Having a very bad day

I've been on an emotional downward spiral all day today. After a 15-minute phone conversation with my craziest niece this morning about her mother (my sister) while on my way to work, I came into my office shaking, my heart pounding and very close to bursting into tears. It was a horrible conversation with a crazy person, and not a good way to start my day.<br /><br />I feel like my heart has been ripped out and stomped on. Even as I write this ten hours after the conversation, I can feel the pain like a knife in my chest.<br /><br />I won't rehash all the evil things she said to me, but I have retained a local attorney to help me stop her from ever contacting me again. It's a sad situation and a path I didn't want to go down, but my mental health is too important to me to keep living with this kind of insanity. <br /><br />I really want my old life back. I didn't know how good I had it, when life was simple and my biggest concerns were exercising and losing weight. I'm trying to make the best of things, but the sadness is overwhelming me.<br /><br /><br />

Having a very bad day

I've been on an emotional downward spiral all day today. After a 15-minute phone conversation with my craziest niece this morning about her mother (my sister) while on my way to work, I came into my office shaking, my heart pounding and very close to…

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Weekend Recap

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I've been cooking up a storm for the last few weeks.  I normally cook several times per week but lately it's been everyday, and I like that.  I'm sure that has also been a huge contributing factor in my weight loss success.  Only allowing 1 meal to be eaten out per week plus no Starbucks Mon-Fri has been working to my advantage!<br /><br />Having said all of that, I have lots of deliciousness coming your way :).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul></ul><ul><li><b>Oreo Truffles (2 Points+ for one ball)</b> - these are SO GOOD and incredibly easy to make. I first had these at my aunt's annual Christmas party years ago, and this year I made them as part of the cookie tins I gave to our family as gifts. They were a HUGE hit! Freezing them makes it harder to go overboard {if you think you might}. </li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/assets/recipe_images/Easy-OREO-Truffles-52162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/assets/recipe_images/Easy-OREO-Truffles-52162.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx" target="_blank">KraftRecipes.com</a> - totally forgot to take one!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ul><li><b>Fast Fix Lasagna (8 PointsPlus for 1/12 of recipe)</b> - this is a tried and true lasagna recipe. The only difference is the noodle you use. No, it's not those pesky <a href="http://www.house-foods.com/tofu/tofu_shirataki.aspx">Tofu Shirataki's</a> {sorry <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/">Hungry Girl</a> - I love you but I don't love those as a viable pasta sub!}. It's this flowery little ditty called Campanelle. Real pasta. Real lasagna flavor. </li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmEALiB9v_MbtOcuUsbF4E-dBgkMSdsaHT0HTcDF-juqLo5xb7AczfeQKZsDIAiFHjpe2G_P6oD5N_W4gAFxf7Mdh7s96dSmXTeUoAHdnF_ewribrLOm1I352S0REL-YJwx1EXxvv6Wk/s1600/lasagna+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmEALiB9v_MbtOcuUsbF4E-dBgkMSdsaHT0HTcDF-juqLo5xb7AczfeQKZsDIAiFHjpe2G_P6oD5N_W4gAFxf7Mdh7s96dSmXTeUoAHdnF_ewribrLOm1I352S0REL-YJwx1EXxvv6Wk/s400/lasagna+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><b>Kickin' Chicken Pot Pie (7 PointsPlus for 1/4 of recipe)</b> - <i style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="color: #999999;">Made Hungry Girl's way - your total would be 6 PointsPlus.