Month: March 2020

More Distance Learning Teaching Ideas

We are back in school this week. Distance learning style. This is a whole new ball game for so many of us and all I can do is hang on for the ride. Since I don’t know how long this on-line learning will last, I am taking it a week at a time. Right now, this online model is supposed to end April 28th, so that is as long as I can think ahead. If I figure students will spend about 30 minutes on English work daily, then what sort of assignments can I create that gives both my students and myself breathing room? Assignments where they are still learning and I am able to check in on their progress and answer questions? I thought of project-based assignments rather than daily-type assignments. The learning that students are doing is enrichment (optional, not required), so you will notice that there are different standards presented and different ideas. Also, because it is enrichment, there is no scoring rubric, but I will be giving feedback to students who …

Distance Learning

To be honest, this whole COVID-19 thing has happened so fast that I am still reeling from the almost hourly new information coming in. Last Thursday evening, our district made the decision to close for a week and then keep schools closed through Spring Break. Around 10:30 that night, our governor said all schools were going to be closed through the end of the month. That left me with one day to see students and say a tentative goodbye. I felt all kinds of emotions that day—sadness, anger, frustration, and worry. And I am sure my students felt the same. We went to the school library and loaded up on books; I sent an email to parents for them to stay up on their independent reading, giving links to our school’s audiobooks and ebooks. So now I wait. I wait to see what happens next. I wait to see if things improve. I wait for what may come. With this down time, I am homeschooling my own children, (who are in 1st and 3rd grade), …