View Content #26970

By Leila Tamini Lichaei, CASLS Fellow

This activity is designed for Intermediate to Advanced students. The overall goal is for learners is to analyze and discuss hashtags and how they are used in the target language.

Learning Objectives: 
Students will be able to:

• Expand their understanding of hashtags in the target language 
• Articulate their understanding of hashtags and their use in social media
• Support claims about the utility of hashtags

Modes: Interpretive, Interpersonal
Materials: Computers and a printer to print out students' hashtag sheets

1. Start the lesson by asking students to work in pairs or groups to discuss hashtags in think, pair, share format. They should discuss: 1) what hashtags are; 2) how hashtags are used; and 3) if they (the students) use hashtags in social media and in what ways. The following questions can be used as guidance:

• What is a hashtag?
• What is the symbol that is used on every hashtag?
• How do hashtags work? What are their purposes? 
• Who can use hashtags?
• On which apps do you use hashtags the most frequently?
• What hashtags do you use the most?

2. Then, make a list of the hashtag examples that students have used on the board. Note anything important about the situations in which they are usually used/ their perceived purposes, such as: 

• Categorizing content
• Discovering new or related articles about a topic
• Supporting social/political movements

3. In this step, first guide students to go to the Internet and check the reports of the trending hashtags in the target language. For example, Twitter provides lists of hashtags in different languages. After students learn where to look for hashtags, have them take various (5-6) screenshots of the hashtags they find interesting. 

4. Students then organize the hashtags based on any patterns that they perceive in how the hashtags are being used. To do so, they should paste the screenshots into a Word Doc, Google Doc, or an online mind mapping tool like mind42.com. 

5. Print out the students’ hashtag sheets and put them on the walls around the classroom to prepare for a gallery walk. Students then walk around, study the hashtag sheets, and leave comments or notes for their peers on how the hashtags have been organized.

6. In the end, students can vote among themselves the most interesting hashtags that were shown in the gallery walk.