Reading and Discussion Boards

There is a big difference between blogging and discussion boards.  Blogs are much less structured than discussion boards and can be about many different topics.  This week, I am going to share how I use discussion boards within my 6th grade classroom.  In the picture below you can see what my student's discussion board looks like which is implemented within Fairfax County's Blackboard site.

We use this forum to discuss the different books that I read aloud to the class.  I'm sure you know the feeling of not having enough time during your Language Arts block to have good discussions about reading.  There is just too much to fit into one day!  Reading, writing, mini-lessons, shared writing, guided reading...the list goes on!  Using the discussion board helps solve the problem about letting all of the students share what their thinking is about their reading. 

Another reason I use discussion boards is for my kid's book clubs.  They can go on and discuss their book and their projects with each other easily from their home computers. 

So, what do you want to use discussion boards for?  My goal was to have better communication about reading but what do you want to accomplish?  Ask yourself these questions before putting this into practice in your classrom.