</span> </i>The only difference between how HG makes it and how I did is I used canned chunk chicken {in water - 99% fat free} instead of 8 oz of raw chicken breast. Do what's easiest for you. BUT, again, a wholesome meal. No fake ingredients. Veggies, protein and carbs abound! AND the serving size is HUGE. You'll be making this in a 9" pie plate and you get 1/4 of that as a serving! I sure do wish I could get 1/4 of a pumpkin pie for 7 PointsPlus.</li></ul><br /><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BhsCMau1q_VC1jDv0RIWBW0dlV60TFNE8HSEqaN4Yv2rixHUMq_inprjDr0EkkeTVtYP3w59JaudpdQE-s-pYuSmHOJjQFSV4096OaosVOGfFd83ckx0jumu2HeiQxBymxQwoHerhY0/s1600/chicken+pot+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BhsCMau1q_VC1jDv0RIWBW0dlV60TFNE8HSEqaN4Yv2rixHUMq_inprjDr0EkkeTVtYP3w59JaudpdQE-s-pYuSmHOJjQFSV4096OaosVOGfFd83ckx0jumu2HeiQxBymxQwoHerhY0/s400/chicken+pot+pie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>***********************</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>We did meet with the caterer on Saturday.  It went well and the dinner options for the wedding sound great.  Of course, it made my palms sweat facing the reality of the cost.  Don't get me wrong, I knew what to expect, but we are actually committed now, and this is <i>really </i>happening!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_a28JvV_U3vd9WGPTxoqAHCy3P03cBWWTJL2L0nEHbivYfHnNk0sf3bX_Rj9MeVCefzO2EQCxwr1ECWP12tKXxeMLxPAN4EaKqj7tXOtHmbBtnt4EDKmLbtzJvbjwBO0-r8ZsQaZnBA/s1600/charles+dreaming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_a28JvV_U3vd9WGPTxoqAHCy3P03cBWWTJL2L0nEHbivYfHnNk0sf3bX_Rj9MeVCefzO2EQCxwr1ECWP12tKXxeMLxPAN4EaKqj7tXOtHmbBtnt4EDKmLbtzJvbjwBO0-r8ZsQaZnBA/s400/charles+dreaming.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Meal-schmeal.  I have something they can eat that won't cost a lot!"</td></tr></tbody></table>Things like cars breaking down on the drive back from the caterer meeting are expenses that we really don't want to see happening right now.  We were in Joel's Corolla coming upon an intersection when this loud noise began, accompanied by a funky smell.  He quickly maneuvered us off of the highway where we proceeded to push the car into a 7 Eleven parking lot {with the help of a passerby who seemed to come out of nowhere!}.  This is just not something we need right now at all.<br /><br />We definitely have some bad luck on our side lately.  In just the past three months alone, we've now had two cars break down {well, mine was a broken heater but mine was also covered under a warranty}, a furnace that blew only cold air, a microwave that wouldn't heat the food {do you see a trend here??}, and my engagement ring is currently in the repair shop because a prong bent back causing the diamond to shift.  Fortunately the heater and microwave are things our landlord is fixing, but we've definitely incurred some indirect costs as a result of those 2 things being broken {like higher than normal utility bills}.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44M5-3qFgDF8OtVEsnNMJh3BYREzWUbpyxm6-fRpI8OrS8gndik8f2LXnpcdEFA7Lre1ehqUPkOBxe-ZCL7P5_ZjLN2fHiicHV7JzALGZQ__SlmlDdcpvSaxZW8W87qA6o5iNcpXokag/s1600/merlin+relaxing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44M5-3qFgDF8OtVEsnNMJh3BYREzWUbpyxm6-fRpI8OrS8gndik8f2LXnpcdEFA7Lre1ehqUPkOBxe-ZCL7P5_ZjLN2fHiicHV7JzALGZQ__SlmlDdcpvSaxZW8W87qA6o5iNcpXokag/s400/merlin+relaxing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bad luck?! I've been living the life!"</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Are we alive and well? Yes, and that's frankly all that matters.  It could always, ALWAYS be worse.  <br /><br />At least I survived my first week of classes unscathed! <br /><br />I hope <i>you </i>had a great "on plan" weekend!

wedding Weekend Recap Weekend Recap

I've been cooking up a storm for the last few weeks.  I normally cook several times per week but lately it's been everyday, and I like that.  I'm sure that has also been a huge contributing factor in my weight loss success.  Only allowing 1 meal to b…

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IS EATING YOUR EXPERTISE?

