This June 2022, I had the opportunity to attend the InnEdCo (Innovative Education Colorado) Conference in Breckenridge, Colorado. As a past attendee, now current Ambassador for this organization, this is an experience that I never want to miss out on. This year was different since I brought along my iPad with my Rug-Ed Journey 10 case to help me capture important information I learned throughout the week. Here is a recap of my conference experience and my biggest takeaways.
Packing for Success
Before heading up for the week, I made sure to pack materials that will help me as a learner, but also as a presenter. Here are the essentials I brought along:
Small Notebook & Pens (just in case Wifi went out!)
Waterbottle
STEM Goodie Bags for attendees in my session
Goodie bags for session attendees my friend and I presented together.
Sessions for Learning
What I love about this conference is there is a variety of sessions that you can choose from to enhance your teaching practice. There are presenters who are current teachers, former teachers and even educational companies who share impactful information.
I was able to attend a day early for the Google Pre-Con Party where it was 4 hours of actionable Google for Education Content. While sitting with fellow InnEdCO Ambassadors, we collaborated and tried new tools (and not to mention a few laughs too!).
All dressed up for Dave Burgess (back left in the blue) and his “Teach Like a Pirate” keynote session.
We also had amazing keynote speakers each day including a local student panel, Dave Burgess and Alice Keeler.
Having my iPad on hand was extremely helpful during my session with SAM Labs where I was able to download their app and experiment with their coding product. During that session, I was able to code a light that turned on and off with a sensor.
Other sessions had valuable knowledge that I wanted to take more notes on. My favorite iPad app for this is Good Notes. I was able to write, draw, and even take pictures of hand-outs and business cards to keep all the information in one digital space.
Typically when traveling, I am wary of bringing expensive technology with me, like my laptop and iPad. However, having my iPad in my Journey 10 case and its Accidental Damage Protection Program (ADP). With the ADP warranty, Rug-Ed handles device deployment, tracking, and repairs to damaged iPads. This zero-deductible and unlimited repair coverage is ideal for the devices in schools and classrooms.
Session for Presenting
My long-time friend and fellow teacher and I had the opportunity to present a session, “Engagement through Innovative Upgrades”. During our session, we gave examples of traditional K-5 lessons that were enhanced with different tools or lesson structures.
Teachers were then able to collaborate and brainstorm lessons they hope to upgrade in their classroom and use the ideas from our session as inspiration. It was amazing being able to support teachers and help them think in different ways about their future lessons.
Connecting & Networking
A major benefit about the InnEdCo conference is being able to connect and network with other teachers and educational companies. There is a section of the conference area where vendors have booths set up. While it can be intimidating at first seeing these as a teacher, it’s quite the opposite!
These representatives are extremely helpful and will help answer questions about current products you may already have in your school and give you more information about them if you’re interested. Also in this conference setting, they typically have a variety of giveaways going on. From one of the giveaways that I entered, I ended up winning a podcasting microphone!
Conclusion
With the Rug-Ed Journey 10 case in hand, here are the biggest takeaways from the InnEdCo Conference:
Community is always important. Surround yourself with those who inspire you, motivate you, and remind you of why you do what you do. But also, those you can have fun with wherever you go!
There is ALWAYS something new to learn, no matter how old you are!
Find ways to continuously reignite your passion whether it’s a conference, a meet-up or even a book. Mix it up with different opportunities to keep the creativity flowing and your purpose alive!
Interested in attending InnEdCo? Check it out at innedco.org
Take 10% off a Rug-Ed case when you use the code NAOMI10 on Rug-Ed.com
Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.
With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.
She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!
Looking for ways to improve your STEM teaching practice? Check out this list of books for STEM education. Whether reading the physical copy or listening to the audio, all texts include inspiring ideas to apply to the classroom. In fact, all texts are worth rereading as new ideas always seem to pop out the second read!
Books aren't listed in any particular order. All are worth investing in to continue to grow STEM teaching practices.
Amazon Affiliate links are included in the post. When purchasing through my link, so added cost to you but I receive a small commission in return.
