September 13, 2008
This is a new beginning
It has finally begun…! Our writing project is starting to shape and we are all very excited about it.
It all started with an idea I had a few months ago. I've been an English teacher for 11 years now, and I have watched my students struggle with their writing through these years. I love teaching English as a second language and I especially like teaching the "secrets" of creative writing.
A lot is required from our students here in Israel as they reach the period of their final exams. Writing is one of the major components in the final exams in English and teaching the right technique is never easy.
I realized a new approach had to be taken with our students, one that would make them write much more and to a wider audience. That's when I thought of writing in personal blogs.
It is true we live in the 21st century, but not much is done in schools to prepare the younger generation for their adult life. We still teach in the ways that were acceptable in the 19th century, and don't do enough to prepare those kids for the life that they will lead once they graduate and need to work and live with the newest technologies.
Using blogs to express one self in writing, and in our case, professionalizing their writing in a foreign language, is the goal of this project. My students (9th and 10th graders) have already created their own personal blogs with my guidance and help. Most of them were already familiar with the world of blogs, but had never thought of them as an educational tool. The idea is to make that connection between their lives outside the walls of their school and their assignments in it.
I must say that although they were surprised at the idea, they reacted very positively to it, and soon went right ahead with their tasks.
I do hope this will be a productive and creative year for us. I hope to witness their progress all through this year and that this idea will prove to be successful.
Daphna.
This is a new beginning
It has finally begun…! Our writing project is starting to shape and we are all very excited about it.
It all started with an idea I had a few months ago. I've been an English teacher for 11 years now, and I have watched my students struggle with their writing through these years. I love teaching English as a second language and I especially like teaching the "secrets" of creative writing.
A lot is required from our students here in Israel as they reach the period of their final exams. Writing is one of the major components in the final exams in English and teaching the right technique is never easy.
I realized a new approach had to be taken with our students, one that would make them write much more and to a wider audience. That's when I thought of writing in personal blogs.
It is true we live in the 21st century, but not much is done in schools to prepare the younger generation for their adult life. We still teach in the ways that were acceptable in the 19th century, and don't do enough to prepare those kids for the life that they will lead once they graduate and need to work and live with the newest technologies.
Using blogs to express one self in writing, and in our case, professionalizing their writing in a foreign language, is the goal of this project. My students (9th and 10th graders) have already created their own personal blogs with my guidance and help. Most of them were already familiar with the world of blogs, but had never thought of them as an educational tool. The idea is to make that connection between their lives outside the walls of their school and their assignments in it.
I must say that although they were surprised at the idea, they reacted very positively to it, and soon went right ahead with their tasks.
I do hope this will be a productive and creative year for us. I hope to witness their progress all through this year and that this idea will prove to be successful.
Daphna.
