One of my favorite bloggers is Jennifer Gonzalez! I was introduced to her through a graduate class and I have been reading her blogs ever since. Jennifer has great ideas for a wide range of topics including creative ways to use student blogs.

As I was reading her blog post centered on student blogging, I came across a project that would work great in a sixth-grade Social Studies classroom. The project titled Special Interest Blog seemed a perfect fit for middle school students to share what they have learned. Jennifer suggested students choose a historical period, event, place, or person to focus their writing on. The idea of having students write a blog post from the perspective of a historical figure or discuss historical events is a great way for them to reflect on what they learned. Getting their classmates to comment and/or continue writing about a similar topic is a perfect way to collaborate and share knowledge.

My plan is to create a blogging project that students will use during our study of Egyptian pharaohs. Students will each choose a pharaoh that they will become on our class blog (which needs to be created!). Students will tell about the reign of the pharaoh by focusing on a specific event in the pharaoh’s life. Students will have to use what we learned about the pharaoh in class along with adding some personality traits to their writing. Peers will comment on the blogs either by asking questions or expanding on the subject.

I’m excited to try out this blogging project and hope it is a hit with the students! I can’t wait to read blogs written by Ramses II, King Tut, and Hatshepsut. Thanks, Jennifer Gonzalez, for a great idea.