You already have draft charter statements under headings such as respect, consent, privacy, responding to harm, and fair use. Today you turn those drafts into one shared class charter. Each group will pitch one strongest statement, debate and merge the wording, vote the final list in, then decide where the charter will live and how you will use it for the rest of the course.
If your group drafts are missing, take two minutes to write two clear I will… / We will… lines under any heading so you can still pitch.
Before you pitch, look at what makes a charter line usable.
| Hard to keep | Easy to check |
|---|---|
| “Be nice.” | “Ask before posting a photo of someone else.” |
| “Don’t be a bystander.” | “If I see a pile-on, I tell one adult the same day.” |
| “Respect privacy.” | “I don’t screenshot a private chat into a group.” |
Vague lines are hard to keep. A clear line names the action, so anyone can tell whether it happened.
Pitch → merge → vote → commit.
Which one draft from your group do you most want in the final charter, and why?
Work in the groups that drafted earlier. Your job is to pitch so the class can build one shared list without rushing.
| Move | Time | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Choose | — | Pick one statement your group still stands by. Cut anything vague. Rewrite any line that is not something a student can actually do. |
| 2. Pitch | 30s | Read the statement, name the heading, and give one reason it belongs in a charter for inside and outside school. |
| 3. Respond | 20s | While another group pitches, jot one strength or one sharper question — not both. For example: “Is this clear enough?” or “Does this cover messaging apps as well as school work?” |
| 4. Merge | 20s | After five or six pitches, near-duplicates are merged into one stronger line. Your group thumbs-up or suggests one word change. Statements the room cannot defend are left out. |
The running list on the board sits under five headings: Respect, Consent, Privacy, Responding to harm, Fair use.
Aim for a short, usable set under each heading, not a long wish list. You lock the final wording next.
Watch the board list-builder as a class. Agree each line out loud; your teacher types the wording you choose. You are not building a private list on your own device. Device use is for the final save-the-class-way moment only.
Turn the merged board list into your final class charter.
- Groups suggest exact wording from their seats. Two students act as scribes in the list-builder (swap halfway through). Under each heading, agree the exact wording of each statement. Use a starter chip only if a heading is missing something important; reword it into your own voice rather than copying it blindly.
- Mark each statement the class accepts as adopted. Everyone else votes adopted or not with a clear signal (thumbs up / thumbs down or hands). If the room is split, improve the wording once, then vote. Majority carries; note any strong minority concern in a single short line underneath if needed.
- As a class, decide and write down: where the charter will live (for example a shared class folder, the classroom wall and a digital copy) and how you will use it (for example check it before a publish task, refer to it when something goes wrong online, revisit it if a new issue appears).
- Save the agreed charter the class way so it is still there next session and later in the course. Anyone whose device lost the draft still shares ownership of this final version.
One short adopted list under each heading, plus a clear note on where it lives and how you will use it.
Our class charter
You now have one shared charter, written in your own words and adopted by the class. It is not a list of punishments. It is a set of rights and responsibilities you chose, for online spaces in school and outside it.
The useful test from today: if a statement is clear enough that anyone in this class could follow it without asking what it means, it belongs. If it was vague, you tightened it or left it out. You also decided where the charter lives and how you will use it, so it does not disappear after this period.
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