Writing

Lesson Objective Did you know...

In this lesson, you will learn some helpful tips about
using the microblog platform, Twitter. Youll practice
tweeting on paper before you tweet online.
Youll alsolearn some useful abbreviations.
The word tweet is the sound a bird makes in English.
Another word that means the same thing is chirp.
A louder bird sound is squawk. If someone asks
you to stop chirping or squawking, they want you to
stop talking or complaining. If they ask you to stop
tweeting, they want you to get off Twitter!

Warm-Up
A. What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a microblog. Micro means small. On Twitter,

you only have space to write a few sentences at a time.

Why do teachers think Twitter is a useful social media network

forlanguage learners? Write about this topic for five minutes.
Then share your ideas with your classmates.

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match these words to their correct definitions.

1. microblog a) a letter, space, or symbol

2. abbreviation b) a stream of updates that a user chooses to see
3. social media c) informal language used by a certain group or in a certain industry
4. tricky d) a short form of a word
5. character e) a small web log
6. hashtag f) online social networks for sharing information and updates
7. handle g) a private message that the public cant see
8. retweet h) a username
9. direct message i) a keyword, identified with a #
10. public j) the general population
11. feed k) to share another persons Tweet with your followers
12. lingo l) a bit difficult

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Introduction to Twitter
A. Characters Task 1

The tricky thing about Twitter is Write a Tweet about the following topics. Count your characters.
that you dont have a lot of space
to type. Each Tweet can only be 1. Weather
140 characters. A character is a
letter, number, symbol, space,
orpunctuation mark.

2. School

3. Food

B. #Hashtags Task 2

A hashtag is a keyword. Use the # sign (number key,
pound key, hash key, hashtag) before the subject
or keyword in your Tweet. This helps people find
your content. Italso allows you to join or start
aTwitterchaton aspecifictopic.
List some hashtags that you think you would
beinterested in following or using on Twitter.
Dont forget to include # (the hashtag symbol).

#FF
#FF means Follow Friday. On Fridays, use this tag to
recommend other Twitter accounts or to find good
accounts to follow.

BTW...
There are no hashtag rules on Twitter.
You can be as creative or practical as you want.
You can use more than one hashtag per Tweet.

#creativityrules #hashtagsrfun

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Introduction to Twitter cont.

C. Reply Task 3

In addition to writing your own Write replies to the Tweets you wrote in Task 1.
Tweet, you can reply to another Imagine you are a different Twitter user.
users Tweet by clicking on the
arrow that curves to the left (). 1.
For a reply, you do not need
to add the users Twitter handle
(@ESLlibrary). Twitter will
2.
dothisautomatically.

3.

D. Retweet
Note:
On Twitter, its also common to retweet (RT) what another user has If you see MT, that means
alreadysaid. Simply click the Retweet button. It has two arrows (). modified Tweet. Someone
copiedthe Tweet, but
Youcan retweet with a short comment or without a comment.
changedafewwords.
Twitter will ask you which option you choose.

E. Direct Message Task 4

On your Twitter account page, you In your opinion, what should not be tweeted publicly?
have an inbox. This is for direct Give at least three examples. Then discuss your answers with a classmate.
messages (just like email). Once
in a while, you may want to tweet
something privately to a certain

person. In those rare cases, send
aDM to a specific Twitter handle.

Note:
You can only send a DM
to a person who follows
youonTwitter.

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Useful Abbreviations
Here are some useful abbreviations that you can use on Twitter and in chats.
Match the abbreviation to the word.

