Classroom Design: 5 of My Favorite Classroom Tools

 

As my teaching friends around the country are shifting from summer reflections to the physical task of setting up classrooms,  I was reminded of my mother’s advice over the years: “You’re only as good as your tools.”

Each year, each of us head to office supply stores, Target or teaching resource stores, with the shopping dilemma: What will make my classroom  function more efficiently, versus What’s just a waste of money?

Today’s post is a pictorial sharing 5 back-to-school, classroom supplies that I loved enough to go around photographing! Each of these proved itself an asset to the students and myself throughout the full year, contributing to our classroom community, student organization and our ability to reach our goals — and each was resilient enough to be reused again this year.

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 Electric Pencil Sharpener

Between teaching and parenting and keeping a home office, there are 2 supplies that have most consistently failed: staplers and electric pencil sharpeners. I had tried (to the death) 3-4 pencil sharpeners before this one won my heart.

Let my experience be to your benefit as I can testify that this is the only pencil sharpener that has (1) sharpened fast and effectively, (2) performed consistently and (3) this is key: did not die, jam or otherwise self-destruct.

Purchasing info: Staples ClassMate Heavy Duty Electric Pencil Sharpener (blue). Pictured on the shelves at Staples in July, with a lower price than currently listed online ($51.79).

 

3-Hole Punch

In my home office and in the classroom, I am neurotic about keeping binders rather than file folders. I frequently have students hole-punch work to maintain for reflection or reference throughout a unit, as well. Binders keep things neat, accessible, in order and revisable — which helps students and myself make the most of our printed materials.

A 3-hole punch isn’t hard to find — but one that cuts reliably, holds up to repeated use (including by impatient students) and can do multiple pages with little hand stress… is worth getting excited about. That’s why I fell in love with the Swingline High Capacity Light Touch. With 20 lb./12 page capacity, it really does cut through pages cleanly with little effort — and it stood up to a year’s pounding in the classroom, still ready to go. It’s worth noting that “light touch” is huge benefit in hole-punching, as it’s easier to keep pages lined up (avoiding those mis-punches that run off the edge of the page) if the user isn’t having to pound to cut through.

Purchasing info: Pictured in its box on the shelves at Staples (current price: $29.99). Also available from Amazon (current price: $19.97).

 

 Attractive Eco-friendly Clipboards

I am big on fostering a tribe-clubhouse spirit within my classroom, and one thing the students love most is the mobility provided by our classroom clipboards. Not necessarily a new idea. But…here’s my nerdy thing: I think our class enviro is more fun when things are cute.

I bought about a dozen decorative clipboards from ecofriendly collections available at Staples and Target. We had each of the sport and animal patterns pictured at right (kitten, puppy, football, soccer) from the Staples collection, as well as several attractive graphic patterns like the one at left, and some pretty, graphic florals (from Target Greenroom). The kitten was most popular, even after he’d been edited to sport a curly mustache by one of my doodlers.

Organization tip: I kept clipboards available  in my “student station,” standing on end in an inexpensive ($2) bin from Target’s dollar section.

Purchasing info: the sport and animal designs (pictured at right) are from Staples – Staples Fashion Clipboards ($3.99 each).  Floral and graphic pattens are available at Staples (the blue and green clipboard at left, with matching desk supplies) and at Target. Target’ Greenroom prints and florals are quite cute and can be purchased in stores or online:  Greenroom Eco Clipboard Assorted Patterns (product numbers: DPCI : 081-05-1608;  Online item # : 13460045). Pricing is comparable for all 3.

 

 

 Invitation-sized Envelopes

Staplers, pencil sharpeners, hole-punches, even clipboards… I get the point of all of these — but why envelopes?  One of my favorite new adaptations this last year were interactive notebooks. For reading, history, science, vocabulary — any notebook where students might be taking notes — I did everything I could to help them make those notes interactive. They turned pages into flipbooks, illustrated notes, added flaps so notes could be studied as a game… it was awesome.

One approach students liked was taping an envelope onto a notes page, which they could use as a pocket for flash cards, so we were in the habit of using an envelope for each unit. Students also used them for other interactive projects, like securing an imaginary letter onto a lapbook.  They were a surprisingly handy supply to have.