How much energy and judgment each day do you give to your weight, what you are eating, the diet you are following (or not), and to your overall value as a person? If I were to throw out a percentage of people I help who spend over 90% of the day thinking about these things, I would say over 85% of my clients are obsessed with their body, diets, and food. It's a co-dependent nightmare.<br /><br />I remember when I was obsessed. I was so afraid of being fat that most of my waking time I'd think about the food, calories, my strategy of control, the exercise I'd have to do, and everything that needed perfect order so that I'd avoid gaining fat. Fear of fat gain became my identity and my expertise.  How many of you reading this have the same fear, or have opposite fear? <br /><br />The opposite fear would be not getting to eat again. Wondering what you will be eating next, when you will get the opportunity to eat, feeling sadness over the foods you think you are entitle to but are being denied of, and also fantasising about what you will be eating the moment your diet is over. Is eating your obsession, addiction, and your expertise?<br /><br />If we lived even just 150 years ago you wouldn't have the access to food the way you do today and eating/dieting/weight obsession wouldn't exist. So what would you be doing with your time then? What are your natural talents and how would you express your creativity? If eating/dieting wasn't your main talent, then what would all of your energy and time go towards? How would you express your uniqueness? What if the time, education, and studying you've put into diet after diet after diet went towards a college education? How many of you would have a PHD? The sad part of being identified by eating, food, dieting, and weight is that you are wasting your authentic talent, creative gifts, and your life away on something that doesn't give to the world, but instead isolates your unique and special gifts away from being exposed. Have you ever considered the amount of incredible power you've given away to eating that could be harnessed toward creating something magnificent?<br /><br />Looking back I can see the incredible amount of power I had, that was going inward towards fear, isolation, and control. Now, that same incredible power is going outward, manifesting something creative. Each and every person has unique power that shouldn't be defined by food and your body.<br /><br />The power you think you are receiving from food is in reality, your own power to create. What are you capable of with that power? It's time you find out.

IS EATING YOUR EXPERTISE?

How much energy and judgment each day do you give to your weight, what you are eating, the diet you are following (or not), and to your overall value as a person? If I were to throw out a percentage of people I help who spend over 90% of the day thin…

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Create a blogging culture in your English classroom

