Most teachers in America (and the world) are venturing into the weird world on online teaching and remote learning. In some cases, you can't grade it but you still have to provide learning opportunities. In other cases, you must have daily attendance questions and daily assignments. Other teachers have required office hours and meetings with students. So many of us have been working hard to integrate authentic learning experiences with NGSS SEPs, teaching our kids skills and inquiry, rather than focusing exclusively on content. So what to do now? I'll take you through how I am integrating all of the SEPs while we explore this new way of teaching and connecting with our students. Here is a great document to familiarize yourself with the SEPs and grade level expectations. Asking Questions and Defining Problems + Developing and Using ModelsJust because we can't do live phenomenon, does not mean we can't do them! To introduce a concept or review a previous concept, find a video, gif or even video yourself doing a phenomenon. Great phenomenon resources here and here and here.
Planning and Carrying Out InvestigationsWhat a great time to do at home labs! So many labs you do in class can be done at home, especially for the physical sciences. Motion, momentum, chemical reactions (think cooking and baking) and ecosystems in student's backyards. My physics students are doing one of four motion mini labs using materials in their own home.
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Social distancing, self isolation and quarantine seem to be vocabulary words no one used until March 2020. This pandemic will be something that will be written about in books, movies will be made and stories will be told. If my future children ever complain about being bored, they'll know I start talking about these weeks in March and April 2020 when we had to stay home as much as possible. As someone with anxiety, these times would probably be the worst. While I've had up and downs, cried for no reason and spent too much time watch Love Is Blind, I found a few things that helped me thrive and find a new side of myself I never knew Create a Schedule and Working HoursTeachers already work too much and it is easy to continue this pattern now. Set working hours, for instance mine are 8am-3pm. Those are the only hours I work on anything school related, including email. Your school may mandate different hours, so keep those in mind. However, this doesn't mean you are working the whole time. This is where a schedule comes in. Here's mine!
8am-10am: School 10am-11am: Yoga and Walk Dogs 11am-1pm: School and Lunch 1pm-2pm: Break 2pm-3pm: School 3pm-5pm: Workout 5pm-7pm: Dinner and Walk Dogs 7pm: Relax with TV and Games Schedules help us keep some sort of normalcy. That schedule isn't rigid, but it gives me guidance throughout the day, especially when I am unmotivated. Take your Remind notifications off your phone and your school email. No checking that outside your hours! :) |