Last week we learnt all about you – your interests, your favourite foods, music and lots of other things when you wrote your ‘About’ page. This week we are going to learn all about the area in which you live.
As many of you know, I will be visiting the USA and Canada (in fact I am in California now). When you write your posts or use web 2.0 tools, remember to be internet safe and not give away any personal information. Check with your teacher or parent, to find out if you can mention your school name or town.
But firstly, a few administration pointers.
Please check to make sure you have the following widgets visible on your blog’s sidebar: blog avatar, pages, recent comments, recent posts, blogroll or links, categories. If not using Edublogs, the names of these widgets might be different.
Have you made sure you are getting an email whenever someone leaves a comment on your blog so you can moderate this? It can be annoying for your mentor to go to your blog and find no comments have been approved for the last month or so.
In your profile page, do you have your blog URL included? – this links to your name for when you leave a comment.
Now let’s get to the activities.
Activity 1. Add a widget to find out where your commenters are coming from.
There are many different widgets you can use – clustrmaps, flag counter, feedjit Have you seen any others while visiting blogs of other students? Maybe you could write a post about why you chose the commenter widget you have put on your blog.
Activity 2. Add one or more widgets about your area of the world
This might include a clock or weather or a translator widget in case students who don’t speak your language can translate your post.
When adding widgets to your sidebar, copy and paste the embed code into a text box on your sidebar.
- Save then close.
- If the widget is too wide, you will have to adjust the number next to ‘width’ in the embed code.
- This might appear more than once in the code.
If using blogger rather than Edublogs, you might need to check out the instructions for adding widgets and images etc from Bling For Your Blog, written by a teacher in New Zealand. Thanks Allanah.
If your blog is an Edublogs free blog, you might not be able to put all the widgets in your sidebar.
Activity 3. Write a post about a tourist attraction in the following states or provinces.
Miss W and Mr Davo Devil will be visiting these states and provinces: California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and back to California. They enjoy visiting national parks and historical places. Where would you suggest they go while in those states and provinces? Suggest a tourist attraction in at least 5 places.
Activity 4. A year in your town
Write a post, create a glogster, make an audioboo tape, create a Storybird or add a Voki telling Miss W about the festivals held in your town throughout the year. Which festivals do you enjoy the most and why? When are the festivals held in case she can visit one while she is travelling? If under 13, check with your teacher or parent if you want to use a web 2.0 tool rather than writing a post in your blog.
Activity 5. Visit other participants and ask questions
Visit at least five other blogs from students or classes around the world and ask some questions in your comments. We have participants from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Russia, Colombia, Taiwan, Greece and Indonesia taking part in the challenge.
Activity 6. Questions in a post
Write a post asking questions about the different countries mentioned in activity 5. Have at least 6 questions in your post.
Activity 7. Where I would love to visit and why
Write a post or use a web 2.0 tool telling your readers about a place you would love to visit and why. Try to include some hyperlinks (links that are underlined in your post and take your readers to another website)
Activity 8. Create a game or quiz about your town, state or country
A few places to do this include: Quiz Revolution, Class Tools, Remember to check with your teacher or parent before using these web 2.0 tools. Sometimes your teacher or parent will create an account that is moderated by them and is therefore safe for students to use. Do you know any other places to create games and quizzes?
Copy this trackback link in any posts you write about these activities: Challenge 2 Sept 2011 so I will know to visit your blog and read your post or else leave a comment on this post directing me to your blog.
Attribution:
PDF 
I am a middle school teacher who retired in 2012 but still loves teaching. In my spare time I enjoy tracing my family history and helping others with their genealogy as well as chatting with my friends around the world. But most of all, I enjoy travelling and visiting new places.
Hi Miss W,
I wrote two new posts.
1) Travel Bucket List for Challenge 2, Activity 7 Where I would like to visit and why.
2) Blogs I Recommend for Challenge 1, visit 10 other blogs. I didn’t make it to 10 other blogs, but got close.
Thanks for the challenge. This is fun.
From,
Ethan
American tourist attractions:
• Arizona- Grand Canyon
• Washington D.C.- National mall, Memorial Parks
• New York- Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls
• South Dakota- Mount Rushmore
• Texas- San Antonio River walk
From kieraccs
Hi Miss W
I did two things
Activity 1
I put a cluster map on my blog
Activity 2
I put a google translator on my blog as well
Activity 8
I have not done it but you can also use Microsoft powerpoint to do a quiz
This is my blog
http://ashleighblog.edublogs.org/
Hi Miss W:
Wow, this is a great challenge and I am so excited to get started! I have learnt so much already and it keeps getting better!
Thanks Miss W
Dawso
Hi Miss W,
Check out my post at http://georgie11.edublogs.org/
thanks
Hello Miss W. Welcome! If you make it to San Antonio TX I would be honored to be your tour guide.
To Miss W,
I want to visit Japan.
From,
Em
Hi Miss W,
I already have a flag counter so do I have to put on another one?
smilingsarah
Hi Sarah,
No if you already have done some of the activities you don’t have to do them a second time. You can pick and choose which activities to complete each week.
Hay Mrs W this is my blog seanccs11.edublogs.org
Hi Miss W,
Please have a look at my quiz about Tasmania
http://georgie11.edublogs.org/
Georgie
Hi Miss W,
I have done the first 4 activities and I am planning on doing more. Do you mind checking out my blog just to make sure I have done them properly?
http://angie1234.edublogs.org/
Thanks!
