Words are a low-risk point from which to launch Students with Interrupted Formal Education on their schooling journey. One of the best ways to teach words is with the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM), a multi-step process to teach vocabulary. Tan Huynh shows how.
When stay-at-home kids (or students) need an engaging project to grab their interest, introduce them to creating STEAM-y musical instruments they can craft from household items. STEM educator Anne Jolly shares ways to help 4-8 graders try out ocean drums, panpipes and more.
Creating opportunities for frank and healthy student conversations about social issues is especially significant as we face a global pandemic that affirms our humanity. Middle grades teacher Nancy Costanzo’s read alouds and writing ideas can help online and in class.
I Will Screw This Up / Remote Teaching
by Dina Strasser · Published 04/20/2020 · Last modified 09/03/2020
“Covid-19 is a red contrast dye,” writes Dina Strasser. “Dumped into the cauldron of schools, it shows us the cracks and flaws that were already there.” Even so, as her students slowly figure out their tech, “they are coming alive to me and for me in ways I never could have predicted.”
Adjusting instruction to virtual learning can be a challenge, and it’s tempting to create easier lessons, says teaching expert Dr. Barbara Blackburn. But educators “need to ensure we hold students to standards that promote deeper learning, no matter the delivery system.”
If co-teaching is a practice of sharing the classroom and students, what happens when our classroom is literally beyond the walls that usually hold us together? UDL coach Elizabeth Stein brings together current ideas about how to best serve students amid Covid-19, including those with special needs.
The strange new world we find ourselves a part of is perplexing to say the least. Principal Rita Platt expects, like her, you have experienced a wide range of emotions and concerns since schools closed. She offers practical advice and a virtual hug.
Articles / Pandemic Activity / Social Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 03/29/2020 · Last modified 03/30/2020
For teachers to help students not only survive but also thrive through this frightening pandemic, we need to underscore both their and our fundamental need for kindness and gratitude. Author-educator Dr. Debbie Silver shares the science of anxiety and lots of options to help.
Middle school teacher and dean Bill Ivey shares the story of his 7th graders, gathering online for the first time. “So much going on around us is frighteningly uncertain. How we go about schooling right now is far more important than the what. Familiarity. Flexibility. Agency. Community.”
Science teachers know that some students believe in often-ridiculous theories (the Earth is flat; climate change is a hoax) that are propagated on YouTube and social media. Frank Baker provides a wealth of resources to fight science ignorance with media literacy skills.
