According to the standards, 7th-grade students need to know about publishing content online. Use these ideas to make sure they master this standard.
Using Google Documents and other online means for writing, citing, and publishing content online as well as properly using these tools for collaboration is something 7th graders need to know. In fact, this skill is explicitly stated in the standards (W.7.6).
But with so many different options for approaching this topic, how do we make sure students are mastering this standard?
If publishing content online is something that makes you nervous, we’ve got you covered. Today we are going over the 5 steps we take to help students master this skill.
Want a step-by-step plan? We’ve got a resource specifically designed to help students master this standard. To learn more click here!
Teaching 7th Graders about Publishing Content Online
Let’s break down this writing standard into some simple instructional steps!
#1 | Different Ways to Publish
Sometimes getting students to connect to standards is tough, but that is not true for publishing online content.
If we’re being totally honest with ourselves, most of our students are consuming video and image-related content regularly. So they are familiar with how powerful publishing content online can be…maybe even more than we are.
Students show us new things they are watching or reading online All. The. Time. and they are excited about it!
However, in order to master this 7th-grade writing standard, we need to make our students producers of that content. We also need to bring them back to the OG style of content creation…writing.
If your students are anything like ours, they like videos and images best. That’s why step #1 is about taking a step back and talking about different kinds of online content.
When we introduce this standard, we start by introducing students to the different ways content is published online. (This is also how we lay it out in our unit resource in the store.)
We talk about…
- Blogging
- Long-Form Content
- E-Books
- Social Media
- Youtube
- Websites
We like to spend time discussing how each of these methods works, their benefits, and how creators use them. We’ve provided some examples in the resource, but students can also spend some time brainstorming ideas on their own.
Many students are familiar with different forms of content, and some have tried some of them before. Encourage students to share their good and bad experiences with each of these online publishing options when possible!
#2 | Internet Safety
As you get into the topic of publishing content online with 7th graders, take some time to review online safety.
This may be a good time to bring in an expert in this area. You can also find some articles that discuss online safety in more detail.
In our resource about writing using technology, we provide a quick guide for students on the topic of online safety. Our tips include…
- not publishing your personal information,
- not posting personal photos of yourself or your family,
- and not responding to people in comments or messages that you don’t know personally.
In 7th grade, online safety is a super hot topic. Use the resources at your disposal to hit this topic with the amount of emphasis it deserves (and needs!).
#3 | Different Ways to Cite
Now that we’ve covered the different ways of publishing content online, and we’ve talked about safety, we can start digging into the nitty gritty details like citing, collaboration, and publishing which is what makes publishing content online so unique.
When your 7th-grade students start publishing online, whether that is on a class blog or on a Google Document they are sharing with the class, they have to start citing in a way that is appropriate to the online space.
We teach students to use MLA formatting in their essays. 7th graders can still do that when publishing content online, but they also need to learn about hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks are a means for directly linking back to other pieces of information on the internet.
7th-grade students can use either citations or hyperlinks (or both) in their online writing.
We like to give them opportunities to practice both!
#4 | Using Google Documents for Collaboration
We have to admit, this is where we get the most excited about this standard.
COLLABORATION!!
We love love love the different ways students can collaborate using tools like Google Docs. It always amazes us that all of our students can be working on the same document at the same time. They can be collaborating with each other through chats and comments without ever needing to be in the same room.
Students are getting better and better at collaborating online all the time. But… we do have a few tips for making collaboration easier.
We outline many of these tips in a way that is digestible for students in the writing resource we mentioned before, but we’ll list a few of them here.
- Share the document with all students in the group.
- When asking for feedback from people outside the group, limit the access (editor, viewer, etc.)
- If students are working on different pieces of the project, use page breaks to make it easier to type all at the same time.
- Use commenting and suggesting tools for feedback.
- Explore add-ons to make the project easier or to streamline processes.
- If a major issue arises, go back through the ‘version history’ to restore the project.
If your class does a lot of work collaborating online, spend time debriefing with them. What best practices have they noticed? If they find helpful add-ons, add them to an anchor chart in the classroom. You could also create an ‘online tool’ bulletin board or poster that other students in the class can access.
Your students are going to find great ways of doing this kind of work. Give them an opportunity to share their new discoveries!
#5 | Sharing Content with Others
Finally, after all of that writing, citing, and collaboration, we are ready to publish. When you are working with 7th graders, you’ll want to have a pretty firm grip on the publishing process. We want students to be able to share their work with people outside the class, but as a teacher, you are responsible for providing a safe way to do that.
Here are a few ideas for different ways you could share student work by “publishing” it online.
- Publish via a post on a class Facebook page
- Publish via a hyperlink on a Google Document that is shared with others in the class
- Publish on a class website or webpage (with parent permission)
In the long list of things 7th graders need to know, publishing content online is a big one. It requires time, technology, and a good plan.
If you are wanting a step-by-step plan for this standard. Check out this Writing with Technology lesson! It covers all of the information in this post in a way that is accessible for 7th-grade students.