Lesson 1 

Teacher: Kyle Morrill
Novel: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Lesson: #TheOutsiders
Grade: 7
Timeframe: Ongoing while class reads The Outsiders

Materials needed:
·         Internet access: either smartphone or computer with access to Twitter
·         Class set of The Outsiders

Learning Objective:
·         Students will learn how to use social media (Twitter) responsibly
·         Students will engage in thoughtful questioning and answering techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the novel.

NOTE: Social media use in school is a contentious issue. Check with your administrator or district for clearance before using this lesson.

Procedure:
·         1. Before beginning a class reading of The Outsiders, discuss appropriate and responsible uses of social media, specifically Twitter. Create a class list of guidelines for using Twitter respectfully and effectively. Below is a simple list of potential dos and don’ts.

o   DON’T
§  Use profanity
§  Argue with another student
§  Tweet pictures or thoughts unrelated to the class discussion
o   DO
§  Express your thoughts/answers respectfully
§  Retweet or comment on tweets that you agree with
§  If you disagree with someone, do it politely and constructively
§  Tweet about literary terms and/or interesting passages you see in the reading

·         2. It may be beneficial to show students a number of tweets from experts on different topics so they get further insight into effective tweeting.

·         3. Once the students understand how to use Twitter effectively and responsibly, the teacher must give each student a Twitter handle (if they do not have one already). A simple way to create a unique handle is by using the student’s ID number. This is usually a unique 8-10 digit number. If the student has one already, he/she can choose to use theirs or create a new one with their student ID.

·         4. The class (or teacher) will need to choose a hashtag. The hashtag must be unique to the class and be related to the reading. Example: GR7Outsiders227.  Each class will need to log in to Twitter and “follow” the chosen hashtag so they can see their classmates’ tweets.   

·         5. Now the class can start reading The Outsiders. Hand out the question starters worksheet (see attached). Students will be required to tweet two questions about the reading and respond to two classmates each week. Encourage them to also tweet about their feelings, reactions, and any literary terms they find in the reading.








Name:_________________________                                                Date:__________________

Question Starters

Use these question starters to help you create your questions for Twitter!


    1.   What if...
          2.   How would you react if…
          3.   How do you think (character) was feeling during…
          4.   Why does the author say…
          5.   (Quote or passage) is an example of what (literary term)…
          6.   What do you think will happen in…
          7.   Does (certain incident in the story) remind you of…
          8.   What is the main idea or purpose of…
          9.   How does (character) compare/contrast with (character)...
         10.   Do you agree with…




Comments

  1. Anya BentApril 27, 2017 at 12:20 PM

    These question starters are great, and if you have a few students brave enough to start the ball rolling, you will be amazed with the conversation.

    ReplyDelete

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