What was supposed to be a glorious display of technical wizardry to start this lesson sadly fizzled away before it began - all because of a faulty lead... So no punctuation starter, then, just a quick pep talk (and a damp squib - see pic below).

Hello. I am damp.

This aborted venture just happens to have clear parallels with Captain Robert Falcon Scott. His own Antarctic mission was doomed before he began, when he opted for large animal furs for his men rather than the layers of clothing that Amundsen chose for his. From insulation to inspiration, though: his scribblings are a great example of another classic form of travel writing: the diary.

After defining the different forms of travel writing on the board, we then split into groups and started analysing a different extract from Scott's diaries, looking to identify the key features of the diary format. Each group has appointed a scribe, to write down their findings; a voice, to feed back about their findings; and an assessor, to feed back about how well the group worked together.

How did 8CH get on? Did the groups cohere or fall apart? Who reached the metaphorical pole first and cracked the key components of the diary format? Watch this space...

This first lesson of the module we defined what exactly Travel Writing was, through general discussion and looking at an extract from Bill Bryson's 'Notes from a Small Island' (funny, accessible stuff if you haven't tried it). This is what we came up with:

Travel Writing = Non-fiction about places where the author has travelled to.

We also fantasised about places we'd like to visit, which led us on to have a first go at travel writing of our own: postcards. It is best to start with the classics. Anyway, after going through a model postcard on the board, everyone drafted their own - making sure to be aware of the audience for this text... their parents. After this first draft, pupils swapped their work with the person next to them to check over for mistakes. When it was swapped back, each pupil was given a proper postcard of their own, which they filled in from their draft - in silence, under timed conditions!

If parents are reading this, you'll be able to judge for yourself how their handwriting stood up to the pressure - as we will be sending the postcards home. Also, see if they have convinced you that they were reallyin China, Las Vegas or Cuba, rather than a rainy Eckington...

Hi - my name's Mr. Anderson and I'd like to welcome you to 8CH's new English blog. Welcome.

Essentially, this blog will be a living document detailing the work 8CH will be doing over the next half-term in English - and maybe beyond.

Until Easter we will be studying non-fiction and travel writing in particular. It seemed sensible, therefore, to look at the text where most such writing resides in the 21st Century: blogs. If you don't believe us, check out www.travelblog.org, http://blogs.bootsnall.com or www.travelpod.com. There are thousands more travel blogs out there, too - if you find any other interesting ones, feel free to let us know.

Once it became clear we were going to examine blogs, creating one ourselves was too good an opportunity to miss. This way we can become fully familiar with such a modern form of communication, give our work a wider audience than normal, and hopefully have a bit of fun too. Of course, we'll be looking at forms of travel writing other than blogs: the diaries of Captain Scott; postcards home from exotic locations; even travelogues for recently landed Martians! But whatever it is, it will all be documented on here over the next six weeks - photos, thoughts, poems... who knows?

Which is where you come in. One of the most significant differences between a blog and most other kinds of texts is the interactivity - you can be as much of an author as us. So tell us your thoughts. Tell us your ideas. Tell us about your favourite holiday destination. Tell us your reaction to the work we have done. We would welcome your input - if you feel like it. If you don't, just take some time to look around and enjoy our work.

Thank you.