Purchasing info: the best tip might be to include “stray envelopes” as a request, if parents send in materials for recycling in the classroom. The envelopes I used were leftover from invitations my sons hadn’t used a couple years back, so essentially free. You might check recycling depots, if your community has those. Otherwise, I wasn’t too set back by the price to buy a box of envelopes as shown here: At right, a box of 100 Columbian brand envelopes from Amazon (currently $7.45) or, pictured in the store at left: 100 “Invitation” envelopes by Staples ($12.95).

 

 

Message Board for Due Dates

One of the things I loved about my classroom last year was that it had tons of board space. I had a huge bulletin board outside my classroom with a grade-level theme; here was a small one inside the door with our character theme; another small one for our class jobs; and a large one I used for student resources; then there  was a small white board for posting homework assignments and a huge white board for everything else. Tons. STLL…

One of my favorite purchases was this small white board. Why? Because, right by the door, whether students were on their way in or out, it told them what was due today (or due within the next couple days).  One of the biggest things middle schoolers are learning is to keep organized, and it is a big skill to manage not just start dates for projects but what to turn in, when. Separating this list from the assignment board helped underscore the “end zone” nature of turning things in.

Don’t need a “due date” board? Other teachers on my hall had a small whiteboard for a quote of the day, question for morning meetings or daily goals (I’ll post about my daily goals board another day).

Style & hanging tips: How cute are the stripes on my board? I dressed up the cheap board I bought using Washi tape in order to incorporate it with the adjoining board. This was a class-design spurge, that came in handy throughout the year (color-coding books, drawing lines on the board, covering unattractive surfaces).  Mine was a splurge at $3.49/roll at Staples — although you can get it for much less via Amazon ($2 and less/roll, with variety of patterns and manufacturers).  How did I hang the board without breaking my school’s “no nails” rules? 3M Poster hanging strips (I think 6 held it; $2.59-3.49), available at Target, most convenience stores or use the link to order from Amazon.

Purchasing info: my board was by Board Dudes from Target ($19.99) — it made it through the year and is reusable, but is not my top recommendation. Mine was foam core and dented easily; stronger ones are melamine. More options: Costco: Quartet Dry Erase Board ($39.79), or Universal Dry Erase board from Amazon ($25.47).

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What About You?

What are your favorite back to school supplies for getting your classroom ready?  Today, I shared tools that helped my classroom run more successfully, but I know we can all wax on about our favorite borders or cutouts or bulletin board design or theme… (Last year, mine was zebra borders that matched these zebra puff-stools for our library corner!)  Share your favorites or link to your own posts in the comments. You know everyone loves to hear other teachers’ ideas.

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If you like this blog, be sure to subscribe using WordPress’s follow option or via the email option. If you have a blog about teaching or writing, as well, leave a link in the comments.  I love to connect with other educators and writers.

More on this site:

• Literature & Writing: Exploring Character with Word Hoard Activities
• Friday Links for Educators 06.27.14
• Using Pinterest in the Classroom
• 3 for Thursday: Checklist for Project-Based Learning, Request for Retest and Taxonomy for Reflection
• Twitter 101 for Teachers: Steps for Getting Started on Twitter

 

Literature & Writing: Exploring Character with Word Hoard Activities

 

How many times do you come across a great activity and your mind is instantly racing with all the ways it could be applied to create more dynamic or student-centered learning?

I had exactly this reaction to a Word Hoard activity shared by librarian and young adult author Megan Frazer Blakemore as part of the Teachers Write virtual writing camp for teachers this week.

First, check out the original sources for Word Hoards and Teachers Write:

• Teachers Write: Author Kate Messner is the co-creator and host of a fabulous “virtual writing camp” for teachers and librarians, called Teachers Write. Follow that link to Kate’s blog for more about the program and all the fabulous authors who volunteer to lead it. This is my second year participating.
• Word Hoards: Check out Megan Frazer Blakemore’s Thursday Quick Write prompt which shares how she first discovered Word Hoards, the uses she’s found for them and her writing prompt for exploring your own characters. You’ll also see the dozens of examples participants shared in the comments.

