One adventure in blogging done, a new one yet to come

Recently, my AP Lit class finished their independent novel blog assignments. This is the third year I've assigned blogging to my AP Lit students, and, once again, it is an assignment that makes me proud of my students.

One of the reasons I love it is because of the voice that students discover (or perhaps just feel allowed to use) in blogging. They can crack a joke, link to pop culture, include gifs and memes. Their blogs feel like theirs, not something that I've really assigned and dictated.

Another benefit is the amount of writing and critical analysis they do. It's so much more than I ask for when I assign the novel and then require them to write about it. Don't get me wrong, I could ask them to write a response on each of the same topics as we read a novel, but I think they would complain about it. A lot. But I don't hear much complaining during the blog assignment. Perhaps it's because it is their only homework during the unit (in class we're reading Macbeth). Perhaps it's because they feel ownership over the writing and the product.

There are a few aspects of the project I'd still like to fine tune, one of which is to open them up to a wider audience than just their classmates and their teacher. I do share the links with the building staff, but that doesn't go too far. What I'd love is to link up with another teacher in another school and have students blog together. I know there are teachers that do this through Twitter. I just have to get this set up ahead of time next year.

This success in AP Lit has led to the adventure in blogging that is just beginning. I'm teaching AP Language and Composition for the first time, and I have decided to mirror the assignment, with some tweaks of course, with my juniors.

They will be reading 1 of 3 non-fiction works that focuses on issues related to race: The New Jim Crow, Race, or The Shame of the Nation. Each book approaches the topic of race from a slightly different angle, the justice system, history/society, and education, respectively.

My hope is that students will use the blogs to process their responses to their independent reading, to link their reading to the readings and discussions we've had in class, and to do what my AP Lit students have done: find their voice and their own critical thinking and reading skills.

There's really not much more I can hope for from an assignment, so I look forward to what will happen.