Hi Miss W,
Our class took on challenge 7 this week and have come up with a wide range of places we would like to visit.
http://hic2011.edublogs.org/
Cheers, Mrs S
HI MISS W, IM REALLY NEW TO THE WORLD OF BLOGGING SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY ISSUES WIHT VIEWING MY BLOG. HERE’S MY WEBSITE moranmustangs.org/emilyl12
Hey Mrs.W Ummm I an doing blog challenge number 7 and I dont know how to do a hyperlink. So how do u do one??????
I have completed the 2nd Challenge, and I am learning so much!
http://writingoutsidethelions.edublogs.org/
Sorry Ms.W nevermind I know how to do it!!
hi ms W i am maria camila i asked 2 people some quastions and there were
http://2017mrb.edublogs.org/ and
http://2017kew.edublogs.org/
And Ms W can you please leave a comment on my blog is that anybody have leave one please
Bye have a nice day
1. What festivals are popular in Colombia?
2. What’s the weather in New Zealand like now?
3. Which languages do children learn in Chinese schools?
4. What do kids like doing after school in Scotland?
5. Which food is popular in Ireland?
6. How do people travel in Indonesia?
7. How do people celebrate New Year in Denmark?
I did 1 and 6.
1. Do you learn English in China?
2. What food do you eat greece?
3. Do you guys actually eat hagis in Scotland or is that just a tourist trick?
4. Have you ever been bitten by a snake in Ireland?
5. What’s the weather like in Russia?
6. Do you go hiking in Austarlia?
1)Is it nice in China?
2)What language do they talk in South Korea?
3)If you lived in Russia would you like to live west of the Urals or east of them?
4)Are there lots of snakes in South Korea?
5)What kind of food they eat in China?
6)Have you seen kangagroos in Austarlia?
QUESTIONS IN A POST (Activity 6)
1. How cold is it in Russia?
2. How many different animals are there in Austrailia?
3. How are the toy making factories in China?
4. What is the most popular sport in Canada?
5. How many languages are there in Taiwan?
6. How many holidays are there in China?
WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT (Activity 8)
I would really like to go to California. I want to play in the ocean, and look at the different types of stores, or maybe even find some celebreties. Also, California is never cold and always sunny, so it’s warm weather day and night!
Miss W,
Here is my website http://mssen11.edublogs.org. But I also need some help. In challenge 2, we were supposed to get a weather and clock widget, and make a quiz. Well I found and did each of these things, but I’m having trouble embeding them into my blog. Because there are no specific widgits for each of these things, how do I get them on there? I have asked other students around the world, but none have gotten back to me. Thanks!
Morgan
G’day Morgan,
It depends if you have a free Edublogs blog or not. Usually you drag a text box widget onto your sidebar and put the embed code in the box, save it then close it. See if that helps.
Activity #3
Ohio-cedar piont is a large amusement park that’s WAY better than 6 flags.
Activity #7
Iwould love to live in Paris next to the eiffel tower because i can look out my window and be reminded that I’m lucky to live there.
I completed activity one and two but for activity one do we have to write a post about why we chose the commenter widget we chose or is that an option.
Bryan,
I am writing this comment from Kamloops in British Columbia in Canada while on holidays. All the activities are optional – do part of an activity or do the whole activity – just enjoy your blogging.
You can answer my quiz at
http://www.quizrevolution.com/ch/a148979/go
Julia
http://jren11.edublogs.org/index.php
I want to go to London.
I would like t vist Italy. I would like to vist Italy because most of my family is italian. I would love to see more of my family routs
1 how many toy factories are in China?
2 what do they eat in Russia?
3 how many languges are spoken in Russia?
4 how many kangroos are in Australia?
5 is there alot of hiking in East Russia?
6 how many holidays do they have in Taiwan?
Considering that I live in San Diego I like to go to Fiesta del Sol where we listen to kid bands and go on roller coasters.Then there is the horse races.There is also the fair grounds and legoland.Oh yeah I cant forget the Zoo. That is it that is my blog.
Dear Miss W,
I have Completed in challenge 2.
Activity 3,6 and 7 please come check them out at my blog :http://keisha11.edublogs.org/
Thanks Keisha
I would like to go to hawaii one day. This is why . I want to see a volcan up close.
Washington- Space Needle
California- Los Angeles
Arizona- Hoover Dam
Illinois- The Field Museum
New Jersey- Princeton
1. Where do you live in Russia?
2. Do you like having the queen of England being your queen also, Canada?
3. Do you get a lot of tourism in your country,Greece?
4. Are there any tensions between North Korea and you, South Korea?
5. Why is North Ireland part of U.K, Ireland?
6. Why are you doing this blog, everywhere?
Hi Miss W,
W have lots of places we would like to visit. You can read about them at our new campus blog: http://blogs.goaj.org/tolen
Ms. Olen’s Class
1)What is it like in Taiwan?
2)Does South Korea have any cool festivals?
3)How is Irelands weather this time of year?
4)What are some celebrations celebrated in Denmark?
5)Does Russia get alot of snow.
6)What to you celebrate in Greece?
miss w check out my post about new york
Here is Jenna’s quiz about Georgia.
1.What is a popular food in Scotland?
2.What is one of the major electronics in Russia?
3.Is shushi a major food in Hong Kong,China?
4.What animal do you see most in Australia?
5.What is a major fish caught in New Zeland?
6.What does Colombea look like like is there alot of trees lakes?
Hi Ms W!
This is my very first blog, but so far, so good. Please visit my blog and see my posts for this challenge!
Thank You!!!
Mariana (6dmarianasblog.weebly.com)