Twitter is an amazing social network to use for professional growth and with your students. You may think Twitter is tricky to use with elementary students, but here is a way that it is being used at McGowen in a 3rd grade classroom.
In Mrs. Karls' class, students take turns posting a tweet to Mrs. Karls' twitter feed. They post something about what they learned during the day, then finish the tweet with their initials. Before the tweet gets published, Mrs. Karls approves it:) We got this idea from TCEA this year at a session about communicating with parents and community. We thought this approach would give a great snapshot to families about what their children are doing at school by using something other than a standard weekly newsletter. Here is a link to Mrs. Karls' wiki so you can scroll through her twitter feed.
Mrs. Kasper, 4th grade teacher at McGowen, also uses Twitter in her classroom. She also posts many pictures showing samples of student projects. What a great way to share what is going on daily at school! Click here to see Mrs. Kasper's twitter feed.
Give Twitter a try in your classroom! Explain to your parents how you are using it. Our elementary students do not have their own twitter accounts. They are just given permission to post tweets on their teacher's accounts. If you want to try Twitter, I'd be happy to help you set it up. Once it's established, make it a "job" for one of your students and the twitter feed will be taken care of!
Get a twitter feed going and earn another star for your superhero cape! If you're using it or have other ideas for using Twitter, please share in the comments below.
Every Sunday night there is a #1stchat with some amazing 1st grade educators from across the country. Each week there is a different topic and I have really benefited from the knowledge shared during this chat. It is a professional development opportunity you don't want to miss out on.
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