Engaging Students with Social Media Templates

Engaging Students with Social Media Templates

The end of the school year signals many of the great things about being a teacher: time off during the summer to read and re-charge, more time with family, the pool/beach/mountains, etc.

But, it also brings on the stress that also accompanies the end of the year: getting back all the library books, cleaning up your classroom/office, getting final grades done, last minute PD crammed in when all you want to do is be in your room packing up, scheduling and so many more that it almost makes me sad that my list of stress-ors is longer than the positives…yikes!

One thing that you don’t want to stress about is end of the year projects.  Because it is this span of time, after state testing, that many teachers want to work in the library and do the projects that they “can’t do” before testing…but I digress and that is for a whole different blog posting!

One of the ways you can reduce stress and reign in some of the child distraction is by meeting them where they live, on social media.  You can do this by using social media templates which allow students to create social media postings in a safe and secure place. This is not a new concept, but with some of the online tools available you have to have devices and internet access, as well as email addresses for accounts and more.  Each of these can be a hindrance to using an online tool. 

​You have limited access to computers, you say?  Well then just print them out and have students draw and write in the information instead.
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​I created this template for a 7th grade teacher who was running a research project where students were learning about a local, national or global issue of their choice.  They read several model texts, then got to select their own issue.  They researched it and were tasked with creating a PSA style social media campaign using the social media template in PowerPoint.  When they were finished creating the content, they saved the slides as image files and then submitted them digitally.  For those students who were on technology restriction or did not finish in class, we were able to print a blank template and then they completed the work from home. ​

Not only was this a great tool for this assignment, but imagine the potential for all the ways students could use the social media templates to create faux Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts.  The classroom teacher was amazed by how well this all worked out and is now looking for other ways to co-plan projects in the library.  A win-win all around!

How do you use social media in the classroom?

Other useful resources!