Creating a Healthy Classroom

I want to keep my students safe and healthy. We have added pressure to keep classrooms clean and have rigid sanitizing protocols. I have been wearing a mask in public, but I forget it is important to clean my mask. I use my own water bottle, but I forget to clean it with soap and water. Recently I listened to a doctor explain that a dirty mask can create its own complications. I want to keep striving to create a healthy space for learning. The CDC has mask washing guidelines/suggestions.  

1. Wash your mask after each use.

2. Machine Washing: Use regular laundry detergent and the warmest water possible.

• Hand washing: 
• 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) household bleach per gallon of room temperature water or
• 4 teaspoons household bleach per quart of room temperature water (check to see if the bleach is made for disinfection).
• Soak the mask in the bleach solution for 5 minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly with cool or room temperature water.

 

It can never hurt to help students and families navigate through these new health protocols.  Let's keep helping each other.  Look for more resources at Liz and Ron's Educational Resources. 

Zoom Virtual Scavenger Hunt

We know that our students need an emotional connection to the classroom and content.  So...how do we create a community in an online environment? This is not an easy question.  Several weeks ago, I watched a teacher engage her students in a scavenger hunt on Zoom.  The teacher read a clue/riddle and then she called out, "3, 2, 1....go!"  Students ran throughout their houses looking for the answer to the riddle.  I created my own version (all-ages version).  I will be looking for more ways to create a classroom community. I would love for you to try this activity and share your experiences. 

Scavenger Link

Supporting Children in the Classroom

We are starting to hear more and more schools will be going online this fall.  Working parents feel the stress of work and helping their children who are trying to learn at home.  Asynchronous teaching means that a teacher teaches all of the students at one time.  The hardest part of asynchronous learning is evaluating a student's understanding.  We need to move our Zoom classrooms to instruction. Students are able to work in small groups called, BreakOut Rooms.  I am including tools that help teachers see a child's progress and thinking on platforms such a Zoom. Education is changing.  A learning community is flexible and ever-changing. Our children might be introducing new technology to the teachers this year.  

Did you know that a cell phone can be turned into a document camera?  A document camera allows the teacher to see a student's paper.  Here is a video. 

Did you know that a laptop can be turned into a whiteboard?