This year I’m all about making my bulletin boards interactive and engaging for the students. I created this twitter board in order to quickly assess understanding and progress among the students. I separated my bulletin board into two different sections because my school is departmentalized so I have one section for my homeroom and the other for my switch class.
Perfect for exit tickets and quick assessments during instruction
During Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, I often model a particular skill or strategy I’m teaching for the day and then ask the students to try it out with a partner or on their own using a sticky note before heading back to their seats to work independently. Their “ticket back to their seat” is to “tweet” their work on the board so that I can quickly assess who gets it and who needs more time and support.
I also love the board for interactive read alouds. While reading a section of a story or text, the students often jot down their thinking on sticky notes and add them to the twitter board. Once again, I can quickly assess the students needs.
Not only have I been using the twitter board as a means of assessment, but I also use it as a resource in which the students can “tweet” any questions they have about a particular topic we are discussing. I particularly use this approach during Social Studies.
My students really enjoy Social Studies and are very curious and inquisitive about events and people from our past. Because time is a precious commodity in our day, I don’t always have extra time to answer all of the students’ individual questions about a topic because we wouldn’t be able to complete the daily lessons or activities. Instead, the students “tweet” their questions (or comments) on the twitter board and post it to their number. After class, I can look at their questions and begin class the next day by addressing and answering some of their tweets. They love it because their questions and comments are addressed and I also love it because if I’m not exactly sure of an answer to one of their questions, I have the time to look it up and provide them with accurate information! Also, it allows me to see what the students want to learn more about as well which helps me tailor my instruction to meet their particular interests.
To make the twitter board, I downloaded the twitter banner (for FREE!) from The Tallest Teacher. Then I create twitter icon buttons where students could post their tweets on their classroom number. Download the icons here. Enjoy and happy tweeting!