Dear Parents/Guardians,
In response to the school suspensions that will be happening beginning March 23rd, I have started to piece together some work tasks that students should be working on at home. My planning is in the preliminary stages, and may very well change if I receive some different directives, so please remain open to change.
What I discussed with the students is that there will be some daily must-dos primarily in the areas of ELA and Math. In addition there will be some project/research work that can happen throughout the week.
Here is a list of things I would like students to accomplish daily:
- Daily Check In
- Stay connected with me and peers
- Ask questions and get clarification
- Read for a minimum of 25 minutes per day. Choice in what to read:
- Novels
- Graphic Novels
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Write for at least 25 minutes each day. Choices will be given as to ideas as to what to write about.
- Complete a math task from a given list of choices
- Be active in some way for a period of time. (Check the Physical Education Link to see directions from Mr. Heppner)
- Do something you are passionate about.
The above list is similar to what would be normal routines and patterns at school. In addition to the daily must-dos kids need to be thinking about the following tasks and attend to them as they feel they can.
Social Studies research project on Ancient Greece
- Finding information
- Summarizing in paragraph form
- Article of the Week Task
French Work (Check the French Link for direction from Mr. King)
I talked with kids about how they should start each day by preparing a schedule of what they need to get done and what order they are going to do things. This will be a good exercise in responsibility and follow through.
In addition I will provide daily checklists and schedules to support them with this distance learning.
For those students who have access to the internet, they will be encouraged to use Google Classroom for a daily check in, resources, and to ask questions. I will be listing specific times when I am available for students to connect with remotely. I will also be able to give kids timely feedback.
Those kids who don’t have internet access at home will be given paper copies of information. They will need to decide how they want me to check in with them throughout the week.
I worked with kids to ensure that they understand these requirements, provided them with checklists, and worked through how they should make a daily schedule to follow. Kids should be equipped with all the login information they may need to access the various tools we will use.
Please remember that I am still here to support kids in their learning. I also understand that some kids will have other responsibilities at home. Know that I understand life at home has lots of variables, and I understand multiple factors can play into what and which work gets done.
If you have any questions or concerns or things you are curious about, please let me know. This will be a change for everyone and I’m certain adjustments will need to be made as days continue.
Thank you!