Teacher’s Brain

Tag: distance learning

Morning Calendar Activities for Kindergarten to 2nd Grade

Back to School, Teaching Tips

Classroom calendar activities might look a little different this school year for teachers.  With so many teachers teaching virtually, in the classroom or a mix of both, having resources that will help teachers in both situations is essential.  Math concepts are a perfect combination to use during morning calendar time.  The best bet you will have to reach all students in my opinion is using Google Slides to introduce concepts to students. Google slides make editing and sharing simple. This way you can use the slides during class in person or in a virtual meet up.

Tips and Topics for Morning Calendar Time

  • Have a slide that has a blank calendar template so you can update it easily each month.
  • Add holidays and celebrations to the calendar to hit social studies.
  • Make it a point to teach students about the UNDO button if they are the ones manipulating moveable parts on the slides.
  • Create a daily morning message slide to greet students each day.  This can include a link to a good morning song.  I like to use Jack Hartmann’s songs.
  • Discuss yesterday, today and tomorrow each day so the students see the pattern.
  • Include  a letter of the week, sight words, weather or patterns in your presentation.
  • Number of the day, tally marks to mark how many days in school, telling time, greater than, less than and counting money are great math concepts and options to include.
  • List the months of the year out of order.  Have a student put time in the correct order.
  • Seasons are great to cover each morning so students can grasp the length of a season.
  • You can find all kinds of great free spinners on the internet to make learning feel a little like a game.
  • Birthdays are always special days in the classroom.  You can add music or photos of the children to a slide.
  • Include a review sheet for students to digitally send to you to see if they comprehend concepts.

No Time to Create Google Slides

Don’t worry! I have you covered! This is where TpT resources come in handy.  Here is the pre-made and editable Google Slides for a Virtual Calendar that you can use at any elementary grade level for your classroom needs.  No paper to print! (There is one page that is black and white for a review that you can print out for students who are with you in person.) Use what you like and delete the slides that you don’t want included in your morning calendar time.

Virtual Math Morning Calendar

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Will Education Change After The Coronavirus?

education, Teacher's Pay Teachers

There are so many unknowns right now because of the spread of the coronavirus and it has turned everyone’s world upside down. Especially those in the education field. Our plans were all put on pause and we were sent home to start learning from a distance. It was a hard adjustment to say the least. 

Many teachers are wondering how we can possibly plan for a new school year with all of the unknowns. How is education going to change after coronavirus? Will things ever go back to normal? 

There are a lot of changes in education that will likely be happening soon

  • There will likely be a surge in innovations like live broadcasts and online learning. Our online learning system now was rushed and imperfect. Now that there is such a huge need for this, it will likely lead to more streamlined and easy ways for us to connect with our students from a distance.  
  • Private education may grow. There are many who won’t agree with the way that public schools are handling social distancing guidelines and that could lead to a surge in parents enrolling their kids in private schools. This means we might be seeing smaller class sizes. 
  • This experience will build resilience. This pandemic has forced us all to be adaptable and go with the punches whether we liked it or not. This will encourage more people to be creative problem solvers and work together more to reach our objectives. 
  • Budgets will change. School districts rely on state money which comes from taxes and income. Both of these sources took a hit with the economic downturn because of the coronavirus shutdown. This means that budgets for schools will be getting cut which could impact many facets of education. 
  • Everything will be more digital. People are already weary of any cough or sneeze so extra precautions will be taken wherever possible, including the way we teach. The use of distance learning and digital classes will likely increase in the months to come. 

Students are living history right now with the Coronavirus of 2020. It is a difficult time for them because of all the major changes in their life. Students can take responsibility to help protect the world by washing their hands, staying home when they are sick or using social distancing.

I created this 22 page memory journal to help them document their experience and focus on things they can control. 

education after coronavirus

For more information on how journaling in times of stress and uncertainty, check out my post here.

How do you think education will change? Let me know in the comments below!