Books for STEM Education | Creativity Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Amy Wallace and Ed Catmull
Written by the creator of Disney's Pixar. Highly recommend the audio version of this book. While not read by the original author, the performance is fantastic. While this book does go through some of the backstory of the history of Pixar, is also provides how creativity can be added to the workplace. When thinking about the workplace setting, this can be thought of as actual staff members but even students.
There are many quotable concepts given in this book. Top must read for those wanting an inspiring story.
Books for STEM Education | The Art of Tinkering: Meet 150+ Makers Working at the Intersection of Art, Science and Technology by Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich
This book includes beautiful photographs to illustrate Makers who use STEM in their real worlds. While there are inspiring stories to share with students, not all are suitable for children. Recommend purchasing the physical copy of this book. There are many treasures of how this can spark creativity for future STEM lessons in the classroom. Also, gather ways on how students can use their creativity in real world applications.
Books for STEM Education | Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by Jo Boaler
Naomi Meredith and school team meeting Jo Boaler at her Mathematical Mindsets workshop hosted at Stanford University, CA
This book is a MUST read for any teacher wanting to improve their math teaching practice. This book truly changed my teaching career and how to help students understand math. My copy of this book has tons of words written in the margins and sticky notes. Jo Boaler is incredible and how she is changing the math world to help all students believe they can do math.
In conjunction to this book, make sure to check out her website, YouCubed. There is a Week of Inspirational math which is a wonderful way to start the year during math workshop. Along with that are other activities, articles and trainings to improve your math teaching practice.
I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop led and taught by Jo Boaler and her team. This was during my days as a classroom teacher as I was learning strategies that would later apply to my K-5 STEM role.
Books for STEM Education | LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani
When getting started with Design Challenges, this book should be a prerequisite for teachers. This will explain the process to effectively plan a Design Challenge while also giving question stems to use in the process. Even if you have been teaching Design Challenges for awhile, this is a great references to go back to the basics and evaluate if current lessons are effective.
Books for STEM Education | Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom by Gary Stagner and Sylvia Libow Martinez
This book pairs well with the above book, LAUNCH. While explaining best practices to use in a STEM lesson, there are also ideas to include into lessons. Think of the like having a personal PLC (Professional Learning Community). This book isn't meant to be read straight through but rather pick and choose concepts you would like to read about.
Books for STEM Education | Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam
Visualization is a powerful skill that can be developed. It's not always as innate as you think. When I was a classroom teacher, when we would listen to chapter books or podcasts, I would have students draw illustrations of the pictures they saw in their minds while listening. More common than not, many students said, “I don't see anything.”
Again, we need to help students develop this skill and this book gives wonderful advice. By teaching students to solve by drawing and visualizing, it's unlocking another part of the brain. In fact, many Design Challenges involve drawing a plan. Help give students a set of tools. Therefore, drawing plans doesn't become overwhelming, but an asset to the creation process.
Books for STEM Education | Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity Through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play by Mitchel Resnick
Have you ever had the privilege to teach Kindergarteners STEM? Based on my experience teaching K-5 STEM, these little ones are by far the most creative and inventive age of children I ever teach. Granted, they don't always have advanced skills. However, they are always willing to try something.
How can we instill the thinking strategies and creativity Kindergarteners possess beyond that age?
Again, this is another wonderful book to listen to the audio version. Very inspiring and encouraging to create a culture in the classroom conducive to growth mindset and exploration.
Books for STEM Education | Comprehension and Collaboration (Revised Edition): Inquiry Circles for Curiosity, Engagement, and Understanding by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey “Smokey” Daniels
Naomi Meredith with Stephanie Harvey after listening to her presentation.
Comprehension isn't reserved for literacy blocks. If students aren't comprehending what they are learning, what are they learning?
By planning productive ways for students to use inquiry and collaborate, deep thinking can occur. Again, this is a skill that needs to be developed with proper structures put in place.
In my K-5 STEM classes, my class format follows the workshop model. My lessons start by reviewing past lessons and a strategy to help students continue to work on their project. From this book, Harvey's strategies can definitely be implemented during whole group and small group STEM lessons.