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Recently I created a Slideshare called ‘Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool’ and I wrote from the standpoint of the teacher using a blog to teach.  </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I posted this in an earlier blog post. Here it is just as a reminder. </span></span><br /><br /><div id="__ss_10644966" style="width: 425px;"><b style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/a-blog-can-be-a-fantastic-teaching-tool" target="_blank" title="A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool ">A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool </a></b> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/10644966" width="425"></iframe> <br /><div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">fionabeal</a> </div></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Today’s post examines how a blog can be very beneficial to the students in a classroom, and in this case, an English classroom.  </span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Create a blog for yourself and for your students</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">One of the best ways to start transforming your classroom is to first create your own blog and then let the students create theirs. Link their blogs to yours by using a blog roll</span>.  <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Look at the example from Mrs Albanese's class. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the perfect example of the students blogs listed down the side. This is very important because often you want the students to comment on each other’s postings and this way is easy because they simply visit your blog and easily find the rest of the students' blogs. <br /><a href="http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org/">http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPw1ufNvOVH7oy8VyRoQw8K1UW2Hcj-6kloR56cI7kk4wFuQ2Pr7OEjNzwtIZ0zttVSg2QIeDkalu7ii63pKbWxnPRoq0lBM9PDokdq_EQcJonBV3LaMq2ZgXjg0jT0zhS_pKYEd-SBE/s1600-h/image16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1VIGRvAzXMOe65ThWjKzYiC_RX_dttpcxBpZEQwkqHwZ3LgiTyGgyBtXOCUOswT49qV1eeHDEASLvr_6igL736iHdpwx0rvQxCeo8XD6qwTj5g2vkRfREmPQlGJNCz6SOlX5CTgW8hw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Which blogging platform?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Naturally you want to use  platform that is safe, economical, spacious and attractive.There are many options but I will just mention four. </span></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Edublogs</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Now that Edublogs no longer has advertising on it it is a much better proposition to use. Edublogs provides a very small amount of storage space, so I pay for extra space yearly. You can then create student blogs yourself using something called <i>the gmail hack</i>, so that you have access to passwords. (The </span><span style="font-size: small;">Edublogger </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">is a great site with plenty of tips and tricks on how to do things like that) The only <span style="font-family: inherit;">problem is that Edublogs doesn’t allow much space on their free blogs for the learners. But it would probably do for a year of work.</span></span><br style="font-family: inherit;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/" style="font-family: inherit;">http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/</a></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXHVJPTmqUi4eis99Mlm71PTssSB7BiGWRdnJOM81rtvf39RUxRgbnHlsGftEVLYlUSZ5c0XK6Uc6JNBbjP0xBgE5ORPSM5358OuBO1JNXap-wsCurbtax9t3ivQ7h1vIL-lhuTYHUAk/s1600-h/image40.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3bGVuKU5bqXsB0fgHSRipc5OAjwFF7CdtU_2KsKA2mQo-ff7gf_tWAaItUKoh4pINi90UBfLN4RcIv1DmZd_m0jHfI-EiUxeg7DljS2slond23nK1KFrF0BIEehqfbUKCSgwHjZdAaA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Blogger<br /></b>I particularly love using Blogger for myself because it gives loads of free space and has a nice feel and touch. The templates are also very attractive. However, it is often felt to be unsuitable for students because of “the next blog” icon at the top. <br /><a href="http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/">http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLu5kabwLa7IhZkclcgAo25bGsFtqIqOq1Uyz3dxXSAUr5uAnqD_68ygoAcHf_6xKQ9uao7PyQ8tzX5aHQkgnWEJvF5lxR4XzOddFVK-b81l06KT24-UO7FeM9FLMM_VEEoKIFTNKKBmg/s1600-h/image27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmXpZpfrfYfnXu7D62e6_XXBnznIIggixCVaV6IeEU0lwFMsJx5NDjKcVkTl7czHwTrGx9Q4Budm_xXZnjkqNOcPm3akMT4DamGB06bH6-_Rm4VgVv_PENZJvicpwuNoSNQWxUX98kJU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Posterous</span><br /></b>Some people rave about using Posterous blogs for collaborative projects. The reason for this is that you can send an email from anywhere to your posterous blog. It then becomes a draft ready for you to edit and publish. To get details for this look at: <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/28413/blog-from-anywhere-instantly-with-posterous/">http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/28413/blog-from-anywhere-instantly-with-posterous/ (</a>I have since discovered that you can also post to your blog using Blogger.) Here is an example of a posterous blog used for a global collaborative project.