What is a Word Hoard?

As Megan explains, a word hoard is a list of words that can be generated by a group to start a writing activity. (Really, go back and read her post — in respect of her copyrights, I’m not repeating it here.)

How I Used a Word Hoard for my Novel

Following Megan’s prompt, I used her activity as a way to more deeply clarify my understanding of 6 key characters in the novel I am revising.

I immediately felt the value: to generate a word hoard for each character, I had to close my eyes and imagine myself fully inside that character’s skin. Shallow efforts would not have been meaningful: I emotionally wallowed down into each, letting details from the writing bring them into view. I imagined details of their backstory or the setting of one of their scenes or their history with another character or a particular possession or memory.

Once I was fully “there,” I wrote down one word that character would think of, and then another until I had at least 10 words per character. Some feedback on how the process worked for me:

• My format: I could have done this in a journal or on a legal pad, but I do all my novel work in Word. In Word, I used the simple insert-table button from the toolbar to create a table 6 wide and 2 tall (1 column for each character, 1 row for their names then I listed the words in a second “row”; I could have made 10 rows, but this was simpler). See activities below for how students might vary formats.
• One at a time or all at once? I tried rotating through the characters, listing one word at a time for each. This was fun, as I felt the contrast as I went along, but it was inefficient going in and out of character (which would tempt someone not to take the time to get deep into character), so I finished the lists one character at a time. That pattern — one word each, then finish each character’s list — might be a good way to go, as you get the benefit of contrast and efficiency.
• Make it work: I let the list be shorter (say, 5 words instead of 10-15) for minor characters.
• An editor’s pass. Although this is a brainstorming activity, make your hoards powerful by going back when you’re done. Mark out words that aren’t that strong, or add definition to those that really resound. If I said motorcycle for my main character, I might add crash or the make and model of the bike his father raced, or one powerful sensory detail like the smell of oil.

Word Hoards as a Writers Workshop Activity to Develop Character and More

By the time I had 2-3 words per character, I could immediately distinguish clear differences between my characters. Each character’s word hoard revealed a very different voice and tone. One character wants peace, another wants action, one wants revenge, another to save the world. And the young son? Just wants to play with his cars.

Clearly, the voice of each character would reflect that.

In guiding students to write fiction in a workshop, reflect and practice how that would extend throughout the writing:

• dialogue — what the characters say but also what they hide; how emphatically they speak or when they choose to be silent
• actions — including hand gestures, nervous ticks, irritation or boredom
• author’s tone toward the characters
• relationships between characters — what does it reveal if a character says he wants peace but falls for a woman who wants action? how might a son who just wants to play with his cars be impatient with a mother obsessed with solving a crisis? Extend this to the world around them: how will the character who wants revenge be punished or judged?
• setting — what elements of time or place impact the words in your character’s hoard, or how are the story’s time or place obstacles to the character?
• other details — writing settings and details is not just about painting a picture, but about revealing the filter through which each character sees the world. How does each character’s hoard suggest the kinds of objects or details that character would notice? Add those.

Literary Activities Using Word Hoards

Considering how fun it was to watch my character word hoards take shape and how deeply they pulled me into understanding character, I immediately envisioned ways to use hoards for fun literary activities.

