Adapting to Teaching Online

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Teaching online is very different than teaching in person and teachers have had to show extra flexibility with teaching during a pandemic. But a Wayne@Home teacher at Maplewood has gone above and beyond to make sure her kindergarten students are getting the same fun opportunities that they would be getting in person.

Janice Armstrong does more than just pass out school supplies and books during the scheduled distribution times. She spends extra time making crafts for upcoming holidays and events so her students can still do those exciting, hands-on crafts that we all remember doing in kindergarten. She is able to still make so many memories with them that could be overlooked with teaching virtually, and the students are able to create, then keep those crafts to remember their kindergarten year.

Not only does Mrs. Armstrong send home crafts with her online students, she also makes personalized practice activities for them. She prints out activities for them that practice writing their names, books on their level, and activities that meet each student’s interests. Her students will remember her as a teacher that knew her individual students so well.

One challenge that comes with teaching virtually is that the teachers do not get to see the kids in person and if they are opting out of work, it can be a struggle to encourage them to complete everything. Since Mrs. Armstrong knows her students so well, she has collected a plethora of fun prizes to give to her students for completing different tasks and activities. Her students want to do well for her and also get rewarded in the process. She creates engaging activities as well to keep them motivated to want to log on each and every day.

While learning online looks differently, Wayne@Home is still doing a great job of keeping students engaged and giving students a great opportunity to learn!

Written by Lisa Arickx and Lauren Wolf, Maplewood iTEC Teachers