Introducing Twitter to Young Students

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           Introducing and using Twitter in the early elementary classroom will look very different that it does with older children.  To introduce Twitter to my group of Kindergarten students, we will simply have a few days to explore Twitter as a group and have discussions about Twitter, writing to an audience, and sharing ideas with others.  Prior to pulling up a Twitter feed in front of my students, I will simply choose 5-10 accounts to follow.  I might want to follow a news source for kids, another classroom in our school, or an organization such as NASA.  Having a few accounts to follow prior to exploring Twitter together will be able to show your students how other people can get information to us through this site.

            When looking at Twitter as a group, I will talk about what a “feed” is, from who the information is coming, and why we might want to read it.  Discussions during this time might spark ideas that can “take off” using Twitter in your own room.  I suggest taking notes on what your students say during these discussions so you can go back to them later.  Some discussion questions to ask your students:

-What can you find out from Twitter?

-Who reads Twitter?

-How would you use Twitter?

-What would you want to tell people if you had a Twitter account?

-Who is on Twitter?

-What are people trying to accomplish with Twitter?
-What is a hashtag? What is the purpose?

*Spend as many days as you feel it is necessary for your students to grasp the purpose of Twitter.  Make sure your students understand that it is a place for people to share ideas, connect with each other, and get information to others.