Amy Holtsclaw, Librarian
Cantrall Elementary and Intermediate Schools
The Bluestems Before Blogging…
 Students were checking out the books, but I wasn’t
sure if they were really reading them.
 Not much interaction between students or between
myself and students about the books beyond “How’d
you like it?” and “It was good.”
 Not a ton of excitement about voting or seeing the
results.
Starting the Blog with Blogger
Creating a Google Account
Setting up a Blog
Tools for your blog
Template
Template Design
Layout
Blog Archive
About Me
Settings
Pages
Posts
Comments
Guidelines For Students
Be Specific
 Avoid “This book was awesome!” or “I didn’t like this
book” responses. Add the why or because for the
statements.
 2-3 sentences are all you need
Be nice
 You can disagree with others, and I encourage
conversations about the books, but no name-calling or
putting others down if they don’t agree with you.
First Year Learning Curve
The main things I learned from the first year of Blogging
were:
 Archives go in the order you post them, and while you have
some wiggle room in how they display, the multi-month
made it hard for students to find the book they wanted to
respond to, especially since I posted as I read the books.
 I wasn’t too strict on the specific part of their responses – I
was happy to just get responses! I figured with time they
would get better at it. Overall, I think they did pretty well.
Things I Changed in Year Two
 I posted all entries at once so they end up in one
month. Much easier for students to find the book they
want to respond to!
 I talked up the party at the end more the second year,
and sent home information through the school
newsletter and teacher newsletters more.
 I chased down students who had three posts and
needed one more in January so they could get another
finished in time to vote.
 I sent invitations to the students who qualified to
attend the party.
The Stats
 2012- 30 students blogged 123 comments on all
20 books. 15 students qualified to vote.
 2013 – 42 students blogged 259 comments on
all 20 books. 34 students qualified to vote
 2014 – As of 10/27, 72 comments on books have
been posted.
The Party!!
 Food and drinks are a must! Last year I used the
individually wrapped bags of chips, etc. and it was hard to
have a conversation with all the crinkling bags! I’ll look for
easy, but quieter snacks for this year!
 Direct the conversation and try and make sure everyone
gets a chance to talk – I had them tell me some of their
favorite books and why they liked them, also let them say if
they were disappointed in any and why. Students could
also have a chance to persuade others why their favorite
should win.
 Had the party in the library, but if we have more than I can
fit at the tables, may move it to the cafeteria this year.