School: Shawnee Mission East High School
Class: ELA II and III
Instructor: Lauren Lawrence
Client: Local Non-Profit Organizations
Problem: How can you use storytelling in a social media post using shortened text and visuals to benefit your nonprofit’s mission?
Summary
In this project, students initiated contact with local nonprofit organizations to develop social media campaigns promoting volunteering, donations, and upcoming events. Despite challenges coordinating with busy clients and adjusting to a fast-paced schedule, students successfully partnered with various groups to create impactful Instagram content. The campaigns highlighted national days such as World Kindness Day, Giving Tuesday, and National Volunteer’s Day. Students applied persuasive techniques like rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), storytelling, and cultural relevance while tailoring messages for specific audiences. They designed visual and written content, including hashtags, to enhance campaign effectiveness and engagement. Each group created at least two social media posts and three targeted hashtags, which were then published on the clients’ official feeds. Students also reflected on their experience through blog entries and a Google Site portfolio, demonstrating their learning and communication growth.
Takeaways
Students biggest areas of improvement were working with others, time management, seeking out information, calendar invites/professional meeting agendas and emails, elements of persuasion, and expository writing.
Advice
Find a list of nonprofits and build connections in advance to help confirm a client.
Standards/Learning Targets
W.4 – Produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
W.8 – Gather information from multiple sources, evaluate the credibility and accuracy of sources, and integrate information to create original texts while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard citation format.
SL.1 – Participate in collaborative discussions on grade level topics.