Grade Two Students Blogging with Purpose in the Local Community

Last week, Kelly Jordan and I were approached by our local radio station, Bay FM. They were interested in the way our grade two students were blogging and wanted to talk to us about joining forces for a special project.

After meeting with Patrick from Bay FM, we decided that our students would be regular guest bloggers on the station website, and learn about professional writing and the media along the way.

Patrick presented our class with a “content agreement”, working as if our students were freelance bloggers in a paid position (of course, it is actually unpaid).

The content agreement stated the formatting requirements, topic guidelines and time frames.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the rest of the year, a different student from 2KM and 2KJ will write a guest post which we will post directly onto the BayFM website.

Their topic will be something that appeals to the Geelong community such as,

• A recipe
• Commentary on a current news event
• History or an article celebrating the anniversary of something
• Restaurant review
• Travel information
• How to guide

After nearly a year of blogging, Kelly and I know our students are up to the task and the parent support has been extremely positive.

We think this will be a fabulous way to conclude the year and we know our students will get a lot out of this authentic and purposeful activity.

Visit Bay FM to see our student posts!

http://bayfm.com.au/index.php/the-team/leopold-primary

How have you been able to link learning to the community?