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| photo via Unsplash |
I saw a tweet this morning encouraging us all to be historians -- open our notebooks and capture these times on paper in a format most likely to be "pass down-able." We should record our responses, our feelings, our points of view. I'm going to do that, AND I'm going to log bits of the journey with distance learning here as well. I started with my (very rough) poem, which was written Thursday and shared yesterday.
Here are some thoughts from the last day of face-to-face learning yesterday:
More than anything, my students crave the assurance that some semblance of our routines will continue. Will we have read aloud? Yes! I can do that with Screencastify. Will we do Poetry Friday? Yes! We can find poems online (especially at The Poem Farm) and share them with Flipgrid. Will we have morning announcements (my Social Justice Club wrote the features for Women's History Month)? Yes! I have access to the doc with the Women's History features and I can share them with Screencastify or FlipGrid. Word of the Day? Yes! Birthday ritual (singing in 7 languages) for the two who will have birthdays? Yes!
On Monday, we will receive direction from Central Office and begin working on the nuts and bolts of how to make Distance Learning happen. No matter what, I'll work to keep our routines intact.
Yes, some semblance of normalcy, so important!
ReplyDeleteI saw these and wondered if any might be helpful:
https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/coronavirus/comcast-offering-internet-essentials-package-free-for-60-months-during-coronavirus-outbreak
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-18536-covid-19-resources-to-help-with-running-courses-online
http://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/
I am reading Erik Larson's latest book about Churchill & the years before the US entered the war, & some of his work comes from what he called the Mass Observation 'diarists' who kept daily accounts of what was happening. Your diary will be an important one, Mary Lee. Best wishes to you during this time. Your time with the students yesterday must have been poignant for you and for them.
ReplyDeleteYour students are lucky to have you, Mary Lee! My daughter's teacher got about 2 hours of notice about the closure. All she could really do was send the kids home with their textbooks.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. I am following your lead with some documentation/journaling ... if only to remember this period of disruption by in the years to come ...
ReplyDeleteKevin
You are so amazing! We found out on Thursday night that we would have school on Friday, but then no more after that. Only about half of the kids came to school on Friday. I sent them home with piles of books but not much else. We are not doing any distance learning. I am struggling this weekend to figure out how to stay connected.
ReplyDeleteI love how you were able to reassure them that the routines they love will continue. Way to go!
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