1. w/ a) please
2. b/c b) students Other Tricks
3. sts c) because FOR REDUCING YOUR CHAR ACTERS ON TWITTER

4. BTW d) Facebook drop a vowel or two in a long word (dwntwn)

drop subject pronouns (I had fun = Had fun)
5. IOT e) to, too
remove unnecessary adjectives
6. MT f) by the way use single letters or numbers
for words (u, 2, 1, 4, b, c)
7. RT g) with
use & or + for and
8. pls h) no problem use @ for at
drop end punctuation
9. DM i) laugh out loud
use a link shortener
10. FB j) in order to
11. YT k) modified Tweet
12. LOL l) direct message
13. 2 m) YouTube
14. 4 n) question
15. B4 o) retweet
16. NP p) for
17. Q q) before

Twitter Lingo
When you want to see the Tweets from a Twitter user,
go to their page and choose Follow. This will put their
Tweets in your Twitter feed.
The people who follow your Tweets are called your
Followers. The more you have, the better!
If you see the word Following on a users page, that
means that you already follow this person on Twitter.
To stop seeing someones Tweets in your feed,
go to their page and click Following. This word
willchange to Unfollow if you click on it.

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Sample Tweets
Read the sample Tweets. Discuss the main purpose of each Tweet.
Which ones are Tweets and which ones are replies? Which are
writtentothe public and which are meant for a specific user(s)?

1. Check out our NEW photo app and tweet us what

you think! www.fotofotome.com #tech #photography

2. @fotofoto Looks good. I will try it out at my wedding.

#gettinghitched

3. I learned a new #English expression: knock the wind

out of my sails #idioms

4. @EnglishNewbie Cool! What does it mean? #idioms

#vocabulary

5. Had a fun night w/ my graduating class @nelly123

@wilson89 @chattycathy @mustangguy77 photo.
twitter3345.com

6. Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.

#moviequote #ForrestGump

7. First day of summer! Now thats something to

celebrate @sistaTina2

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Comprehension Questions
What have you learned so far?
Answer and discuss these questions in pairs or as a class.

1. What is a microblog?

2. Why is it useful to use hashtags on Twitter?

3. What are some useful abbreviations to use on Twitter?

4. What do you do if you like someones Tweet and want others to see it?

5. What action should you take if you dont like someones Tweets?

Twitter Lingo Review

Complete the sentence with the correct
Twitter lingo that you learned in this lesson.

1. There is a new band I like. I am going to them on Twitter.

2. I the quote you posted on Twitter. Its a great quote.

3. Send me a on Twitter with your phone number. Ill call you about the pricing.

4. What is your Twitter ? Mine is @dianagirl77.

5. I never see your Tweets in my Twitter .

Maybe Im not you.

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Twitter Practice
Before you get started, you need to choose a Twitter handle.
Choose three possible handles for your account, and then use
Twitters search box to check to see if these are already taken.

@ @ @

A. Tweeting B. Replying

Before you start tweeting, letspractice! Get out a piece Now exchange your paper
ofpaper or a notebook. Rewrite the following Tweets to with a classmate. Write a
make themas short as possible. Addahashtag or two. short reply for each Tweet.

1. W
 hen I went to my neighbors party this weekend in San Francisco,
Ilost my dog. She ran away when someone opened the door!
I am heartbroken. I miss my dog! twitpic77.com

2. D
 oes anyone know of a good dentist in the Manhattan area?
I have a sore tooth. I think I must have a cavity. Please respond
as soon as possible. This is the most pain I have ever experienced.

3. I would like to say congratulations to our relay running team

@wildrunners. This weekend we came in first overall for runners
aged 1725. Sammy deserves a lot of the credit for being a great
coach.Weraised over one thousand dollars for charity.

Twitter Checklist
BEFORE PUBLISHING YOUR TWEET

Did I fit the whole Tweet in the status update box?

Did I use concise language?

Did I include a hashtag(s)?

Did I address a Twitter handle (if necessary)?

Did I reply to the correct Twitter handle (if necessary)?

Do I want this to be public?

Did I attach an image (if necessary)?

Did I proofread my work before publishing?

