If you’re interested in doing some professional learning at home in addition to the on-the-fly learning that comes with reorganizing your classes so they are distance-friendly, take a look at Principal and NBCT Rita Platt’s collection of online and web-free PD resources.
Articles / Future of History / Pandemic Activity
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 04/10/2020 · Last modified 04/15/2020
The global pandemic “will be in the history books, won’t it?” Absolutely, 8th grade teacher Lauren Brown told her students. She’s devised a simple home assignment – students create a ‘primary source’ for future historians by jotting down their questions, concerns and observations. See her suggested prompts to get kids started.
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.”
Michelle Russell’s students don’t just use calculators to speed up tedious math work like multiplying and dividing. Quite often they think of them as “answer givers.” How can teachers nudge kids away from calculator dependence? She shares ideas and asks for suggestions.
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.
As many of us find ourselves thrust into the realm of distance learning, PA TOY Marilyn Pryle details how she uses two online platforms, Edmodo and Flipgrid, for intellectual and social/emotional learning. “Any tool is only as effective as how it is put to use,” she reminds us.
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.