1. What character am I? In literary circles, pairs or even whole group, students each envision one character from a book that the class or circle has been reading. It should be from a book with several characters, or else students might select characters from a short list of books that they’ve all recently read (hey, great way to review for midterms or finals). On a card or in their journals or blog, students imagine they are that character, really working to get as deep inside that mind as they can — this is the fun of it. Students brainstorm a list of 10-12 random words that would come to that character’s mind. They do not write down the character’s name on the list (they might use one side of a card for the name and the other side for the list, like a flashcard). Game options:
   • In pairs, students call out or reveal one of their words at a time, taking turns. Goal: see who can guess the other’s character first. When finish, trade partners with another group, working around the room for as many cycles as desired.
   • Small groups could face off against each other, similar to the game for pairs, keeping score to see which team could identify the most characters.
   • The same thing could be done whole-group, for reading groups needing closer modeling or review.
2. Individual Practice. As an alternative literary review, students work independently, creating a T-chart or other graphic organizer with space for each major character in a literary work. Students then either brainstorm their own words from the minds of characters, or identify the actual words used by the author to signal the distinctive characteristics of each.
3. Organization for literary analysis. Student creates a graphic organizer as a brainstorming step prior to writing a literary analysis that evaluates a single character or compares different characters from one or more works. The student can evaluate the power of the words in their brainstorming: weak words can be crossed out. Really powerful words might be highlighted or circled, and the student might look for quotes from the text to illustrate them. Arrows or other relationship signals can be drawn to develop connections that might be made during their analytical essay. These relationships can be numbered, to begin organizing them into paragraphs. Ultimately, the word hoard should generate character-specific and revealing word choice to be used in their analytical writing.
4. Creative fun in interactive reader notebooks.  Word hoard lists might be a menu alternative for interactive reader’s notebooks. I am a huge fan of the participatory nature of interactive notebooks. Rather than in a structured list or chart, hoarded words could be written in illustrative fonts, circled in concentric ripples, written in colors, illustrated with doodles, drawn with icons indicating relationships between other hoard words or other characters, illustrated in ways that connect the character to setting or other literary devices, or just reveal the fun and excitement the reader feels about the book or character. This kind of an interactive notebook page could be taken further with flaps, envelope pockets, or other 3-dimensional options.

Cross-Curricular Connection: Historical Figures

I also happen to be a history teacher and could see these same activities being adapted to play with famous historical characters.

1. Add a word hoard to a lapbook on a famous explorer.
2. Use the who am I? game above to review important people at a unit’s end.
3. Use the same process of organizing for literary analysis to compare key figures when writing an essay comparing inventors or political figures.

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How About You?

If you have been participating in Teachers Write, do say hello in the comments here. How have the prompts been going for you, or what inspiration have you found?

Summer is a great time for brainstorming and expanding our professional learning networks. What resources or a-ha moments have been most revealing for you?

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If you like this blog, be sure to subscribe using WordPress’s follow option or via email. I love to connect with other educators and writers.

Boards set up by subject, unit or skill. Mrs. T’s Middle Grades

More on this site:

• Friday Links for Educators 06.27.14
• Using Pinterest in the Classroom
• 3 for Thursday: Checklist for Project-Based Learning, Request for Retest and Taxonomy for Reflection
• Twitter 101 for Teachers: Steps for Getting Started on Twitter

Friday Links for Educators 02.21.14

February has been far from a “quiet” teaching month in my 5th grade.  All the average planning has been interrupted, one after another, with special tasks:  Planning itineraries and menus and walking groups and field notebooks for March’s overnight field trip to St. Augustine… Planning, coaching and hosting the Lower School Spelling Bee… A day away from school to attend the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest awards ceremony and luncheon… Time out to attend the 2nd grade play, to celebrate our Valentine’s Day party and a day off for Presidents’ Day…

They’re great distractions.  Two of my boys placed 1st and 3rd in the Spelling Bee.  In the exciting final rounds, my student was up against his 4th grade brother, the 2 of them cheering each other on in a fabulous finish for 1st and 2nd!  In the DAR essay contest, girls from my Social Studies classes won 1st, 2nd and 3rd for 5th grade, and our school took 12 of the 16 awards, overall!

But, next thing you know, the month is nearly gone.

As we continually adjust our schedules to fit in these events in lower school, my big focus has been on writing and rewriting my lessons and their formative and summative assessments.  Each week, I come across such fabulous resources through the organizations and individual educators I follow online, and I share some of the best links I came across, below, as the second installment of Friday Links for Educators.  Enjoy reading!

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7 Questions to Ask Before Giving an Assessment

This piece is partially directed at educators responsible for purchasing assessment tools, but struck me as a great series of questions to consider in everyday assessments — whether tweaking last year’s assessments for a coming unit, writing new assessments or modifying assessments for differentiating learning.

An Interview with Grant Wiggins: The Power of Backwards Design

Principal Ben Johnson’s November interview with Grant Wiggins on Edutopia is a powerful discussion on the value of putting assessment at the center of planning rather than as “an afterthought.”  I was glad to read this, as I was just looking into a workshop with Wiggins and Tighe (his co-author).

