Welcome!!

Welcome to the latest Coats Classroom experiment!! This blog is for my English 1 classes at Righetti High School. I will post various things ranging from articles, to thoughts on the classroom, to student work (my favorite!!)


I have a couple of reasons for conducting this experiment:


1. I want to increase the classroom use of technology that students are exposed to, and will need to be familiar with as they leave high school.


2. I want to give students an audience beyond myself for their work. It is well known that we all do better work when it will be seen by those whose opinions we value. This blog is visible to myself, the teacher, to all the students, to other teachers, to administrators, to parents, grandparents, and siblings, and to the whole world.


3. I want to use less paper. Go green. Be environmentally friendly. We use an insane amount of paper in a high school classroom. I would like to reduce our footprint.


As I said, this is a total experiment. I've never had a blog before, I've never published student writing before. I'm sure there will be bumps in the road and I ask for a bit of patience while we smooth over any bumps we encounter. Students will complete an "Responsible Use Agreement" before being allowed to post on the blog, and all student posts will be done in the comments, at least in the meantime, and all comments will be approved before they are published.


Please, provide feedback!! Make comments, or send me an email if you prefer. This is a venue for students to experience more than we are able to offer with a textbook inside the classroom. I value feedback that will help improve the blog and the experience for the students!!


I look forward to blogging with you!