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Trying to balance life as a special education teacher and a parent can feel like an unreachable goal. But Dawn Ellis and Rebekah Poe’s podcast at CultivatingExceptionalMinds.com takes on the challenge with their tips for balancing the demands of a classroom and homelife.
This article provides ten tips to curb zoom bombing in your virtual classroom. The articles emphasizes the importance of using a password, including a waiting room in your zoom meeting, turning features on/off, and other tips to avoid unwanted guests in your zoom classroom.
"I" statements can be used as a tool to help a speaker express their feelings and move away from placing blame on another person.
Positive Narration is the act of describing OUT LOUD the actions of students that are performing desired behaviors and tasks. Immediately after giving directions, look for students who are showing expected behaviors and are following the directions you just gave. Then simply narrate, or describe, what you see those students doing.
This infographic provides four basic tips to support the social and emotional learning needs of students as they transition to in-person learning.
Frustration is a normal part of life and can happen at home, school, and on the job. Frustration can help the brain grow because it is usually caused by situations that challenge the individual to learn.
The Playworks staff has found, created, and sorted hundreds of games that will get kids off the sidelines and having fun. Whether you are looking for games that will keep kids active for a full recess period or just want to do a few minutes of ice breakers before an activity, there’s a game here for your needs.
“BAM! Body and Mind” is a portal to classroom resources for teachers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The page features information and tools for teachers of grades 4-8 to use in the classroom. From Nutrition to the risks or E-cigarettes and Alcohol, each unit listed includes facts to help students make healthier lifestyle choices.
Leeann Lindsey, at Edvolve learning, has created a set of 6 posters (sized 8.5 x 11) designed to help teachers introduce the language of digital citizenship. She hopes that they can help you... help your students identify as digital citizens who make healthy and positive digital decisions.
Padlet is like a blank screen to create beautiful projects that are easy to share and collaborate on. You start with an empty page and can add whatever you like on it. You can upload videos/pictures, record an interview, write your own text posts and even upload documents. You can make your Padlet come to life however you decide through an open collaborate space that authors would have access to at any given time.
Flipgrid is an online resource that allows students to upload short videos of themselves summarizing information, presenting ideas, and/or performing specific tasks.
Desmos Classroom Activities offer a free graphing calculator and inquirybased math simulations to promote problem-solving and collaboration.
Adobe Spark is an app that allows you to create posts, webpages, and videos. Items created with Adobe Spark can be easily integrated into virtual classroom platforms such as Google classroom, Canvas, Microsoft teams and others.
Submitted by: Kathryn Riley, Kyrene Digital Academy, Kyrene School District
ISTE & EdSurge are curating a list of free products offered by companies and organizations to support learning during extended school closures. You can prioritize your search based on your critical needs, including grade level, content, standards, cost, etc.
Jamboard is a virtual whiteboard that can be used simultaneously by students and the teacher. Teachers can upload pictures, draw images, and/or pose problems. Students can respond to questions and/or share their ideas.
Question of the day is strategy where a question is posed to students before or after lessons each day. The question is typically general and should be easy enough so that every student can answer it and contribute to the conversation.
Submitted by: Lina Munoz, Porfirio H Gonzalez Elementary School, Tolleson Elementary School District
Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes that shape our responses to groups especially around race, class, gender, and language.
Roles in virtual small groups look slightly different than roles in-person. In a virtual setting, I will assign one student to share his or her screen while working in a small group. This ensures that every student is ‘on the same page.
Submitted by: Kristine Perrea, Central High School, Phoenix Union High School District
TNTP has put together numerous guides to support schools while they provide remote instruction as well as the transition back to the physical classroom. This particular piece includes eight tips for engaging families virtually. These suggestions can be applied by anyone at the district level administration down to the classroom teacher. Tips include methods which “meet families where they are” to better support community feedback and ways to support English Language Learners and students with IEPs.
Bitmoji is a fun and engaging way to build community in the classroom. These customizable, mini-me avatars can be used for everything from setting norms to creating entire virtual classrooms and learning hubs to facilitating at home recess or maker spaces.
