Let’s go back to the good ole days...you know 2019! Differentiating instruction and lesson plans meant you tried to meet the needs of all students who came to you with different levels of readiness, background knowledge abilities, and who learned best under different scenarios.
BRING IN the CRAZIES of 2020....and 2021....and 2022!
Enough to turn a person upside down and hide in some meditative music!
Things have changed since 2019...
Half of your class is at home while the other half is in-person, then this switches the next day.
Some of your students are all virtual, all the time.
Even the kids you do have face-to-face (F2F) have to be socially distanced and therefore can’t collaborate and interact the way they once could.
Here are my top 3 survival tips!
#1: Create Cohorts of Students
Organize students into groups that span different populations—some virtual, some F2F, some from different days in an A/B schedule—so they can help each other through your course. Doing this allows students to ask each other questions and support each other at times when you’re not available.
#2: Limit the Synchronous
Some teachers are finding that synchronous instruction—where all students in class and at home are plugged in and participating in real-time—needs to be very limited and used intentionally, as opposed to just recording an entire class session and expecting everyone to sit through that. (Here is a Facebook Live video of a teacher who explored this crazy idea.) Create digital lessons where the students ALL access it. This will make your life SO MUCH EASIER! If you need help, head on over to online-teacher coach training! There are so many free lesson plans for teachers that will help you do just this!
#3: Chunk the Learning Time
It can be tremendously helpful to break up the class period into designated chunks, where some students are learning directly from the teacher, others are working in groups, and others are working independently. If you can make the structure visible and predictable for students, even better. (Please no teacher lecturing for the entire period. That’s important.) Virtual lesson plans will help you accomplish this!
And, most of all...think of ways to make the students do the work. I mean, let's face it, you need a break! If you missed the previous blog about how to survive the holidays asking students to do the work, check it out here. If you need teaching resources, check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
Happy teaching!
p.s. If you want help, we are here. You can contact us at onlineteachercoach@gmail.com You can see the digital lessons and training that we have done for teachers just like you!
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