Do you want your students to write more in your class?
Are you looking for prompts or ideas for blog posts?
You are in luck! This post aims to get your creative juices flowing by providing you with a solid place to start.
As you think about writing assignments for your students, try to vary it up. Even better, give your students some choice in the type of posts they write. The end goal is an authentic and engaging learning opportunity for all.
Let’s dive right in!
Types Of Blog Posts
Though you can certainly have overlap and combine multiple types into one, there are 9 main types of blog posts you commonly see on the web:
1. Reflection – deep thoughts and self-reflection. Putting it all out there can really help organize thoughts and ideas.
2. How-to/Helpful – the classic ‘How-to’ essay is way better when it includes pictures, videos, and other media.
3. Journal/Diary – great for reading logs, field trips, science labs, study abroad, etc.
4. News/Announcement – keeping readers up-to-date with important information.
5. Marketing/Sales – propaganda and commercials.
6. Controversial/Debate/Editorial – taking a stance on an issue, making sure to back up thoughts with facts and proof.
7. Reviews – think Amazon or Tripadvisor reviews. Students can review lessons, field trips, videos, and more.
8. Resource/Reference – similar to the how-to posts, but something people might bookmark and come back to again and again.
9. Ongoing Series – choose any of the above, but split it up into several shorter posts that get published over a set period of time.
And there are 7 common formats of blog posts to choose from too:
10. Informal – short paragraphs and doesn’t always follow academic writing standards.
11. Long Form – like a chapter of a book.
12. Micro-blog – short posts of a sentence or two that usually include a link to another site.
13. Listicle – You know these well – you are reading one now. ’10 ways to…’
14. Slideshows – sometimes done as an alternative form of a listicle.
15. Photo Posts – centered around an image.
16. Podcasts – audio (or video) shows.
17. Video ‘Vlogs’ – embed a video with extra information, links, or a summary.
Prompts To Get You Started
If you are looking for more specific ideas for post topics for students, here’s a list of 33 generic prompts that you can modify and make your own:
Getting Started With Blogging
These topics are great for getting students used to publishing online.
18. Autobiography – introduce us to who you are. Share your hobbies, interests, family background, and anything else you want others to know about the real you.
19. Goals – share in a post three goals that you have set for yourself. One goal for this week, one goal for this month, and one goal for this school year. Describe how you plan on making sure you accomplish these goals.
20. Holiday – share what you did on a recent holiday or vacation. Include photos or videos if you have any.
21. Hero/Mentor – write about someone that is a hero or mentor to you. What is it about this person that makes them so special?
22. Digital Citizenship – come up with a set of rules or guidelines for publishing online. Why is writing online different than writing in private?
General/Interdisciplinary
23. Interviews – write up and publish a transcript of an interview with someone. Provide an introduction and summary of the main points of the interview.
24. Wikipedia Entry – without going to the actual Wikipedia site, publish a post that reads like a Wikipedia article on a topic you are studying. Include references, images, and more.
25. FAQ – write ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and answers on a topic.
26. Checklist – put together a list of steps that need to be followed to complete a project, accomplish a goal, or solve a problem.
27. Test Review ‘Cheat Sheet’ – use images, videos, and writing to create a post that your classmates can use as a study guide to prepare for an upcoming assessment.
28. Quiz – create questions that you think may be on the next quiz or test. (Teachers – even better if you then follow up by choosing a question or two from each student when creating the next assessment).
29. Exit Ticket – write a summary of what we learned today. Include any questions you still have and a list of any assignments or tasks you still need to complete.
30. Quote – choose a quote that is relevant to what we are learning or that inspires you. Explain why you chose this quote and what it means to you.
31. Video Comparison – embed two or more videos on a topic from YouTube and then compare and contrast the videos.
Reading/Writing
32. Satire/Funny – The ‘Onion’ does this better than anyone. Satire is a nuanced skill that many students will enjoy trying out.
33. Curated List of Resources (bibliography) – create a list sites and resources about a topic to share with others.
34. Interviews – write up and publish a transcript of an interview with someone. Provide an introduction and summary of the main points of the interview.
