Responsive Writing - Student Blogs

http://kidblog.org/home.php

This website is wonderful. You can set up an account for a teacher blog and then allow each of your students to set up their own blog, which only the teacher may view. Very, very handy.

Ideas:
Students write responses to guest speakers, events in the news, a class topic etc.
Writing prompts
Letters

The teacher is able to leave comments that are private for each student or public for the entire class. The teacher can offer suggestions on how to improve writing, ask for revisions in a new post from the student, and use all the writing as EVIDENCE for student learning.

I would probably use this on a rotating schedule with a weekly theme or question. 5-6 students per day write for 10 minutes in their blog, so that all students will have a blog entry by the end of the week. Or once per week in the computer lab or laptops in the room. Whatever works best.

This also eliminates the need for students to be responsible for another journal.