Blogs on Literacy

Editor's Note: Along with the National Writing Project, Figment, and The New York Times Learning Network, we are celebrating the National Day on Writing today. As part of this celebration, we're inviting writers to share the why of writing in an essay, poem or post. Please add your own thoughts in the comment section below, and/or follow the hashtag #whyiwrite on Twitter.

As a School Library Media Specialist, storytelling is at the core of what I do each and every day. Over the years, I have seen many children who struggle with reading because of a lack of engagement with traditional books and stories. The new media that surrounds educators and learners forced me to rethink the concept of storytelling for our 21st-century learners. After some experimenting within my classes, I found a way to successfully engage and capture the attention of all of my students. As a result of this, a new model of storytelling emerged for me: Transmedia.

Jon Schwartz teaches fourth grade in Oceanside, CA. He is also a writer and a professional photographer. You can learn more about his blogging program at Kids Like Blogs.

"Robbie doesn't write," his mom told me. When he first came into my fourth grade class, asking him for 20 words was like pulling teeth. He actually scribbled a number on top of each word to keep track so he wouldn't write any more than the absolute minimum. Four months after I introduced him to blogging, he's consistently writing more than 100 words per post. Not only that, Robbie turned from a shy, introverted kid to a source of inspiration and information for his peers. He sees himself as a writer.

Sometime ago, I wrote a blog for Edutopia that chronicled the equation of student success as being dependent on three necessary elements: students, teachers, and family. I believe now, as I did then, that all three variables must work together in order for our students to achieve. But I recently began working with someone who is slowly convincing me that even those three groups need the support of one more: the community.