Newsela

This isn’t a single article but a whole site I’ve just come across and really love. Newsela is a fabulous opportunity to help students build literacy skills with some of the most stimulated reading: daily news articles appropriate for differing reading levels.  It’s an empowering opportunity to allow students to select an article that interests them, while sparking their interest in reading through real world events.

The Best Teachers Don’t Do What They’re Told

I actually happen to get great advice at the school where I teach, so can’t say I entirely support this title, but I like this piece for teacher, Terry Heick’s, insistence on preserving passion above cowed compliance.  While her title sounds defiant, her strategies are clearly about being at the top of your game, using researched practices, well-planned and demonstrated lessons.  In this sense, her advice is about keeping out ahead of the curve of administrative feedback.  I’m all for “Olympic level” teaching.

You Think You Know What Teachers Do, Right?  Wrong.

Don’t skip reading this powerful essay by Sarah Blaine.  The link above takes you to where it has been shared on the Washington Post Answer Sheet column, but it originally appeared on Sarah Blaine’s blog, Parenting the Core.  Blaine was once a classroom teacher, then a parent, and left teaching for law school.  This essay is a powerful tribute to all teachers do, beyond what nonteachers might imagine.  It’s one of my favorite recent reads.

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What About You?

How has your teaching week been, or what great reads have you found?  Feel free to share your thoughts on today’s links in the comments, or share great links you’ve found, including to posts on your own blog.

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If you like this blog, be sure to subscribe using WordPress’s follow option, or via email. I love to connect with readers and fellow teachers or writers.

More on this site:

Boards set up by subject, unit or skill. Mrs. T’s Middle Grades

• Using Pinterest in the Classroom
• 3 for Thursday: Checklist for Project-Based Learning, Request for Retest and Taxonomy for Reflection
• Twitter 101 for Teachers: Steps for Getting Started on Twitter
• Teacher’s Summer Reading List 2013

Twitter 101 for Teachers: Steps for Getting Started on Twitter

Before I began teaching, I was a professional writer, working freelance in a variety of print and web venues. As a writer, I participate actively in doing what is called “building platform” — this means using a variety of social media forums to connect with audience or peers around the country or around the world.

As a teacher and as a writer, I have been astounded at the depth of information and personal connection available through social media, including teaching blogs, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Twitter.

Twitter Rules

Of all the social media venues, even writing friends are often surprised that Twitter is one of my favorites.

Twitter is the venue that can feel most cryptic to new users, because of its 140-character format. When you log onto Twitter, you view a feed of current posts by anyone you follow — which means a long stream of unrelated, abbreviated posts. As new tweets post, older ones are pushed down and eventually out of sight.

For those new to Twitter, the stream seems fragmented. They can’t imagine anything meaningful could be communicated in 140 characters.

But I promise you, Twitter is the one social media forum I return to most reliably. Over time, it has been one of my richest sources of news and information.

As a history teacher interested in current events, I frequently learn of breaking news through tweets from frontline reporters hours before televised news catches up. As a teacher interested in sources for dynamic teaching approaches, I find great articles from educational organizations and top speakers in the field.

Biggest surprise of all: tweeting can be surprisingly intimate. Think of it as a universal water cooler where you have the ability to bump elbows with people you could not walk up to in the physical world: I’ve had friendly exchanges with some of my students’ favorite writers, with publishers of textbooks, with reporters on scene and with educators around the country and around the globe.

This post will break down the key steps to cracking Twitter and making it work for you.

Before we start, I welcome you to connect with me on Twitter with questions or to share resources — find me here.

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Step One to Getting Started: Create Your Profile

If you are not on Twitter at all, start by opening an account (access Twitter here; opening an account is free). You will create a user name and password, then personalize the display by adding a picture and short description of yourself.

