Table Top Twitter- Part 2 with a Twist

          I have posted about Table Top Twitter before.  Students like this activity as it is open ended and they can interact with everyone that they wish to interact with and express their own opinions.  If you missed my earlier post, Table Top Twitter is a way to have students interact with authentic writing.  You can choose a passage from the book they are currently reading and place in middle of a large piece of paper.  The passage you choose should spark the students to want to express their opinions and ideas.  As they write about their ideas, the students read what other students are writing and expressing and they interact back and forth.  But all communication should be in writing.  I like to have several tables going at the same time and students can move between the two conversations.  You can choose to have the same passage on both tables or have 2 completely different conversations going on at the same time with students moving in and out as they choose.  That was part of the twist this time that we did Table Top Twitter.  The other part of the twist was I also included an opinion with the passage in order to get their communication going.  Our after school book club had been reading Out of My Mind about a handicapped girl.  One (fake) opinion stated with the passage was that the girl did not belong in regular education classes.  It was wonderful to see the students argue (on paper) that this girl DID belong and should be allowed to participate.  Does a teacher's heart good to read things like that!  :)