learningconnections
English Language Arts 26, 32
Tip 29
Social Studies 30
Computer Science 32
Visual Arts 36
Apps 39
What Would Romeo and Juliet Say to Jack and Piggy
More and more, our students are communicating with others through social media,
and they often reference social media
in their everyday conversations.
Aiming to capitalize on this interest,
I recently used a private social networking site hosted by Ning for
a final eighth grade English project
at Harpeth Hall School, an all-girls
independent school in Nashville,
Tennessee, USA. My initial goal was
for students to make connections
among the various pieces of literature
that we studied over the course of the
year. As time went on, however, I realized that they were reaching a variety
of other goals through this weeklong
project. I can easily say that in 20
years of teaching, this was the most
exciting and beneficial project that
my students have ever done.
Getting Started
The project is called Connecting
through Time—A Journey through
Eighth Grade Literature. My school’s
technology integration specialist
worked with me to explain to students
how the Ning works and to set up class
pages. I asked students to mark their
top five choices from a list of literary
characters that we studied over the
course of the year, including General
Zaroff from “The Most Dangerous
Game;” Lennie Small and Curley’s wife
from Of Mice and Men; Odysseus and
Penelope from The Odyssey; Romeo,
Juliet, the nurse, and Mercutio from
Romeo and Juliet; and Jack and Piggy
The students in Pamela Carver’s english class were (top row): Melissa Markham,
Phoebe Powers, Maggie Kunkel, Sloane Wilten, Maddie Peterson, annie Weaver,
(bottom row) Caroline Buffkin, isabel nygard, Michelle Biesman, Courtney Dunn,
lee lee Johnson, and Mary Wojcicki.
from Lord of the Flies. Mindful of their
preferences, I assigned a character to
each student and then put them into
groups of four or five. I made sure
that each group contained a variety
of personalities and a representative
from each major piece of literature.
Students assumed the personas of
their assigned characters online and
stayed in character for the duration
of the project. They first reacquainted
themselves with the text to remember
details about their characters. Then
they set up their Ning pages, each of
which included a profile; a profile pic-
ture, using three props; and a photo
album with five symbolic photographs
representing the character. After they
created their pages, the characters
“friended” their classmates, and the
real fun began.
Intertwining Plots
Students also posted and responded
to many blog entries and discussion