Creating a user name and deciding which email address to use can stump some teachers. Best social media practices suggest that you use your real, professional name, as this is how people search for you — however, it is not uncommon for teachers to establish a “brand” name for their professional identity online. Many teachers use a nickname or the name of their blog as their user name. This helps to make clear that you are posting in a professional capacity, and not a personal social media forum.  I use “Mrs. T’s Middle Grades” for teaching, and my maiden name for fiction writing, both of which are separate from my private, personal accounts. I also use a separate email address for social media, rather than my email account at school. Don’t worry if you’re stumped about your user name: you can change it if you change your mind later.

Don’t skip the picture or profile. Twitter includes an “egg” icon for new users, and you’ll want to substitute a headshot or other picture to show your professionalism.

For your profile, you’ll write 140 characters of information to describe yourself. Some people are funny, but really it’s best to use words that genuinely reflect your interests. Examples could be: “Teacher, Father, author of articles in Parenting,” or “Teacher, recent college grad, in masters program at UF.” Make sure to include a link to your website if you are trying to drive traffic.

Step Two: Follow Key Players

A successful start on Twitter begins with finding meaningful people and organizations to follow. Since not everyone uses Twitter well, you are looking for people whose information or ideas you respect, and who are active on the site. This often rules out some experts while highlighting ordinary educators who actively forward great information.

4 ways to find good tweeters to follow:

1. Steal a list: In my second post in this series I will share my list of some of the best people and organizations I follow on Twitter. (Here is link to Best Tweeters & Hashtags for Educators – click it now or find it at the end of this article)
2. Search out your heroes. Hero is an exaggerated term, but the standard approach for finding people to follow is to search for names you respect. Reading a great book on differentiation? Search the author’s name. Belong to a teaching organization? Search for that group. Have peers you want to connect with? Look for people you teach with, went to school with, or have connected with in other venues, such as at professional workshops, on Pinterest, on blogs or Teachers Pay Teachers.
3. Mine their leads: while on the profile for a tweeter you respect, click their “followers” list to see whom they follow. Sir Ken Robinson, of TED fame, does not follow a lot of educational experts — more Hollywood sorts. On the other hand, Rick Wormeli, my favorite resource for differentiation and middle grades, follows several great educational resources and actively tweeting teachers. Scrolling through his list, you might spot other educators or resources you’d like to follow.
4. Use hashtags or participate in chats. More about hashtags and chats in step 4… but they are a good way to find tweeters who post actively on a topic that interests you.

How to do you follow someone? While logged in, click their user name until you reach their profile, then click the “follow” button. When getting started, consider following at least 40-50 people so that you are seeing enough material in your feed to find what you are looking for. If you later change your mind, prune your list by clicking the same button, which will now have turned to “unfollow.”  Tip: you can group the people you follow into categories by creating lists from your profile page. For example, here are a few of my lists: my Teaching list , my YA & MG lit list, and list of journalists & news I follow.

Step Three: Interact

Connection is key to finding meaningful benefit from social media. Twitter is frustrating to new users until they begin connecting with others. Practicing effective Twitter habits will draw others to follow you so that your posts are being “heard.” Heads up: meaningful connection begins to kick in about the time you have 40-50 followers… so get started, but have patience.

Here are the basic ways to connect using Twitter:

