This is a school year like any other! COVID 19 hit our area in early March of 2020 and drastically changed how we are going back to school this year. In late August our district made the decision for a fully virtual start to our school year with phases of reopening when local cases supported it. By September 29th the numbers were low enough for us to bring back the youngest learners, this decision was made because their reading ability, independence level at tasks, and current value of virtual learning for them because of it. Depending how numbers trend and the success of our hybrid model the students returning will extend through the rest of the elementary grades, across middle, and ending with the return of our high schoolers all on the hybrid model. The seated table was a great idea and gave me all the space I needed for 'all the things'. I quickly realized I couldn't sit there in front of the screen all day. I like that I learned that so quick because it was also the same for my students. It reminded me to tell them it was ok to stand and learn, that they SHOULD walk away from their screens, and that we ALL need breaks.
By week two of virtual learning I was able to snag this storage cabinet on wheels. This is a MAJOR win for a teacher because it was a perfect standing desk but also HELLO STORAGE! It is full of drawers that can adjust and will be perfect for our new math manipulatives as part of math workshop (plus it was free). Fully virtual learning lasted about a month before my district made the move to hybrid learning. The students across the district were split by last name into cohort A and cohort B. This split my class almost in half making one cohort slightly larger than the other. So I would simultaneously teach Cohort A in person, while Cohort B Zoomed in with us, the next day they would flip and the opposite group would be in person while Cohort A learned synchronously online. Fridays were my day to breathe! Students were 100% virtual on Fridays which allowed me to teach on one platform to the whole class, while this wasn't ideal stop the feeling of being pulled in a million directions by in person students, virtual students, virtual parents/pets/siblings, and email. By March 2021 we were fully in person learning, some families opted to continue learning virtually. I had one student move from the hybrid in personal model to fully virtual so I remained teaching both online and in person.
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AuthorCurrent 1st grade teacher and former middle school educator trying to be techy, Reading Specialist, life long learner, and avid reader Categories
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January 2021
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