Again, she is another guru I had the pleasure of learning from in person and meeting. Her work is incredible to help students use high level thinking strategies.
Part 3: Must-Have STEM Station Rotation Ideas (this post)
Tips for Planning STEM Stations
Keep station planning meaningful and purposeful. With the ideas listed below, students can experience many different STEM concepts within two, 45 minute classes.
With a 4-station model, plan around the acronym STEM. Have each station correspond with each letter; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Also, have a mixture of no-tech and tech options. This will help keep students’ interest while also not having students on a screen the whole time.
One of the stations can also be teacher-led. This is a great time to lead a small group and teach a skill, revise work from a project, or go deeper into a concept. Add a teacher-station in once classes are able to be independent during work time.
Below are ideas when getting started, for both primary and intermediate elementary students.
This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through the link, no extra cost to you, but I receive a kickback from purchases.
Station Rotation Ideas | ‘S’ for Science
Epic! Books create a book collection where students can read about the related science topic to bigger projects
Tangrams, Words and Numbers challenges. There are different kits for iPad & Kindle Fire, so make sure to double check which one is being ordered before purchasing.
In each set, there is an activity that corresponds to each letter of STEM; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
As a bonus, you will also receive STEM vocabulary posters. There is also a digital version that can be used to type student names to keep track of who is at each station.
Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.
With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.
She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom
You're back to school after a long break! Just like with any classroom routine, it's especially important to remind students how to properly use technology for learning. Here are my go-to tips for reviewing technology expectations in the classroom.
Come and join in on the fun on Facebook, or watch the recording of this episode.
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | Watch the recording down below:
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | #1 Make a list
Before jumping right in, make a class of routines and expectations when using classroom technology. This can. be done independently as the classroom teacher, but also more effective when made with students. Chart down student responses as to how technology is used in the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to add any new rules that you want students to add into their practice. It's ok to change things when it doesn't work well!
Here are some examples of expectations to think about:
How to carry a device in the classroom
Where the device goes during a lesson
Putting devices away
Where to store and gather headphones
Login information stored for independent use
How to troubleshoot technology issues
Using technology for academic purposes; staying on task
Communicating with others when using technology
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | #2 Model
Once it is clear what rules and expectations are used for technology, model! Students need to see how this should look in the classroom. Don't assume that students already know or remember, especially if new routines are being added.
Physically model real quick as the teacher, and have some student volunteers try for the whole class. Even adding in non-examples can be helpful to.
This step doesn't need to take long and it's not a lecture. People remember by doing, and modeling is such a great asset for remembering positive routines. Even making a video of some routines can be powerful as well and can always be rewatched, year after year.
You can see how I explain my classroom rules to students below.
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | #3 Take Pictures
Not all rules and routines are photo worthy! However, this can be especially helpful for organization expectations. Take pictures of what a certain area should look like cleaned up. Headphone and device storage as well as how to carry items in the room are great for this.
Before students start cleaning up, show the picture of what the final product looks like. This probably won't need to be shown all year, but this is especially great for students who need visual accommodations.
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | #4 Practice with Incentives
I always say in my class “Practice makes better, not perfect, because perfect doesn't exist.” This is so important for students to understand. They are always going to make mistakes and there is always room for improvement.
On a large piece of construction paper, write down a whole class reward. This could be something like, “10 Minutes of Free Tech Time!”. Next, cover the paper with sticky notes, side by side. Then, write down a technology expectation, one per sticky note.
As the majority of the class applies the correct technology behavior, take off the corresponding sticky note. Once all of the sticky notes are removed, the class can earn their reward!
Reviewing Technology Expectations in the Classroom | #5 Visual Reminders
Reviewing technology expectations and flowing into a routine takes time. However, being clear about behaviors and being explicit allows students to be more successful and independent during work time.
Once the class is finding that rhythm again, post the classroom expectations and rules in the classroom. Adding words and visuals is extremely helpful for all learners. I typically have no more than 10 for my students, but pack a good punch in the ones I used.
Want to use my same rules and expectations in your classroom? Check out my print and go resource here! Digital versions are also available to help with any classroom setting.
