What teachers are saying about TweenTribune

What teachers are saying about TweenTribune


I’ve toyed with the idea of having students blog for over two years now. I’d always bailed on the idea because I couldn’t figure out how to do it safely. Last week my students jumped right in with me on our blogging adventure using TweenTribune and haven’t stopped since. I was amazed at how engaged the students were in news.

Kim Wright, Smart's Mill Middle School, Leesburg, VA

 

My fifth-grade students have loved TweenTribune! The day I introduced the site and let them browse, I was going out to get other teachers to come and see what was going on in my room. The productive buzz was unbelievable!

Jayne Stephenson, Laurelville Elementary, Laurelville, Ohio

 

My students love using TweenTribune to keep up with the news of the day and to have a voice about it. I urge them to read not just the stories, but the comments as well and to then dialogue directly with other commenters. It has been an excellent vehicle for teaching the students about the value of their voices in a democratic society, the value of listening closely to others, and the value of clear writing.

Ray Smith, Crawford Middle School, Lexington, KY

 

I am so appreciative for this website. My students are learning to read the news and this has sparked their interest. Being challenged readers, these stories appeal to them enough to want to read them. Thank you very much for this service.

Debra Griffin, Special Education Teacher, Pillager School District, Pillager, MN

 

I have recently enrolled my entire classroom (roughly 100 students) to Tween Tribune. So far, so good! My kids seem to be pumped up about the blogging idea. We have attempted other ways to blog, but none seems as safe and "kid friendly" as this! Nice job! Just some thoughts from a very satisfied teacher! Thanks.

Dean Bennett, Northbridge Middle School, Whitinsville, MA

 

I am very excited to sign my class up for this awesome website.

Joan Sanders, Mill Pond School, Westborough, MA

 

I just wanted to thank you for making these articles available to all of us. I have been searching for a place that has age appropriate material. This is perfect. I'm excited!

Eileen Murray, North Kingston Schools, North Kingston, RI

 

Thanks for your good journalism work online. It looks like a good resource for our G/T students here. Science/Math/Technology is our strong suit, but these kids do amazing stuff in LA and SS.

Barbara Hampton, Talcott Mountain Academy, Avon, CT

 

This site is really impressive; I'm excited about where it's going.

Nicholas R. Perrone, Educational Technology Teacher/Facilitator, Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School, New Haven, CT

 

I'm currently browsing around to see all the things I can do with this site! I'm looking forward to presenting it to my class!! I'm excited. Can't wait to use this in class! Thanks so much!

Catherine McAllister, Seventh Grade Science Teacher, Speight Middle School, Stantonsburg, NC

 

I have a young lady in class that RARELY says two words, but she signed up and wrote an entire paragraph in response to an article. Maybe this is what she needs to break out of her shell and defeat her shyness! Thanks!

RJ Haynes, Reading Hilltop Elementary, Cincinnati, OH/p>

 

Today I pushed aside a few "scheduled plans" to introduce my LA block students to TweenTribune. I was amazed at the response!

I began tempting them by projecting the Home page on my data projector. They were immediately requesting me to open different stories to read. We read a few together and then I showed them the comments of other students. They were immediately hooked. Where a few tentative hands raised at wanting to participate, I soon had the entire class wanting laptops to register!

I took them through the process effortlessly and they began scouring the site for articles to read. I quickly realized I'd better give them some BLOGGING rules, so I opened the attached parent letter and focused on my posting requirements.

I want to thank the fellow teacher here who provided the basis for my letter. I used much of her ideas and adapted a few to meet the needs of our students. An attached revised copy in WORD is available for those who would like to use.

My students spent about 40 minutes on the site. I had to drag them off to move onto our persuasive essay lessons. This will be an out of school activity for them and I plan on rewarding them with our grade level incentive stamps and little trinkets for my active bloggers. Periodically I'm going to log in during class time and share with them some of the postings of their peers to keep the excitement going.

Thanks so much for all of your ideas! I'm looking forward to an exciting second semester!

Cindy Zamirowski, Crone Middle School, Naperville, IL

 

TweenTribune has been a valuable learning experience for the students in many ways. Here's a small list of what I like about our experience with TweenTribune.

1. It's of high interest to the students-ALL students were involved.

2. We have real life opportunities to talk about how writing traits and skills are important even while blogging on line. They appreciated reading well edited comments more than "junk". ("Cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolll" that's junk. )

3. They are encouraged to check spelling, and preview before posting. We studied many good samples and poor samples. In the lab, they were encouraged to have an in class partner read and OK their work as intelligent and appropriate before they saved it. This activity required them to READ the article, then discuss a meaningful comment. The conversations were rich.

4. We learned to use smart descriptive words rather than inappropriate acronyms. This process of editing evolved into 5 classes of "internet cops" who reported in writing, the user names, dates, other identifying info; then we passed it to the webmaster. Mr. Jacobson responded immediately, right before the kids eyes and deleted the material. In a weeks time, the link button for teachers to submit inappropriate comments was created. The website is young and getting better by the day.

I believe it's a valuable activity to help students not only be informed of current issues, but also increase reading and writing skills, using a medium that is real and meaningful. They are pleased to be recognized by this online newspaper, as an important audience. 

Just an interesting aside, Mr. Jacobson gently chastised my first list of "approved" comments. I was so worried the first class of students would get discouraged, I let some poor writing be published. After sharing his comments with the students, we all decided to raise our standards. The students made their own set of writing rules. They know what good writers should do.  The students are hooked. I will be checking "waiting for approval queue" during the break.

Barb Coffey, Fifth Grade, Gladstone Middle School, Gladstone, OR

 

One of my students hates to write, yet he published two blogs on his first day on the site. He said, "I really like this!" He was truly proud of being a published writer.

Sherry Perkey, Smart's Mill Middle School, Leesburg, VA

 

After only a few minutes on your site today, my students are hooked and love the content. They really like that they can respond and be heard. I want to thank you for creating something that is truly interesting for my 6th grade students.

Debbie Vane, Lee Vining Elementary, Lee Vining, CA

 

All my students had positive comments about the site. They all said it was site organized and easy to navigate. I have no suggestions because they said it's great as is.

Carolyn Brown, Lynnhaven Middle School, Virginia Beach, VA

 

My kids are really excited about it; their vacation started today and I've already received 10 emails from kids who signed up. It warms my heart to know they're trying to do school work on a day off!

Carol Ann O'Donnell, Highland Science Teacher

 

I talked to you at the VSTE Conference and went back to work and told everyone about your awesome site! A co-worker and I are presenting a session at NECC entitled, "Who Needs Worksheets?" We want everyone to use your site!

Catherine Shiflett, K-2 Instructional Technology Integrator, Chesterfield County Schools, Richmond, Virginia