<br /><a href="http://kstadler.posterous.com/">http://kstadler.posterous.com/</a></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Kidblogs<br /></b>There has been a lot of talk about Kidblogs being a safe and simple platform. The Kidblog ‘About page’ says “Kidblog allows teachers to monitor and control all publishing activity within the classroom blogging community.” </span><span style="font-size: small;">I haven’t personally used Kidblog, but it is supposedly really easy for creating a class blog and blogs for your students. Here is a post that tells more about the pros and cons of using Kidblog: <a href="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/">http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/</a><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is an example of a kidlog <br /><a href="http://kidblog.org/MrsKolbertsClass2011">http://kidblog.org/MrsKolbertsClass2011</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TolFNtLTtLOZTzKi_cVKy6nRWmQuHayvh7PXuiZHhIaRYB15yBtoUZbzl8JPEgV5gh7G3IAJrTUiOZAkJzUYRyCw-be1Wx18rv6pw9HJ0ELmd8kyPpmmNHsnY_E4aRmGJ0EpaD3CnLA/s1600-h/image30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4D68tNAFR5rE2x4CETqpz9fIGRDjbZGOVBzxBaopku-TiOfaLMbu_DviLg8EXmNwgE8cC3eyyj5JzbmZRi0Ir3ensc7n-R5rM5i3598u9WEsllG1igob1nMD4aihS7wmwl_AXvKjuVY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, whatever platform you use, just do it! </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Can a blog really benefit an English class?</span><br /></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A blog can benefit any class...any subject. But today I am going to focus on English. I was quite inspired by a post I read recently on an English Teacher's blog (</span></span><a href="http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/life-in-an-inquiry-driven-technology-embedded-connected-classroom-english/">http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/life-in-an-inquiry-driven-technology-embedded-connected-classroom-english/</a>)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> - and this caused me to think about writing this post. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Well, I am sure you have plenty of ideas of what you can do with a blog in an English class. I will add ideas to these further along in this post.  It is certainly a fantastic way to get your students writing. To start off take a<b> </b>look at Mr Miller’s blog and see how he uses his blog for his English lessons. I like the way he also has a wiki to support the blog. In my thinking the two go together…<br /><a href="http://millersenglish10.blogspot.com/">http://millersenglish10.blogspot.com</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org/"></a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Notice how the teachers in these blogs give regular detailed instructions to their students.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/kajohnson/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/kajohnson/</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">  (her Grade 9 class)<br /><a href="http://msjohnson12.anewecology.com/">http://msjohnson12.anewecology.com/</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> (Her Grade 12 class)<br /><a href="http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/">http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqMfnIIGiACUaZ4YWjRNScP1OYDsNPfnHkCwj6Tx-ioSkArjTcCjYbhiLEGCTWsOvoHjc-b2bDzZTQkkLniN0zm3v95U0VWcpm0yl2jaobPyHdYXs1O2WnEa04OPVRKo7xqYojCMvFRE/s1600-h/image33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHIfnB4vpdn3pzp_pBs7lhOpSnY_evUSGxR50nu-zXSuwDXBlYvTVxIxSNJERuPYaLpOYXFbpisJP7Eyag83EaVqhMQXvJiZxgyEkFUHJaGy-qF0E_SezIg17GM8EaltD98eMLqFRor4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This teacher directs her students to using web tools. <br /><a href="http://thelamppost.ca/" title="http://thelamppost.ca/">http://thelamppost.ca/</a></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What activities can you do on a blog in an English class?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As you know English has four main strands – reading, writing, language and listening and speaking.  </span><span style="font-size: small;">These can be beautifully incorporated into blogging. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Let your learners answer questions and respond to prompts online. You could set a question on your blog and the learners can answer the question in your comment box. Notice how <i>The Hawks Talk</i> does this. <a href="http://stgeorgesenglish.com/"><span style="background-color: white;">http://stgeorgesenglish.com</span></a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"></span> <span style="font-size: small;">They can then extend the conversation by answering your next question or prompt and then post comments on each others blogs.