• Share a link: If you read an article you think others would like, then tweet a short description and link to the article. You should also do this to share your own blog posts. Hint: use Google url shortener or other tools to shorten links. Be sure to include enough description or comment to help followers decide if it’s worth clicking the link. For example, I might share link to my reading list post by tweeting, “What are you reading this summer? Teacher’s Summer Reading http://wp.me/p3B1JY-l” Tip: Notice I used a question to engage, rather than just sell. In truth, answer to that question would be interesting interaction.
• Other ways to share: Use “share on Twitter” buttons throughout the internet to share blog articles you like or items you post on Pinterest (which will include a picture of the pin).
• Practice concise writing skills to share your stories: it’s possible to share a great experience in 140 characters or less! “Awesome lab w Red Bull and milk helped kids visualize chemical change” or “MG writers wrote amazing narrative essays to bring Rev War to life” are great mini stories of how your day went. Even if no one responds, these mini stories help other Twitter users get to know you.
• Reply to interesting posts. Answer questions tweeted by others or respond as you would to an overheard conversation in public. If a person dropped a bag of groceries on the sidewalk in the real world, you’d stop to commiserate and help pick them up. It’s the same in the twitterverse: it’s human to reply “so sorry to hear it” if someone posts sad news, or well-wishing if they post good news.
• Share the love by retweeting. Retweeting supports the initial poster as it improves their rankings, and benefits you by sharing with your followers the kind of information you found useful. (Side benefit: it serves to bookmark the article by saving the link in your feed.) Tips for mastering retweeting: While logged directly into Twitter, when you hit the “retweet” key it will simply repeat the original tweet in your feed with the original tweeter’s icon next to it. A better practice for building platform (creating connection with others) is for you to create a new tweet that quotes the original. Using an app like Tweetdeck or an app from your iphone makes this simple, as a second button is available that automatically quotes the retweet.  Otherwise you have to do it manually (copy/paste the original post into your new tweet, including the original poster’s id). Example of a retweet: “Get your questions ready: RT @GuardianBooks: Webchat 6/14 w Neil Gaiman http://t.co/gPSyv2FeoS“  Notice that I added my own comment (“Get your questions ready”) and the letters RT, which stand for retweet; the original tweeter is identified (@GuardianBooks) and then their original tweet is included. If I had edited their original tweet to make it fit, I would have used the letters “MT” instead of “RT” to show that it is a “modified” tweet.
• Thank people — post a thank you tweet including the user’s name any time someone follows you or “favorites” or retweets one of your posts.
• Participate in Twitter chats. Huh… what? People have actual conversations? Read about hashtags in step 4 to understand this better.

It is important to know: manners really, really matter on Twitter and other social media. Try searching “twitter manners” or “twitter etiquette” for tips on how to behave. It’s generally as obvious as the golden rule — treat others as you would like to be treated. Be personable and friendly in interacting with others, but keep it professional. If you want to promote your blog or other work, do so sparingly and mixed in with other genuine conversation.

Step Four: Use Hashtags

Hashtags are those shortie expressions preceded by the # symbol. They are just plain ugly — but they work.

The key to finding and connecting conversation threads on Twitter is similar to how crab grass grows: ideas don’t follow that linear news feed, they have to branch sideways to connect to people outside your established flow. Hashtags attach your own posts to a conversation, pulling your tweet to where it will be seen by more than those following you — specifically by those interested in the topic you are posting about. And they help you find tweets and tweeters active in ideas you are interested in.

Even more awesome: hashtags pull people together to participate in Twitter chats. These are organized conversations that take place at set times throughout the week, on dozens of subjects. I participate in weekly chats with groups of writing and teaching professionals, and have jumped into a variety of chats on technology or conversations with favorite authors. Every chat has an assigned hashtag. You may discover them by reading your new feed of people you’re following or else I’ll share a few in the next post (link here, or find it at the end of this article).

Two major rules for hashtags:

• Rule 1: whenever possible, attach one hashtag to the end of your post to connect it to the main topic it is about. “#MGlit” is a great one to add if I’m sharing a link about favorite middle grade authors. “#edtech” is a great one to add to a post asking for recommendations for ipad apps for learning state capitals.
• Rule 2: unless you have a really, really good reason, never use more than 2-3 hashtags per post. It’s a bad ad strategy, like spam email. In that last example, I might add “#MGss” to specify middle grade social studies, but not more than that.

Okay, now is a good time: to find hashtags for topics or chats you are interested in, check out my second post: Twitter for Teachers: Tweeters & Hashtags to Follow.

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What About You?

Are you a teacher who has tried out Twitter or other social media forums? What questions do you have, or what advice would you share? 

Feel free to share your Twitter name in the comments so we can look you up as well. If you followed the steps here to get started, keep us posted on what works or hurdles you find.

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If you like this blog, be sure to subscribe using WordPress’s +follow option, or via email or RSS feed. I love to connect with readers!

For more on this site:

• Recent post: Teacher’s Summer Reading List 2013
• Coming up: Twitter for Teachers: Tweeters & Hashtags to Follow

More from other Educators:

• Glenn Wiebe’s Twitter in the Classroom: Green, Blue & Black – with comprehensive lists of links for beginning, intermediate and advanced Twitter use