History/Social Studies
35. Guest Author – pretend you are a famous historical figure that is blogging about a significant event on your blog.
36. Maps – Find different types of maps (and from different time periods), that show the same location. What are the similarities and differences in the maps?
37. World Views – If you could live in any other place and time, where would it be and in what time period? Why?
Math/Science
38. Problem Solve – take a photo of your work that you used to solve a problem. Write out (in complete sentences) how you solved the problem and why you know your solution is correct.
39. Vocabulary – choose a vocabulary word that we are learning about and write a post that describes this word in four different ways – in words, in a picture/image, in a table/graph, in symbols/equations.
40. Real World Examples – publish a post that includes a discussion of times in your life you may use the concept we are learning.
Using Web Tools
41. Live Blog – Create a ‘Storify‘ for a topic or event that collects tweets, Instagram, links, and more into one place. Embed the story into a post and include an introductory summary and conclusion.
42. Infographic – use a tool like Canva to create an infographic and then write a post describing why you included the ideas you did.
43. Video – Produce a video with Animoto, or upload it to YouTube, embed it, and write about the decisions you made when making the video.
44. Poll – use Google Forms or a plugin to publish a survey or poll. Follow up with a post that goes over the results, including graphs, charts, and analysis.
45. Lists – Use Listly to create a list of resources, links, people, or ideas. You can even use this tool to crowdsource the list.
46. Talking Avatars – Create a speaking character using Voki to read your post or to interact with your blog’s visitors.
47. Presentations – publish the slides, Prezi, or video of your presentation in a post. Reflect on the presentation. What is one thing that went well and one thing that could be have been improved?
48. Comics – Create a cartoon using Bitstrips and share it on your blog.
49. Audio – Record yourself speaking or reading and then use a tool like Audioboom to discuss your audio in a post.
50. VoiceThread – Embed your VoiceThread project in a post and encourage your blog readers to leave a comment with feedback on the presentation.
For more ideas on web tools that you can embed, check out this Teacher Challenge post!
Don’t Stop Here
This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of getting students to write online.
Do you have anything you’d like to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy blogging!
Quite intriguing
Very informative, thank you. I tend to just write about whatever is on my mind when I feel like writing.
Cheers!
Nice
thank you
Quite intriguing
I always wanted to start up writing with blog but was not aware about the detials .
Thanks for your guidelines:-)
Amazing ideas! Thank you!
Great list, will be useful to plan lessons!
One thing……. #13 “Listicle”? To me this is “enumerative”. Not sure if listicle is a word?
Hi Laura – thanks for nice comment! ‘Listicle’ may not be in the dictionary, but has become a term the last few years in the blogging world 🙂
Thank you for sharing this information. Some of my friends and I are writing a blog together in our TAG class. We are looking for more information about blog ideas and how to stay organized when we are writing our blogs. Thanks again for sharing this, it is really helpful.
To be honest, this is my first year and although It feels a bit scary I am willing to give it a try!
I have found that using a blog in my classes has inspired my students to write more and be more attentive to their writing. This is the first year I have had an interactive classroom website, and I would never go back.
i am a student as well and i have no clue what to blog about or even why? it hard for me to think up something to write about
Thanks for this wonderful gathering of ideas! My students enjoy having the freedom to choose post type and topic each week, but many like having a bank of ideas to turn to for inspiration. One favorite resource is the New York Times Learning Blog, which provides a new prompt each school day. Prompts are linked to current news articles, so the read-write connection is there, too! http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/student-opinion/?_r=0
Thank you too.
I am a student and a full time employee and I have to post weekly and I am struggling with just how to post. I can comment on post but I am not able to post my own blogs. Could use help from anyone. Help.
Found this post very useful for student bloggers. Sharing it on Youtube @indiantopblogs.
I am a student and I have to write free post every week, and I am having a hard time coming up with things to write about. Thanks for your post because it has helped me think of some ideas! Thanks for the post!
What a great list! I have shared this via Facebook and will share it further with faculty. We need to break out of the “old school” mode of requiring papers of 8.5″ x 11″ pages with 1″ margins and 12 pt font. These ideas are fresh and more aligned with what people produce today when communicating for work or pleasure.