Afternoon Reflections: #Twitterature

My idea on using technology in a high school English class has to do with what is called “Twitterature.” My goal is to teach students how to summarize and synthesize dense texts into clear, correct, and concise writing of their own. In this day and age, Twitter is the best platform for concise writing because it stops the writer at 140 characters. If I can get my students to summarize pieces of literature in a mere 140 characters, I will be setting them up for success in communicating globally.

Here is what my idea would look like in a 9^th grade English class studying Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:

•  I would create a Twitter account for each character in Romeo and Juliet, and I will give all students in the class access to every character account.
• I will then have my students sign up for specific scene to be the tweeter for.
• Each time the class reads a scene, the assigned student has to tweet a mini summary of the scene from one of the character accounts, writing from the perspective of a character in the scene (in other words, the student writer will have to choose the best voice to use to portray their assigned scene on Twitter).
• We will have a project hashtag (something like “#R&JProject”) so that all the tweets will go to one page. There, students can read others’ writing and get a student-generated study guide.
• At the end of each Act, I will retweet my students’ hashtag to a existing hashtags like “#comments4kids” “#engchat” “#Twitterature” or “#Shakespeare” to get their work out there and gathering feedback.
• During class, we will look at any comments or retweets we get from followers and discuss how it is important to share literature interpretations and reflections globally.

I see this project in the “Redefinition” category of the SAMR model. I could have just asked students to summarize scenes in class, on a paper quiz, or worse by handing them a summary myself. Instead, I am getting them to take ownership over learning the material in manageable chunks. Publishing it through Twitter will enhance their accountability for completing the assignment, and it will force them to practice writing in an essential online genre. Tweeting from character accounts will protect the students, but it will also get them to think deeper about the character’s role and perspective. Bringing their writing to public level, my students’ work will be shared with the rest of the Twitter world—anyone could read and re-share their writing. This lesson thus tackles concise writing, digital communication, various perspectives, and connectivity all in one, redefining what we think of writing about Shakespeare in our time.