Flipping for Email Etiquette and Kindness

Sarah Townsend

Plymouth State University

12/18/2017
 Flipping the classroom can be a great advantage in giving students the opportunity to

have autonomy over their learning and can provide intrinsic motivation. After watching and

reading through some of the benefits of flipping the classroom. I thought about a lesson that I’d

like to try with my 5th grade library students for an upcoming unit on digital citizenship.

Students would start by watching and taking notes from the following videos on ​“Email

Etiquette”​, ​Writing Effective Emails​ Students would then be put into pairs/small groups and

would watch​ How to make a Paper Slide Video ​ In their groups, students would make an outline

first and then create a paper slide video using their iPads creating an instructional video for the

4th grade students on email etiquette that allows them to process and demonstrate their learning.

Students would download videos to me and I would create a quick website where they could then

go and watch their peer’s videos and shared with both the 4th and 5th grade classes.

Additionally watching Steve Achor’s Ted Talk on furthering positive psychology, it

reminded me to take the student’s work a step further! I’m often looking for a way to give

students the opportunity to practice kindness. After creating their paper slide video and

watching others, students would then watch this video ​Color Your World With Kindness ​for

inspiration and then lastly write a “perfect” email (following all the email etiquette rules) to

another member of our school community thanking them, supporting them, or for being a good

friend, etc. By having students watch the initial video, do research, create their own instructional

videos, and then follow through by writing the “kindness” email, the entire lesson would be

student driven and the teacher would simply facilitate the assignment.

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NET-T) would be easily met.

Standards incorporated would include the teacher facilitating and inspiring students learning and
creativity through the students using collaboration to clarify understanding and demonstrating

their learned knowledge through the paper slide show. Further the teacher would be promoting

digital citizenship by addressing the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered

strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and promoting digital etiquette

and responsible social interactions. Regarding NET Standards for Students, the students would

become knowledge constructor's by curating information using digital tools to create a

meaningful learning experience for themselves and others, by creating not only the slideshow for

their peers, but also through the “kindness” email. Students would also demonstrate their ability

to positively use technology, including social interactions as digital citizens. Regarding the

NET Standards for Administrators, the digital age learning culture would be ensured through a

learner-centered environment that would be equipped with technology and learning resources to

meet the individual, diverse needs of all learners. (iste.org/standards).

Making the paper slide video for the students would meet the following Common Core

writing standard for grade 5: ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.8​ Recall relevant information from

experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or

paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. Writing the

email portion of the lesson would meet the following ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.A

Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which

ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose. Regarding the speaking and listening

Common Core Standards the following would be met through the paper slide video:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.4​ Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas

logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or
themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace. As well as, ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.5

Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when

appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

When looking at the Common Core Standards and NET Standards for this lesson, it “hit”

me how many are easily met through flipping the classroom. The learner-centered approach

allows for students to practice and acquire many many skills in a holistic project. They are able

to easily work on all the components of becoming an empowered learner, knowledge

constructor, digital citizen, innovative designer, creative communicator, computational thinker,

and global collaborator.