Confused by the title of this post?
Possibly.
Allow me to explain.
Since I’m unable to use Twitter in my classroom (hopefully this is coming soon!), I’ve gotten creative with reaching my students.
I use Remind and Remind Chat to communicate with my students outside of the classroom, sharing reminders, announcements, and answering questions.
However, I wanted to mimic the actual process of posting thoughts to Twitter…including the 140 character limit!
My students have just finished learning about two landmark Supreme Court cases dealing with Congress’ application of the Commerce Clause, Heart of Atlanta Motel v United States and McCulloch v Maryland. I know landmark Supreme Court cases don’t get everyone’s blood flowing, so stay with me!
After my students had read about the case, discussed the Constitutional issues of the case, and learned the outcomes, we discussed any misconceptions they may have had. I also directed them to one of my “raps” on YouTube that explains the McCulloch case.
Where has my sense of shame gone!?
To wrap up our discussion of these cases, my students created Twitter-ish posts about the cases, as if they were explaining the cases to someone who had never heard of them before and doing so in a manner they would be accustomed to on social media.
My purpose in creating this assignment has multiple points: to challenge my students to summarize their knowledge of the cases, identifying the most important points of the cases. Also, I was looking for an activity that would engage them in the content, but do so in a fun way.
This activity fit the bill!
Enjoy these examples…they’re pretty great!
Trying to tax a bank that belongs to the government is like trying to tax your mom for having you. You aren't going to win. #mccullochvmd Maryland tried to tax the 2nd U.S. Bank?? wot? McCulloch: nah. Supreme Court: same. why? fed gov>state gov #elastic #powersareIMPLIED
I’m thinking of creating a quest of some sort using my Twitter-ish activity, offering bonus XP or a badge to get my students excited about the branches of government! What do you think?
If you’re interested in using this activity in your classroom, please click here!
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