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For students in early grades just learning to read, missing a few weeks of school could have lasting impacts. I took a look at the teachers trying to teach reading remotely while also help their students through the emotional effects of a global pandemic #thread
Like Lisset Rosales, teachers are drafting entirely new approaches to education in the middle of the semester.
She's on the phone w/ parents multiple times a day and has students turning in work as late as 11 pm - all part of the ways she has found to be flexible.
She's on the phone w/ parents multiple times a day and has students turning in work as late as 11 pm - all part of the ways she has found to be flexible.
“I felt like I was starting all over again the school year, in the middle of March,” Rosales said.
At Barnard Elementary, principal Kathleen Valente have a schedule with plenty of breaks for the short attention spans of early learners - 15-minute slots for reading out loud and discussing a project, or 15 minutes of guided writing on a daily topic, followed by a story break.
Other educators, like 4thgrade teacher Mishawna Manning at Kozminski Community Academy, considers stress of students in planning lessons.
“I’ve structured my lessons so that students can access pretty much everything they do in their own time,” she said.
“I’ve structured my lessons so that students can access pretty much everything they do in their own time,” she said.
The big questions I heard in teaching reading are how to judge comprehension virtually, and how to engage w students who are upset by recent upheavals, may be losing family members, or may simply be terrified of video chat
The background of this all is Chicago's complicated history w/ teaching reading. Right now, the district hews to a balanced literacy approach that critics say isn't supported by learning science, though all schools are also given autonomy to choose their own approaches.
Day-to-day parents are now playing a much bigger role in reading instruction, which means its also on teachers to pass on learning tips
Looking ahead, this means the classroom of the future could look different.
L’rae Robinson, a kindergarten teacher at Mount Vernon Elementary, says it could take a long time for students coming out of isolated learning to adapt to behavioral norms for the classroom.
L’rae Robinson, a kindergarten teacher at Mount Vernon Elementary, says it could take a long time for students coming out of isolated learning to adapt to behavioral norms for the classroom.
“How do we manage our excitement about being around our friends,” she asked, “and still learn at the same time?” https://bit.ly/2Afwt11