</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">2. For literature lessons, invite an author to post on your blog and let the learners comment on this post.  This is a great way to have book discussions online. You could even try and organise a Skype interview with the author and let the slearners summarise this afterwards. There must be plenty of examples of Skype chats with authors, but here is a post about one with  Scientist.<br /><a href="http://techblog.stcyprians.net/index/skype-chats-with-scientists-by-ms-n-wallace">http://techblog.stcyprians.net/index/skype-chats-with-scientists-by-ms-n-wallace</a> </span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">3. The learners identify and discuss the major points of a book, article, speech etc. </span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">4. The learners write good book summaries and assess others summaries using a rubric.  <br /><a href="http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/" title="http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/">http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsDBcgSUCkK6wl5d-aXiS7-S12NThPI-nh9O3Nabe16I4_cKWGys8RD1xz6_8fNrp81zL4vNKi0X13GjZY93TIn6iK2nN0N4HgFkcavlzPgSC5P7GNdmT-7pSHJl9aqw-mcWxHB8v-D4/s1600-h/image43.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3moahLiXNQDo74h4_VOscur19fUa1HWaciuJq33GZk1awdNBEAs4RH25dwSl1jDOW-mIDlDBIFrnU3gv33mPGT6KzTjsIkq8Ucm8qFpYQq3-J6khxrPSeQC1b0iF9E8q9w_jr6y2m6o/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">5. Let the learners post reviews of movies, books, concerts, games etc regularly.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">6. Use a blog to archive daily class notes. You (or someone in the class) could post summaries on to your class blog. This will be helpful to students who may be absent.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">7. For listening and speaking activities learners could use a MP3 player, read into it and then post it on the blog. They could concentrate on voice modulation, inflection, and tempo. The learners could then listen to each others’ speaking activities. You can virtually put anything on a blog. There’s a programme called embedit.in which gives anything the necessary HTML code which is necessary if you wish to include it on a blog or wiki</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">8. The learners could make presentations on different things and then embed their presentations on webpages. My Slideshare above mentions how useful Box.net is for this. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">9. They could learn about language conventions and then practise using the example on your blog.  You could post weekly exercises for them to do. The following is an old blog but it gives some ideas like this.</span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://hargraves12.wordpress.com/">http://hargraves12.wordpress.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: small;">You could take this further and ask them to make podcasts and even slideshows of difficult conventions.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5E9VuH1A41ytnGYVjrHHvdTU5mYlOb6f8iSr1DcJ5-FPzfA-30LxrsRS7xbt7P1fclBCZ8zVGLKZV_g9Hzr3FzRNH9pdYIbnWIl9DVyD9TXbCK1di6wfU7_8xzFBibSHVellYEQ2dFc/s1600-h/image46.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-NRlqxNo2WtA7YB6tlsHXrRC9tookHsqBERInaZh8gSGyQnpLKOfPzC_XSktFHWD1gJVAccAvg8W_GSr2hp0fR0TLwtiMGdhJQse9AgM6Eg3dwrcs4uV_WYY_QG0SQba2dywpB0tocY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">10. As they read a novel prescribe blog prompts for them to respond to. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">11. They could paraphrase sections that you post on the blog.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">12. You could teach the learners the structure of workplace documents and let them analyse them in terms of heading, font, pictures and readability etc. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They could make suggestions on how to improve them. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">13. When starting a new theme create a “<a href="http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/21806">KWL chart</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">” on your blog. Have students blog about what they know, what they want to know, and eventually what they have learned. Students will be able to see other posts and scaffold their learning off the responses of others. As the educator, you can quickly assess, focus, and possibly redirect your unit to meet the specific needs of your students.<a href="http://teachinghistory.org/system/files/KWL+Chart+with+Knowledge+Questions.pdf">http://teachinghistory.org/system/files/KWL+Chart+with+Knowledge+Questions.pdf</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">14. You could link documents to a folder in Box.net (also a free programme). </span><span style="font-size: small;">Notice how Mrs Lesniak does this. <a href="http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/">http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkdBtQ0oxrall9VJcOuJE2AyADJ3usv9r2WMUXGuNMBcxCLXiJdrcUCJmRejkvbrXsUD2DuMlFKd4FRvhiJjLWYq6luTm6uIs1syZbRV7Cpw7922n2sdG_0hJ4pHGdahwgY-5-4L-r-k/s1600-h/image49.