This document proposes using Pinterest to create online book reports. Students would set up a Pinterest board over 6 weeks to represent different elements of a novel like exposition, rising action, and climax. They would annotate pictures relevant to the book and cite passages. This teaches skills like social media use, writing, and searching. Students would be assessed on their board content, literature understanding, and writing conventions. While engaging, it requires students to have social media accounts and the teacher to review each board.

1. 21ST CENTURY BOOK REPORTS:
PINTEREST IN THE ELA CLASSROOM
June 14, 2012

2. PROJECT OVERVIEW
• Allow students to use Pinterest as a way to create a book report online.
• Students will have certain benchmarks they have to reach each week.
• The final result is a Pinterest board that they will present to the class.

3. BEHIND THE IDEA
Colleen Houck, a young adult author, uses Pinterest to create boards for each
of her novels.
Colleen’s Pinterest Page

4. ASSIGNMENT
• The assignment will take place over 6 weeks.
• Week 1: Set up
• Week 2: Exposition
• Week 3: Rising Action
• Week 4: Climax
• Week 5: Falling Action and Resolution
• Week 6: Changes in main characters, opinion of the book, and theme

5. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS LEARNED
AND PRACTICED
• Bookmarking
• Appropriate use of social media*
• Concise writing skills*
• Learning to link to pictures on websites that have appropriate content*
• Use of search engines
• Use of image search

6. ASSESSMENT
Pinterest Application (20 points)
• Pinterest board is created and properly labeled
• Board description section is used for the theme of the book
• At least 30 pictures are included
• All pictures are relevant to the book
• All pictures are annotated/explained
• All pictures are retrieved from appropriate websites

7. ASSESSMENT CONT.
Literature Application (20 Points)
• Identified each of the story elements using pictures
• Theme is identified
• Includes five instances of citation from the book
• At least two sentences for each photo
• It is evident that the student has read and completed the novel

8. ASSESSMENT CONT.
Conventions (10 Points)
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Sentence flow
50 Points total

9. THE GREAT GATSBY

10. VARIATIONS
• Commenting
• Presentation
• Literature Circles

11. PROS
• Good for visual learners.
• The resulting project will be neat by default, helping those students who
may have trouble making things look nice.
• Teaches students 21 st Century skills.
• It is engaging.

12. CONS
• Need to be 13 to access Pinterest.
• Now need to log into Pinterest with either a Facebook or Twitter account.
• Parents may not want their children to use this site for that reason.
• Teacher will have to look at each individual Pinterest board to make sure
the student has completed the assignment.

13. CITATIONS
• Houck, Colleen. (June 14, 2012). Tiger’s Curse. Retrieved from
http://pinterest.com/colleenrayhouck/tiger-s-curse/
• Pinterest.com (June 11, 2012). Help. Retrieved from
http://pinterest.com/about/help/