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Learning to read is a huge accomplishment for students. Going from needing help with books to being able to read it by themselves is a big deal! Sometimes, however, actually comprehending what they are reading can be a little more challenging. 

It is important to know how to read, but it is even more important for them to understand what they are reading. It is not only an absolutely necessary  life skill, but it can open up a whole new world and encourage a love of reading. 

Here are some strategies that you can use to help your students achieve reading comprehension and fluency. 

  • Find books your students will love. Finding the right book can make all the difference when students are learning to read. Books that they will enjoy will inspire them to put in the work and understand the words they are reading. 
  • Read aloud. Encouraging students to read out loud can get them plenty of practice reading and it can also help you identify where they might be struggling. 
  • Use metacognitive strategies. These can be great for increasing reading comprehension. For instance, pausing while reading aloud to ask the student to vocalize their thoughts can help them to understand what they are trying to comprehend. 
  • Reread sections that are confusing. Making sure to revisit difficult sections until they understand is important. It can help better identify where they are struggling and work together to understand. 
  • Use a ruler or finger to follow along. Helping students stay on track while reading can help them follow along with the story and decrease the risk of confusion. 
  • Write down words you don’t know. Writing it down and working on it will help them better remember it in the future. 
  • Discuss what the child has just read. Having a discussion can help the student think through what they just read and also help you point out areas they might be struggling in. 
  • Recap and summarize the main points. This will be great practice for students working on their comprehension. 
  • Reading passages and answering questions. Find some fun and engaging reading comprehension activities for your students to practice with. 

Great news, I created some fun activities to help with this!

These reading comprehension activities are perfect for helping students get more practice and achieve fluency. They are set up through Google Classroom so they are distance learning friendly. These include written instructions, listening options, drag to complete the sentence activities, word families, and 20 reading comprehension passages and questions. 

This option is perfect for Kindergarten and 1st grade. 

This option is perfect for 1st and 2nd grade.

 

Reading Comprehension Activities

 

Want more information on reading comprehension? Check out my post here to learn more about my strategies. 

 

Do you have any strategies for helping your students with reading comprehension? I would love to hear in the comments!

 

Reasons To Keep Learning Through Summer Break

Teacher's Pay Teachers

Kindergarten is such an important part of a child’s education. It introduces them to so many vital lessons and sets them up for success throughout their elementary school education. They learn important concepts like letters, writing, and basic math. Many students progress so much through the year that summer break can seem like it is halting the momentum. Therefore, I think it is so important to keep the learning going through the summer!

Summer learning helps students retain the information they learned throughout the school year. Summer learning loss can cause a lag at the beginning of the next school year because students take time to adjust and remember what they learned months before.  If students continue to practice and learn through the summer months, their minds are kept sharp and they are better prepared for the next school year. This is because the information is still fresh in their minds and they have had plenty of time to practice and master what they learned.

To help improve summer learning for students, I created Summer Learning Packets for Kindergarten and other grade levels. You can assign them at the end of the year for a fun way for your students to continue to practice the extremely important information they learned throughout the school year. This way, the information they learned is better retained and they can go into 1st grade with their head held high because they know their stuff and they feel confident that they can continue to learn and thrive. 

In these packets you will find: 

  • Weekly Summer Journal with a word bank
  • Math worksheets including a 100 chart, adding and subtraction
  • Reading and writing practice worksheets
  • Summer Reading Log
  • Progress tracker sheet
  • and much more!

If you are looking for learning packets for other grades as well, I have a bundle of Summer Learning Packets for all elementary levels!

This bundle includes:

  • Pre-K to Kindergarten Packet
  • Kindergarten to 1st Grade Packet
  • 1st to 2nd Grade Packet
  • 2nd to 3rd Grade Packet
  • 3rd to 4th Grade Packet
  • 4th to 5th Grade Packet

Each packet is packed full of grade level appropriate worksheets, journals, activities, progress logs, and more.  Summer practice for kids can enhance summer learning for students!

Do you have other ways to keep your students’ minds sharp in the summer? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Summer Learning Pin (1)