What questions do you have about helping your class with technology?? Have any other ideas to share? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ or send my an email, contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com, and I would love to chat with you!
Here are some Hour of Code Activities to try in your classroom while in person. There are so many options to choose from! I'll share the ones that have been the most successful in my K-5 STEM classes. These are all low-prep, and highly engaging to help expose students to the world of coding.
Organize supplies so they are easy for students to access and clean up when finished. I like to use clear plastic containers to leave in the center of each table with the necessary supplies for the lesson. Especially as a specials teacher, this helps tremendously so I am not running around in between classes gathering supplies!
How you will share computer coding links with students? {Google Classroom, Seesaw, Schoology…}
Do you need to set aside instruction instruction time for students to set up any coding accounts? {Example: Scratch}
Will kids be using one device for paired programming or each student code on their own device?
Is a station rotation model or whole group going to work best for your class?
You can teach these lessons in a way that works best for your kids, your classroom and the resources you have available. Each resource below is clickable or type in corresponding link.
Under ‘Teach’, there are 9 great beginner printables that progress off one another for students. I like doing pair programming the first day to help students problem solve together. I also made a little checklist to help students check off when they complete a challenge.
Since only half the class is playing at a time, when I’m introducing the game, we will play as a group in teams of 4. Once they get the hang of it, I will split them up onto the 2 remaining game boards.
On Scratch’s official website, there are more great tutorials to help students master this type of coding and challenges kids can complete. There are even coding cards to download and print.
Come and join in on the fun on Facebook, or watch the recording of this episode.
Here are the key takeaways from this episode:
Remote Teaching Ideas | Watch the recording down below:
Welcome Slide as Kids Enter Meeting
Use the transition time into the meeting as a productive time. Ensure that students have all of the necessary materials prepared for the lesson; both the digital and physical items.
Some of those can include:
microphone on mute
sound on
camera on (if possible)
physical items needed for the lesson (notebook, something to write with, building materials…)
It can be exhausting staring at the screen and listening to lectures all day. Consider having hands-on activities the kids can complete at home while in the virtual class setting. A favorite with my younger students are my Engineer Inspiration Boards. (You can see my growing collection HERE).
During virtual class, I'll display the board by sharing my screen. Students have the opportunity to build any of the items with the material they have at home. I'll typically email parents the day before to ensure student have something, anything, to build with. Even drawing is a great option.
While students are building, I'll set a timer on my screen (video directions on how to do that here), and play music in the background. The Disney piano collection is a popular request!
When the timer goes off, I'll have some students share. I also highly encourage the students to share their creations with me in Seesaw when class time is complete. Grab an extra month of Seesaw Plus for free by using my link HERE!
Randomize Calling Names
Definitely use the icons within your video platform as a way for students to raise their hand and respond. These are great digital tools. Sometimes mixing it up is fun too! Classroom Screen and Wheel of Names are free tools to try. Both have random name pickers. Just like a game show, it's fun to see which name will be picked from the machine!
Guest Speakers
Is there a new science topic you're wanting to introduce? How about a math concept that an expert uses daily in their job? Could an author speak to the class about their most recent book? Think about ways that guest speakers can be added into the virtual classroom setting. Your students will enjoy hearing a different perspective and gather deeper insight about the topic.
Virtual Field Trips
A lot of museums, zoos and public places have virtual field trip options. Use this as a tool to build background and observational skills in your students.
Consider changing your background within the video platform to get started. For example, if you're learning about the ocean, change your background throughout the meeting with different ocean settings. Then, show students video clips of those places. This definitely would be a lesson that kids wouldn't want to end!
What are some remote teaching tips and tricks you've tried that were successful with your students? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!
You might be finding yourself in a situation where you have to adjust your teaching practice for home learning. Or, you might be looking for strategies to help flip your classroom. Either way, I am going to give you some tips for how to teach online for home learning.
The majority of these tools I also used in my general education classroom and my STEM classroom. These practices can definitely be applied to any type of classroom aside from home learning.
