Teaching in a Socially Distanced Classroom: STEM Edition

When I started teaching in 2012, I never imagined that I would be teaching in a socially distanced classroom. Nothing in college could prepare you for this.

It’s actually not as bad as you would think. But, there are some realizations I had when experiencing this for the first time with my K-5 STEM students.

Teaching in a Socially Distanced Classroom: #1 Teaching with a mask is hard

It’s hot, it’s sweaty. You feel like you are either eating your mask, shouting or both. Grabbing groceries with a mask and teaching with a mask are two entirely different experiences.

I hope I’ll get used to it…..

In the meantime, this microphone headset and speaker helped project my voice better. It was less than $40 and it makes you feel like a pop star.

#2 Transitions & cleaning take longer

Thought you had it down with transitions in your classroom? Throw in some social distancing and you’re starting from scratch.

Students can still take responsibility for cleaning up materials. Just stagger their movements in the room. Meanwhile, when students enter the space and while they are cleaning up, create a learning opportunity.

I used my STEM warm-ups for this purpose. There are 5 slides for the week that are researched for different STEM topics and are presented in a kid-friendly way.

As students enter the room, I show one of the slides for them to read and interact with. We’ll chat about it for a minute, then move on to the main lesson.

At the end of class while cleaning, I’ll play the corresponding video to solidify their new STEM knowledge. This kept students actively engaged and on task during this transition time.

back-to-school-stem-activitie — On the first day, instead of a STEM warm-up, I shared more information about me and my interests in STEM. This is from one of my ‘Getting to Know You activities, which you can grab by clicking the picture.

#3 Have assigned seats & clear boundaries

Flexible seating is abundant in my classroom. However, it’s fairly difficult to use in my space during this time, especially with 100+ kids filtering through my K-5 STEM classes throughout the day.

The tables and chairs were pushed to the perimeter, which left a large open space for students to work. From there, I marked boundaries (which we call the ‘Maker Box’), for students to work in during their STEM challenges.

Younger students have a harder time staying socially distant and not sharing materials. Thus, having clear boundaries helps immensely.

Also numbering spots and having students sit in assigned spots helps as well. For Kindergarten & 1st grade, I used shapes instead of numbers to help them be more successful.

#4 Be Creative with materials

The lessons you’ve taught in the past might not look the same this year. THAT’S OK!

This is an opportunity to shift the way the lesson looked like when it was “normal” and might actually make it work out better.

back-to-school-stem-activities — Help students self regulate independence during work time. Students place a different colored cube in their cup to signify where they are at; Blue= “I'm Good!”, Yellow= “I have a question, but I can keep working.”, Red= “I need help!”

When planning, try creating lessons that can easily be shifted to remote learning at a moment’s notice. This will save less headache later and help you be prepared in the long run.

Need a sample lesson plan template? We have a template to visually see the difference between a typical lesson, social distanced and remote learning version all in the same place.

Click here to become a Patreon member of our podcast, the Innovative Teacher Podcast to grab that and tons more bonus content.

#5 Practice Makes Better

You won’t have it perfect the first time. Perfect doesn’t exist anyway, so that takes some pressure off your plate!

Of course, you are going to try your best to make it right. You will work hard to help the children continue to love school, love learning, and feel loved.

Some routines that were rehearsed in your head might play out differently when kids are in action.

It’s going to be hard and different. However, the kids will do SURPRISINGLY better than you might think.

If you’re teaching in-person during this pandemic, air-hugs your way. You, teacher, are needed more than ever.

We got this!

Teaching in a Socially Distanced Classroom: STEM Edition

Teaching in a Socially Distanced Classroom: #1 Teaching with a mask is hard

#2 Transitions & cleaning take longer

#3 Have assigned seats & clear boundaries

#4 Be Creative with materials

#5 Practice Makes Better

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