave a positive comment (as well as your blog URL), so they can return the visit.

Enjoy your four-day weekend and be ready to rock and roll when we return to class on Monday. I am excited for you to share your research presentation with me and your classmates. Be prepared to shine as you show us what you’ve learned about your social issue.

What’s on your agenda for Snow Day #12?

What is the best snow day activity?

Ten student blogs worth visiting:

1. Leave a comment for Shane and while you’re there, notice the poll widget he added to his sidebar using www.poll-maker.com.

2. Niall, another student in Mr. Jewell’s class, left comments on many of your blogs. Return the favor by visiting his blog, The Genius Center.

3. Stop by Irene’s blog. You’ll learn a little more about growing up in Taipei, Taiwan (and how similar we all are!).

4. Are you a fan of Disney shows? Or wonder what it’s like to live in Vermont? Check out Marilynn’s Fantastic Blog.

5. Sports fan should flock to Aidan’s Sports Blog for updates on all things sports — from baseball teams to deflated footballs.

6. Interested in connecting with a colorful Australian blogger? Visit Chloe’s Creative Classroom and leave her ideas for future blog posts.

7. Here’s another blog from Down Under…Eden’s Extraordinary Existence. Click on her page of drawings…and be inspired to create your own gallery of artwork.

8. Do luxury vehicles make your heart race? Compare your list of fast-lane favorites on Ian’s Blog of Cars and Education.

9. Mia’s Motivated Blog shares an avatar maker you might want to try. In addition, check out more avatar makers on Mrs. Rombach’s Beyond the Post – Blog Building Resources page.

10. Closer to home, I’d like to showcase two ERMS student bloggers — Aidan and Namitha. These blogs–like all great blogs–show initiative, creativity, and attention to detail.

What should other classes know about our class–and about our school?

Created with Padlet

When I’m Gone…

February 28, 2015 by mrsrombachreads

It’s true. As Mr. Edison once said, “There is no substitute for hard work.” However, there is a hard-working substitute in our class today and Tuesday. Please be on your very best behavior while I’m in North Carolina visiting my Mom in the hospital.

Here’s the agenda for Monday, March 2.

(1) Collection of the February Reading Response Choice Boards. Confirm your name is at the top of your packet before turning in. The March choice board will be handed out today–and you’ll also find it shared with you on Google classroom.

(2) Add this week’s four vocabulary words to the Vocabulary section of your spiral notebook. Test on Week 15 & 16 words on Friday. Prepare by studying on Quizlet.com.

(2) Independent Reading & Reflection

(3) Problem & Solution Video and Quick Write

(4) Vocabulary Posters – Table Group Work

(5) I’m going to miss you when I’m gone! See you all on Wednesday.

Mrs. Rombach Reads

Category Archives: Celebrating 6th Grade