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfwZU43_53AasQsjMk6KaGNrSb3wYGYym8uvQe5MupowYCRGe5qi0DDcsTW5k3fJ0YSVSsC2MqfR09V5Qb3BYApTyJtO2fSC3mT5m0IqeGyb2q16OSKn1LTdB7Y5VOoW4T3MamH2Aq1w/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">15. On your blog you could communicate with parents about classroom news, policies and events. You could publish commendable student work, writing, photos, video etc.<br /><a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/">http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFeMhBGlb92rwg9mUuxGASbJdEmXBHx7Hk1Ks-XLblVVFGkNeMTj1Two2Q0fkikp1NyhxUucDdCd9wwDQ_M-I5Nne0eSIjeyKdi5hMiHG9nQ23ByGk8nGDBc5QH4bbb-Eb9bPw2O4GuU/s1600-h/image52.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYyyhaoRsE-n494i6ABtUGQ53rAeZI2LaCDx7TCnjlwSuZETaZkdcX_gW4lS4a6D38A_Hmm5iEl5HVAc-hbxyGY6I7JJZrxy5uNtLEkYGa0XP8EBhNA_sjtw4ZYh6X6JJPheDSauobuM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">16. You could use your blog as a place to reflect as well.<br /><a href="http://jimburke.typepad.com/" title="http://jimburke.typepad.com/">http://jimburke.typepad.com/</a><br /><a href="http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/" title="http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/">http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><span style="font-size: small;">17. Your blog could be a blog of ideas for English teaching.<br /><a href="http://catlintucker.com/">http://catlintucker.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypJyGIVIhw-cqlY04Bl7wrXp5sAofLaveeaxNldnnxqyMa4JXOSw5p4zSaI7GME5UG_dzhTRE-ykz2ku4jzVA0MFzwBZ8H4bXqiI4U1pcV_-tfgBwsEEk8mmk_7JaGSw-e3uCb3kBGGU/s1600-h/image56.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5-ZzDIfO57Bfa25-FZBGcMB1MNMnGZnmH-YE0U9gL4pXtpSP100OCyiQWn59T_10EtTMNnpPYXC_LjtQiV8O7Q7clRXHs7I7_a8FdAtKFWsPUoEvNn1nO340WK9-d4xjK9ViG7mQpaU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">18. The learners can write journal entries, essays and poems in their blogs. They could also write book reviews<br /><a href="http://josephr4.edublogs.org/2010/07/19/my-report">http://josephr4.edublogs.org/2010/07/19/my-report</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BCfIxaKMWt3PgWpXWbbEEw2g8Kc69IL4Ns5mzhHfNDqd9Hgclt7gCwUfuRQYtljUCDDcFKLFSXY4kS7qAUMbrSvKCxhDusdgVg4mP1laZSY-PE92AnA23YR6pdYKrEUu9YolsMcZCFw/s1600-h/image8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-5ldpQ0h3iQff2TUFrypch9tYhgdu_fBgU5XcjVAMuosFy-00Cc5Ai8whwMLrJ9zwO1gHtdP2epmEakb0u064Wa9k8MGkFFm8YcJio36GV_t-HxRhQ3z2TI562pqktFLL8cMur6n2EU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Further down in the same blog – he relates his book review.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLjcbQII82OH6xom0h6IVVqBRYed1tnU_L1hxGuZ2-52tnzGQuODg1Kx_njobhyphenhypheno7alHlYGonTbpiBfD2pCjcBU9vDyLcPSlZ5YXHF9wX-2ZL2SjxiT2vCKsMKWSTZ_FhbIb8vIo6rsE/s1600-h/image11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR14-VYGU7vciuMf432CcQtCtTyWC85GLBdYj8yV5XO8R80InbjlIJDvkW_gGenCCX1JcY6DRA3-hy0KRsnqDWWCj59y32k2FQhyphenhyphenUy6iS96Itr3nByTdfg_isLaKURerlH1eisHxyzDU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here are another two posts that give a lot of ideas about book reviews. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/">http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports">http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcp92-YyqTqwoEmkhSLRkZDP03X9gmUjfKlpw2tZz5ofdyY7SE_2oCz4oQFjECV0XLiK2Y7Jxqfo6IM5qZXIcx3pRquK70b8_F6kdvVuttG5HJLcpJFZkO2hg-Kvc7HKztIJE_z6Y3Qw/s1600-h/image20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-eq-Ci-NqTakonuZhG7IIN0EDSpp_XMF93eLvTqBDDF2QXUWqDnMOudwFY7M05UrBqDEL9PC6upS5cS42th-UpUiSXEXcG6SmTz1mBWnGAilEGwI5tbQ_H3vtXDS1dC_tShWNta0FVs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">19. Illustrate to the students how they can use technology on their blogs. You can do this by using screencasts on your blog or just be blog posts.<br /><a href="http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/">http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">20. Post homework in your blog. <a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/aeharter/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/aeharter/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">21. I love the way this teacher posts lesson ideas in his English blog<br /><a href="http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/">http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTJ5s3c-SYomq0bskwqkp2aM_Zc6jAOPNE1DjLrVP5zWSjNJc8qQ8SSAZHXh19G-wIEVwgxIimrsafwTqnK1YNpDGZ18iOrSWaTiVH-WOCzkUIXNJrxi-dG3lSVKK1eiUg29WlGhozQo/s1600-h/image23.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjy7m-vh_OTexebAF6AteroNvcFpPqUP1zrEYGLSXevAwNUrIc9BVd4PA8ViUvotgXsrkaWyw17TArs3cSI5-_UFSEprREEdKclWvY67sFfmVqzyQmBMZHA31v7l6v4-VxfxlXZwyuEQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">22. One teacher I know of got her class to write a novel on a blog. This was eventually published. <br /><a href="http://5bwrites.blogspot.com/">http://5bwrites.