Posting Comments

Watch and learn from these students who give excellent tips for making comments.

A Tech Teacher currently based at an international school in Japan, has come up with a simple list of rules to remember when you make a comment on the wiki or VoiceThread.com. I have modified them slightly for clarity since she is an upper grades teacher. Please come back to the page if you are not sure about the quality of your comment.

I created some examples are in blue.

Ms. Kim Cofino says:

Good comments ...

•    
• are things you observe, but are not hurtful or negative;
•  I learned that polar bears have black skin under their fur so they can absorb heat. 
• are considerate of the author and the purpose of the post;
• You convinced me to keep trying. I didn't realize you had to practice.  I just thought math came easily to you!  
• include your own personal connections to what the author wrote;
• I had the same thing happen to me, only I was lost in the Mall when I was two years old.  
• answer a question, or add something new to the information posted;
• Yes, I do think we should have longer recess.  Moving keeps you healthy.  
• follow the writing process. Consider making a draft first. Comments are a published piece of writing so you may need to check your spelling and grammar to represent yourself well.

      It took me 10 minutes to write this comment because I kept thinking that you might not know what I mean unless I tell you face-to-face.  It seems I have to choose my words very carefully so you can really see my point. 

Checklist for Posting a Comment:

• Is your comment specific?
• Have you shared an idea or an opinion?
• Di you grab the reader's attention?
• Have you connected to a specific sentence of theme of the post? 
• Were you successful in showing you understood the blog topic?
• Did you maintain a positive tone?
• Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is correct

Modified version of:http://thereadingworkshop.wikispaces.com/Blog+Comment+Rubric