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 How to Tweet
Writing

Teachers Answer Key

LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Intermediate High-Intermediate

In this lesson, students are introduced to microblogging. TAGS: writing, Twitter, tweet, microblog, abbreviations,
They learn some Twitter lingo and practice tweeting. computers, media, social media, marketing

Warm-up Useful Abbreviations

A. WHAT IS T WITTER? 1. g 4. f 7. o 10. d 13. e 16. h

2. c 5. j 8. a 11. m 14. p 17. n
Give students a few minutes to write about why Twitter might be
3. b 6. k 9. l 12. i 15. q
useful for language learning. Then have a class discussion.

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW Twitter Lingo

1. e 3. f 5. a 7. h 9. g 11. b Ask a student to read this text out loud.

2. d 4. l 6. i 8. k 10. j 12. c For extra practice, read it out loud and pause at the keywords.
Do your students know which word to insert?
Introduction to Twitter If you have Internet access in the classroom, show students
wherethese Twitter features are located or how they are used.
A. CHAR ACTERS

Task 1:Individual answers. Sample Tweets

B. HASHTAGS 1. Tweet, public 5. Tweet, specific users

2. reply, specific user 6. Tweet, public
Task 2:Individual answers.
3. Tweet, public 7. Tweet, specific user
4. reply, specific user
C. REPLY

Task 3:Individual answers. (continued on the next page...)

E. DIRECT MESSAGE

Task 4

Individual answers. Possible answers include: email addresses,

phone numbers, private business questions, some complaints
orconcerns, other personal info, info about children, etc.

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Teachers Answer Key cont.
Comprehension Questions
1. A microblog is a very short web log.
2. It is useful to use hashtags on Twitter so that
people can follow or start specific discussions
and read about subjects of interest.
3. Answers from page 4.
4. If you like someones Tweet and want others
to see it, you click on the Retweet button.
You can choose if you want to add a comment or not.
5. If you dont like someones Tweets you can unfollow them.
Go to their page and change Following to Unfollow.
Twitter Lingo Review
1. follow
2. retweeted
3. DM (direct message)
4. handle
5. feed, following
Twitter Practice
A. T WEETING
Answers will vary. Here are some ideas:
1. Lost my dog at a neighbors party in San Fran
this wknd. She ran away when she saw an open door.
twitpic77.com #heartbroken #missing
2. Can u recommend a good dentist in Manhattan?
In pain! #dentalemergency #ny Please reply or DM.
3. Congrats to our relay team @wildrunners.
Came in 1st for ages 1725 this wknd. Raised over
$1,000 for charity. Thx Coach Sammy. #running
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How to Tweet
Writing
B. REPLYING
Answers will vary. Here are some ideas:
1. [comment and retweet] Sorry to hear about your dog.
RT Lost my dog at a neighbors party in San Fran this wknd.
She ran away when she saw an open door. twitpic77.com
#heartbroken #missingdog
2. I have a great dentist! Follow me and I will DM you.
3. Nice work @wildrunners. Thx for participating this year.
#running #charity4kids
Twitter Checklist
Encourage your students to use this checklist
if/when they start tweeting on their own.
SPELLING NOTE:
This lesson shows the American spelling of the words Neighbor
and Practice. Most other English-speaking countries spell
these words this way: Neighbour and Practise (when used as
a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a challenge
for your students to find these words in the lesson and
seeiftheyknowthe alternate spellings.
AUTHORS NOTE:
If your students want to start tweeting, help them
set up an account. You can also set up a class account.
EDITORS NOTE:
It is common practice nowadays to spell Twitter and the noun
Tweet with an initial capital letter, but the verb tweet with an
initial lowercase letter. This lesson reflects these guidelines.
9
 How to Tweet
Writing

Extra Vocabulary Practice (optional)

Write definitions in your own words. Cut up these vocabulary strips.
Challenge a partner to match the vocabulary to your definition.

microblog

abbreviation

social media

tricky

character

hashtag

handle

retweet

direct message

public

feed

lingo

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