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88cxHvWRN0-uAcc3wXqDCHXl45qJowIB8yIuDzWqvr4tFiIDsIsDjG_MCVxddjoKkm0YK4_tQ1QII4mwXSZ6q1bEnBHiIDy5Y9mIGk4ncvsINoazax2cHjrvHxC-fUqoauo9D_uc3D-U/s1600-h/image2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhKbRgzPMy8DDQq2CQG-BOz6TbGuzZ7iZfpVuPicUn_ZcdWfNqzsb6cGXzE0yy_az0_3m6pFYpTZ6uRCmV25seKJwjOhlQ0Ke_JdGUEmInc0jsI8hjHaF55AYo9r4vzZ18hWoHmrxx98/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">23. They could create book trailers for their blogs.<br /><a href="http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/Home+Student+Book+Trailers">http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/Home+Student+Book+Trailers</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0KNrvksSOag-vAxpIPmu7wVuTRdfHLnmWd10s7_ruVXyNcwN_qZBM76NCpSdDEhVSP6H9RJ664WVbjJjAkS7l6IkS8phMaLcZsvXcV7fE7IVt6bX82q8XUStY5bxl2b-t_EiLKfdKHg/s1600-h/image5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSVXkVlmHucWBXsphV3vjCSF_xIk3H47Eq7JY8BKU_WKyoTL49imaJVMs1iiH0C33hLAflhARuLOm9klqYSYnNGuOF_ANwVY_QjuE8D0AZiLurQzZOukxUx5H_2l4zri10aBL1K3DXZE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Literature blogs</b><br /><a href="http://www.thebookchook.com/">http://www.thebookchook.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/" title="http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/">http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html" title="http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html">http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/" title="http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/">http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://msdegenhardt.com/">http://msdegenhardt.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">(I like this teacher’s collage of books in her header)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZORvrtpGZXkDYDoD7RvGRiWDfPb1phvzNdcuawTlEPPeRKZe7OZplyhfTQ2gHiLWzqWzg7gV3ldv4YsG68uO54AyYDPb4NmpHgZ8RDiDiB4bQYAbiWJjwqeeHZ0ucuhr78V-aZUi9bg/s1600-h/image60.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTeNaOZBKF0yWqMna78qrNQdakoy_mPIvG-yy_alodTGwMfdnAmxkRkcA3aBJm9FjICRWCmm4vHFhgQVAInICJlSLHZz9zELzHDDMa1jEG0CcUfJuWIcqxVGvOwKWgjv7TmV2l6lTV1E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">24. Don’t forget about using a fake facebook page (template in Google Docs) which could be then embeeded into the blog. This teacher created a fantastic template last year in Google docs that he is willing to share.<br /><a href="http://www.teachthecloud.com/2011/02/historical-facebook-tutorial.html">http://www.teachthecloud.com/2011/02/historical-facebook-tutorial.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0B3uy2d7pI5K6cMsvjFCtlEfxZYBl0qikhdJ3bufrw-dQK-0kAv9tBZky-xxphnB24thWwj8NwvAbCjzijIMW7dYoUu3xm6APg7w5N5z__EkAbehrt_hXJGAB7I5Ve61wS82qgTP10No/s1600-h/image%25255B4%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFIvBq9DQF61KZ-HBxKxYR4U6qcgDoPjezKQen3BWX8QH3mB6vbcaDOiKDi6vARVSZIy6DtNJL3rlShQqHA_wcO2VdMyDrU_oUrJtza0KXD6P-VEMe0dX3IzIYfbcucOSi8129FBZ4_E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /> <span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other useful links</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /></b><a href="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/" title="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/"></a><a href="http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers" title="http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers">http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers</a><br /><a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/dehogue/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/dehogue/</a><br /><a href="http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/">http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/">http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/">http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.huffenglish.com/" title="http://www.huffenglish.com/">http://www.huffenglish.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A great source of ideas for English teachers</span></b></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And to end off this post here is a fantastic Ning for English teachers which will undoubtedly have plenty of resources and ideas.</span><br /><a href="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/" title="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/">http://englishcompanion.ning.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxE9lizA2t68P_Ejqpp220wAOwhTR7wMOupfjcLCz6e6nBn4q6L9NY5ctU_EJYwPdh_OXhyLaj0-Z2wTp3E-qmdrwRllysBIfqM1R1eZuqUN3zcJNdATvfZ2WqYezDOiasZRX7uiG3BM/s1600-h/image37.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XtdJ3QgPhvFPgWXxeMeREJVnI7YBweDBFbG-qIUXOvHjQI2u5rO0NbC3nFBE7Gy7wt1vpVI5jLHZZtb7x7l9rh1BrXeOIYhBhshfh1G_ejwS7faO4gBbiEHR7ZGXS_hnhil05iLxSxM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>

Blogging English Technology integration Create a blogging culture in your English classroom

Recently I created a Slideshare called ‘Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool’ and I wrote from the standpoint of the teacher using a blog to teach.  I posted this in an earlier blog post. Here it is just as a reminder. A blog can be a fantastic…

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