Geometry:  Photo Message Scavenger Hunt

Objective: Students will identify and share geometric shapes using social media.
Materials: Internet access, digital cameras or cell phones

Procedure:

1. Review with students basic geometric shapes including various quadrilaterals, triangles, regular and irregular polygons, etc.
2. Review with students (if needed) how to take pictures with digital cameras and cell phones.
3. Direct students to take pictures of previously reviewed shapes outside of the classroom such as stop signs, cabinet doors, candy wrappers. Students will then post them to classroom Edmodo (or other social networking) site.

Follow Up: Teacher will look at all pictures searching particularly for questionable shapes. Any questionable images can be posted as a poll on Edmodo (or other social networking). Students must vote whether each shape qualifies. Teacher can also require comments on pictures.

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Language Arts:  Story Starters

Objective: Teacher will start a story and each student will add a line to it.
Material: Internet access, edmodo.com (or other social networking) group

Procedure:

1. Review with students basic rules of doing story starters. (Always be appropriate!)
2. Review with students how to log on and use Edmodo (or other social networking).
3. Teacher writes a one line story starter.
4. Students log on and add to the story where the last blog left off.
5. Students post ideas and peer edit as the story is being created by the entire class.
6. Students respond to and edit for teacher and student comments.

Follow Up:
Once the story has been reviewed and edited, students will read aloud the entire story as a class. Students will then reflect on: (A working list to be expanded)

1. What is your favorite part of the story? Why?
2. Who would make the perfect audience for this story?
3. Find two example of author’s craft in our story?
4. What did you learn about story writing from this activity?

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Technology:  Cyber-Safety Lesson For Students and Parents

Social Media Survey tool: (www.commonsensemedia.org)

Lesson One (for students)

1. Have students complete the student survey on the above website.
2. In small groups, have student tally the results and create a visual (graph) of their results.
3. As a group, find three websites targeting younger students that would teach them about cybersafety.
4. As a group, create a skit, video, presentation, song, artwork, PSA (Public Service Announcement) that they would use to teach children about responsible use of social networking.

Lesson Two (for parents)
This lesson would be used as part of a parent internet safety class and introducing them to Edmodo (or other social networking).

1. As part of a cybersafety unit, download the social media student survey from the above website. Give it to a random sample of students’ grades 6-8th. Disaggregate the data by grade and gender to report results.
2. Prior to sharing student data with parents, have them complete the parent survey from the same website. Have them discuss their results in small groups.
3. Next, introduce Edmudo (or other social networking) and have parents create student accounts. Assist them in navigating to the unit created by the teacher (which would include the outcomes of the student survey) and complete the following assignment:

• • Compare the student’s results with your own survey answers. What do you notice? What surprised you? Is there any troubling data?
  • In small groups, share your observations and agree on 3-5 things you could do to better understand social media and/or insure your child’s responsible use of social media. (post homework)
  • Together, find one more website to assist parents re: social networking. (post website.)
  • Finally, share student projects with parents.

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Counseling:  No Name Calling Week Lesson Plan

Objective: Increase in understanding of how name-calling impacts friendship, self-esteem, identity. I will be using this lesson plan with our Student Council members grades 3-5, but could be used with any group interested in school climate and social issues.

Materials: Computer with Internet access

Procedure:

1. Introduce No Name Calling Week to students, ask them to review the website: http://www.nonamecallingweek.org/cgi-bin/iowa/home.html
2. Using web resources (youtube, hulu, etc.) ask students to find clips from popular media that use name-calling and insults as humorous and appealing. Students will post the results of their search on edmoto.
3. Continuing the web search, use web resources (blogs, articles, youtube, etc.) to show examples of the real impact of name-calling, insults, and put-downs. Students will post the results of their search on edmodo or blog.