Scenario+A

=Scenario A=

Elementary Language Arts Blog
Your fourth grade class has been blogging for about two months now. They have shared several writing projects on their class blogs, including revisions of some short stories with illustrations. To protect your students’ identities, all students use only their first name and first letter of their last names (e.g., Kayla F., Joseph R.) Your students have commented on each others blogs, and a few parents and other teachers have added comments as well. Your students have become accustomed to this feedback from your internal audience. Today, one of your students, Aaron, asked you about a comment on his blog. Someone complimented him on his story but Aaron doesn’t recognize the name. You review the comment and the link provided, and it appears to be someone from Canada doing educational research. Aaron asks what he should do next.

=Suggested Response:=

"Aaron, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Do you remember when we talked about internet safety at the beginning of this project? What did we say we would do if someone left a comment on our blog who is not one of our students, parents, or teachers? What were our 10 [|Blog Rules] that we agreed would keep us safe? Plus we agreed not to respond to anyone outside our safe group (students, parents, teachers). It is ok to read the compliment that you've been given, but responding would clearly go against our rules. After looking at the rules more closely, what do you think you should do now, Aaron?"
 * 1) I will only use my first name and last initial.
 * 2) I will never give out my email address.
 * 3) I will never give out my home address.
 * 4) I will never give out my telephone number.
 * 5) I will respect others.
 * 6) I will not use rude or threatening words.
 * 7) I will not use text talk or chat language.
 * 8) I will not copy other people’s work.
 * 9) I will be responsible for everything I write.
 * 10) I will check my spelling and grammar before posting.

=Teachable Moment:=

In addition to using this as a "Teachable Moment" for Aaron, it would be a great opportunity to use this example with the whole class. Perhaps the teacher could present Aaron's question to the class for discussion. This will allow the teacher to assess the student's understanding of the 10 Blog Rules that have been established. The ultimate outcome would be for the students to correctly direct Aaron as to how he should respond to the situation!