Evaluating the US History Blogs

There are two kinds of feedback that you will receive on your blog posts:

1)      I will often comment directly on your posts.  Here I will note interesting points or connections that you make, or raise issues that your writing provokes for me.  I may ask questions that I have about your ideas, or try to get you to think about different ideas.  I may also suggest other things that you might want to read or explore.  These comments are designed to be part of a dialogue.  You are free to comment back!

2)      You will also receive points for your posts.  Sometimes, this will simply be completion points.  At other times, it will be more evaluative.  The scale that I will use is below—when you see your points on Infinite Campus, refer to this scale!

Exemplary   10-9	Proficient 8.5-8	Partially Proficient 7.5-7	Unsatisfactory 6.5 or below
Focused and cohesive viewpoint that is substantiated by effective supporting examples.	Specific viewpoint that is substantiated by some supporting examples.	Postings present a specific viewpoint but lack supporting examples.	Postings present no specific viewpoint and no supporting examples are provided.
Creatively and fluently written to stimulate dialogue and commentary.	Generally well written with some attempts made to stimulate dialogue and commentary.	Brief; reflects little effort to connect with the audience.	Little care given to communication
Writes with no errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.	Writes with minor editing errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.	Writes with major errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.	Writes with numerous major errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
Accurately cites and uses all sources of information to support the credibility and authority of the opinions presented.	Most sources are cited and used accurately, and support the credibility of the opinions presented.	Few sources are cited or used accurately, and they fail to adequately support the credibility of the opinions presented.	Does not use any information provided in order to support the credibility of the opinions.
Selects and inserts high quality graphics and multimedia when appropriate to enhance and extend the content.	Refers to other multimedia that enhance and clarify the content.

Progressive Era

In your next blog post, please respond to each of the following

• What areas were most influenced by the Progressive Movement?
• In what ways?
• What developments at the turn of the century most influence the development of the Progressive Movement?
• What legacy of the Populist movement do you see?
• In what ways were the Populistsand the Progressive movements different?

Welcome

Greetings U.S. History students and welcome to the class blog!  This is the place where you'll come to find blogging assignments, links to interesting sites and U.S. History related information as well as links to your classmates' blogs.  So at this point, you might be asking yourself what exactly is a blog?  In essence, the word blog comes from the combination of the words web and log and can be viewed as a personal website or online journal or set of comments reflecting the personality and ideas of its author.  Topics covered on blogs are virtually limitless.  You can find examples of blogs here or here.  Additionally you can search blogs on google or at blogged .

· In order to create your own blog, go to blogger.com to get started.  You need to sign up with an email account and I would suggest using a personal account or creating a new google account with a personal gmail address rather than your student account.  If you have any problems go here or ask Mr. Grady. 

· Once your blog is created be sure to email your URL to Mr. Grady (you should use your school account to email the URL).

· Make sure that your blog has a catchy title and a short description of what your blog will be.  Play with the templates and design to make your blog a reflection of your own personality and voice.   

· You will be updating your blog weekly (or more depending on whether or not there are specific blogging assignments given in class).  Your weekly posts will  be a reflection on the themes and ideas discussed in U.S. History that week.  Consider what's interesting, what ideas or details have been sticking with you, or how that week's discussions and activities are connecting to the idea of what it means to be an American.  You may also consider a link or connection between U.S. History and current events, movies, tv shows, or other aspects of your life.  Think about times when you've been sitting in class and what we're studying reminds you of something else that you've read or seen.  Use your blog to explore those connections and work to make it a valuable record of your ideas. 

· After you've created your blog, do your first post according to the criteria outlined in the above bulletpoint.