Using Padlet for NTI instruction

Thanks to Covid, this has been another crazy week at school. We started the week with school being canceled due to a lack of staff being able to cover key areas within our building.  Then, it was decided that we would teach using our NTI model for Friday 1/14, also due to Covid running amuck throughout the building.  Thankfully, we have not had to conduct any synchronous NTI days for the 2021-2022 school year.  But, this also meant that I was a little rusty with planning lessons being held over a Google Meeting. 

In writing, we are beginning argumentative and persuasive writing.  Knowing that my students will be asked to write on more serious topics this semester, such as pollution, appropriate use of technology, and making healthy choices, I wanted to start the unit with a more fun topic.  After seeing this TikTok, I knew what I was going to do, a superhero argument.  I knew my students will have no problem stating an opinion about a superhero (simply because I listen to it all of the time, whether I want to or not!) I also knew that this would spark their interest in the unit.  But, I also wanted/needed a fun engaging way to host this introduction over the internet.   That is where Padlet comes in.  

Padlet is a creative, aesthetically pleasing, digital pinboard for sharing ideas.  On the site, users have the ability to write short to long passages, share embedded websites, gifs, and images, and they can arrange their thinking in numerous ways.   I have used it individually to share my thinking on a topic and to act as a bookmark filing system for compiling sources and sites. Professionally, I have collaborated with peers during professional development activities using Padlet as the housing site for our information. Padlet has also been used in my classroom for community-building collaboration.  Students have loved personalizing their posts and seeing what others share.

While I have used Padlet in my classroom numerous times, until this point, I have not used it in my classroom for specific instruction. This meant my students knew the expectations of using the site (no profanity, no bullying, pictures, and gifs must be school appropriate, and they must write their names on their posts). I only needed to focus on the ELA lesson of the day, making an opinionated claim.  

On our Google Meet, I posed the question "what is an example of a claim?"  I received many, digs of digital hands being raised, comments blowing up the chatbox, and few students calling out (exactly what I would have seen in an in-person classroom).  Students were giving opinions on NTI, masking, food, sports teams, etc. Some were struggling with coming up with an idea.  So I told the students, that I would be sharing an image and they will need to come up with a claim based on what they see.  I reminded them that all opinions are accepted as long as they are on-topic and school-appropriate.  Then, I shared this screen,

"YES!" "Ohhh!" "I know what to say." "Hmm?"  "Does it have to be our favorite?" "No, whatever claim you think of when you see this image." "Okay!  I got one!" "Whoa, I disagree with _____!"

The students quickly started pinging my Padlet board.  I had to remind them a few times to write their names, but otherwise, they quickly engaged and started giving multiple examples of claims.  Some were basic ideas, while others showed deeper thinking, and some students started explaining their claims with reasons (which wasn't necessary for today.) The lesson had worked!  They were laughing, arguing, participating, but most importantly, they were making claims that could be argued.  Our next steps will be going back and looking at the claims made, adding reasoning, and eventually, counter-arguments and sources.  We can use our Superhero Padlet as an example for further instruction or make new Padlets with different topics. 

Could I have made a slide show with the same image and have students make comments on it?  Of course, I could have, but would they have been as engaged as they were?  Probably not.  Padlet is fun, easy, and flexible for students to use.  Just like any other tool, students will need to be taught how to use it, but it is easily learned.  It worked well during our NTI day but it works just as well while in our classroom.  If you haven't tried this wonderful resource, I highly recommend it!

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