Learning Activity

I'm interning for an 8th grade English class so I was limited on activities that wouldn't be too childish for my students. I thought for awhile of things that I knew that would interest them. And one thing kept coming to mind...INSTAGRAM! But how could I incorporate Instagram into education?

First, I decided that since Instagram is a photo sharing website that allows you to put short comments, I could use this as a strategy to analyze text of any sort. I mimicked Instagram's signature look by playing around on a word document. Then once I had it looking just like Instagram, I put short instructions of what the student are required to do. What is really neat about this assignment, is that it can work for any type of writing. This will help students get a deeper understanding of whatever text they are learning about, whether it be poetry or a short story. Where you would normally post a picture on Instagram, the student will draw a symbol or image that represents the text. Then where you would normally post a comment, is where the student would state the main point or theme of the text. And, just for fun, where the profile picture would normally be, the student can draw in their own. Then as a class, you discuss the variety of answers students put to create an even deeper understanding.
If you need ideas for poetry, click here for the top 100 poems!