Create a daily agenda
With all of the teaching strategies I will be sharing with you, it’s important to create a daily agenda for your class. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but something students can see in one place what they need to complete.
I would suggest creating a Google Slide with the share settings as ‘Anyone with the Link can View’ and share that link with students. Add a new slide on the top for each day. That way, students can see the changes you make in real time, but have no need to edit this slide.
If you can make it printable, this might be helpful as well for families to check off the tasks as they go.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #1: Screencasting
Here are the main features you should know about this extension:
Record just your computer screen, computer screen & face, just face
Record up to 5 minutes/video with the free version. (Unlimited video time with paid version)
Videos recorded save automatically to your Google Drive. You can download videos if you need
Once recorded, there are multiple sharing options: Shareable link from your drive, Google Classroom and YouTube
How to teach online for home learning Tip #2: Consistent platform for posting
Find an online platform or two to streamline and post your students’ work. Too many platforms are hard to keep track of; for both teachers and students.
Some of my ultimate go-to’s for elementary students are Google Classroom and Seesaw. These tools allow teachers to post different types of digital files that students can access in one place.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #3: Digital Interactive Notebooks
Interactive notebooks don’t always have to be printed. I typically make my digital interactive notebooks in Google Slides for easy sharing in Google Classroom.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #4: Digital Choice Menus
Choice menus are a great way to give students voice and choice with their learning about a given topic. When creating a digital choice menu, try keeping it concise on one page so the choices aren’t too overwhelming.
The great thing about having a digital choice menu is you can link websites, examples, and resources within the menu that help guide students to complete the activities.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #5: Digital Journals
If you’re expected to be out of school for a long time, those classroom relationships are more important now than ever. In fact, you can still connect with your students virtually.
Create a digital back and forth journal that you can learn about your students’ days and keep tabs on them.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #6: Online Morning Meetings
Did your class typically start with the morning meeting? You can still do this! Continuing those positive routines for kids is so important.
Here are a few things you can easily do at home during this time:
Calendar (so many printable options online)
Weather
Show & Tell (schedule a day where students can share one item from their house)
Quote of the day (something positive to keep them going)
Question of the day (students share their response)
Kindness Chore of the day (students report back the next day if they completed the task)
You can pre-record your morning meeting with Screencastify (mentioned above), or you can go live using Zoom. Students can see you and each other in real time.
Other similar platforms are: Microsoft Teams & Google Meet/Hangouts
How to teach online for home learning Tip #7: Create with technology
There are a lot of websites out there for students to “sit and get” information. However, when students are learning at home, think about what they might be doing before they are coming to learn.
Oftentimes, they might be playing video games and watching TV. Give students opportunities to interact and create their learning experiences.
This could be a good time for project based learning, research projects and collaborating with other students in their class.
Seesaw, Flipgrid, Pic Collage Edu (app) and Shapegrams are just a few platforms where students have the opportunity to create and demonstrate their learning.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #8: Digital Breakouts
The beauty of digital break out boxes is there are no locks to set or materials to print beforehand.
Definitely creating your own using multiple online tools, like Google Forms, is possible. Or you can grab some that are ready to go on Breakout Edu.
If you want to make it more competition based for your class, set a timer and send the breakout link. Students will have that amount of time to work on the challenges. This can be a great opportunity to get siblings involved as well!
How to teach online for home learning Tip #9: Virtual Field Trips
Currently at the time of this blogpost, there are a lot of zoos and museums offering opportunities for students to go on a virtual field trip.
Depending on the site, students can see what’s happening live. Some of the virtual field trips are in virtual reality form. This means it feels like they are in that digital space and pan around the room to get a closer view.
This is a great opportunity to add in reflection questions about their experience.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #10: Video Creation
Kids LOVE making videos. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard students say they want to be a YouTube Star when they grow up. (and they aren’t joking).
Give students an opportunity to create a video with purpose. It can be a topic that you are teaching them about. Or, since they will be home for awhile, they can create a video to teach someone about a talent they have and others can learn how to do it by watching their video.
You can also create fun reading challenges or tic-tac-toe boards for students to complete.
