Reflections on the Teche

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When writing a blog post, links can be used to enrich the text.  When I taught my students some time ago about linking, I was considering how they could use links in nonfiction to show further research.  But bloggers find many ways to use links in a blog post.   Here are a few:

1. To send a reader to a similar post: Yesterday when I was reading Julianne’s blog, I noticed that she linked three different blogs she had read and enjoyed. This made it easy for me to bounce on over to these sites, too.
2. To connect your reader to an image or text that you do not have permission to post: For a poetry writing exercise, I led my students to write about a National Geographic image.  On Poetry Friday, I didn’t post the image with the poems.  I posted a link to it.
3. To connect your reader to similar posts:  My student, Vannisa, has two young sisters.  She writes about her sisters often.  So on her Slice of Life post this week, she wrote this clever sentence complete with links to her other posts.  “My sister is a little monster now. She is a Youtube Genius. Obviously different from my other sisters. And her day all begins with her morning with her baby sister.”
4. To refer your reader to another website: On Saturday, I wrote about a magician who visited my class.  I linked to his website.
5. To direct your readers to a shopping site:  When I do book reviews, I link the thumbnail of the book to a bookseller.

On my WordPress site, I am able to create the link to open in a new window, so my reader does not lose our connection.  I am also able to easily link to my previous blog posts.

What are some ways you use links in your blog posts? Which ones are most important for student bloggers?  Don’t forget to link back to this round up.  You can use the image above as a link button.