Some fun things to add could be:
create a fort to read your book in
read outside
read to your favorite stuffed animal
How to teach online for home learning Tip #12: Show math work
Again, there are plenty of websites that allow students to practice quick facts and keep up with important basic skills.
Continue to help students show their math work virtually. GoFormative is a great way to assign questions to your class and students can show their work in a variety of ways, including drawing.
Students can still even solve problems on paper! Have them share their work by taking a photo in Seesaw.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #13: Video Conferencing
Continue to conference with students one-on-one virtually. Pre-record your videos and send them the link (Screencastify) or connect with them live (Zoom).
Make a schedule of conferencing times so students know when to check in. Connect with your students personally and also how they are doing with their work. This will help continue to build those relationships you’ve worked so hard on all school year.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #14: Virtual Class Party
When I was a classroom teacher, we would always have an incentive that our class was working hard towards with great behavior and work ethic. Typically, the incentive was in the form of a class party.
Continue to encourage that collaboration virtually. Create a slide that graphs the progress on turning in assignments on time (or another goal you can think of). If your class reaches that goal, host a virtual party! Host your class party using Zoom.
Here are some virtual party ideas:
Pajama & stuffed animal
Snack party (everyone brings their favorite snack)
Fort party (everyone build a fort and attends the party inside)
Costume party
How to teach online for home learning Tip #15: Live Science Experiments
Kids LOVE science. I do too, hence, I became a STEM teacher. Mystery Science right now is opening up access to their content and you can share with students.
Do you have science materials at home? Host a live science experiment in front of your class! Before, during and after, have them go through the Scientific Process or Engineering Design Process. Then, demonstrate the experiment on camera for them and keep checking in on the progress the following days.
Test student predictions as well! Write down what they think might happen. You can create a makeshift anchor chart by taping a few pieces of paper together and hanging it up on the wall behind you.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #16: Educational Shows
The kids are probably watching a lot of TV and movies right now. Why not suggest some educational ones that go along with what you are learning about in your virtual class?
How to teach online for home learning Tip #17: Pen Pals
Make writing time fun and personal by creating pen pals. They can be virtual pen pals or real paper ones. If you make the pen pals virtual, make sure you can see what the kid’s write first, before sending.
As the teacher, try and send at least one real piece of mail to each student. This can be an exciting thing for them to look forward to.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #18: Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way for students to build their listening comprehension and visualization.
When I introduce podcasts to students, I have them draw the pictures they are seeing in their brain. Again, this drawing can be done virtually on a platform like Seesaw or real paper.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #19: Inside Recess
For the days that don’t have great weather to play outside, encourage active inside recess.
My go-to favorite is GoNoodle, which they always have home-access for students.
You can have students log into GoNoodle on their own. Or, you can do a class inside recess. Have kids take turns each day to choose the video. From the teacher side, share the video on your screen on Zoom. That way everyone is participating at the same time.
How to teach online for home learning Tip #20: Digital Worksheets
This is an easy way to assign work digitally for students. This is something you would share in a platform like Google Classroom since it can automatically make a copy for each student.
However, how do you assign a worksheet that’s a PDF and it doesn’t give students spaces to type?
How to teach online for home learning Tip #22: Read Aloud
There are a lot of great websites that have online read alouds for you to share with students: Vooks,Epic! Books, Storyline Online and even YouTube offer a variety of books.
You can even be the one reading your book! I would suggest recording ahead of time (with Screencastify) and schedule the link to be pushed out at the same time each day on Seesaw or Google Classroom (or the platform of your choice). You can get all your read alouds done in one day and planned out for a couple weeks!
What will you try?
Overall, I know that it can be a hard transition from face-to-face to online teaching. However, you are still using your great teaching skills, just in a different way. A silver lining to this is you are most likely strengthening your technology skills which in turn, can be used in your regular classroom.
What else would you add to this list? What would you continue to do and take back to the regular classroom? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!
Other blogs about how to teach online for home learning to check out:
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Teaching online and need a refresh? Here are 5 remote teaching ideas to try in your classroom. Mix it up and have fun with your students!
