Whelp, would you believe we’ve made it through the first quarter of this (don’t say it… don’t say it…) UNPRECEDENTED school year. For me, the year started with three weeks of 100% virtual learning. All teachers and all students learned from home using Zoom initially. Then, those of us with health waivers continued to teach from our homes while colleagues went into our buildings to serve 25% of our students in-person, and 75% who remained at home. Then, our phased-in plan required all staff (even those with health waivers from doctors) to go into our buildings to serve the 52-ish% of our student body that would join on-campus learning. Now, we have roughly 64% in-person, and still meet with our remote learners on Zoom, simultaneously.
There’s literally been no time to blog. Twitter pals using #MTBoS and #iteachmath and @Desmos have saved my sanity and provided just-in-time resources and ideas during this one-day-at-a-time pandemic teaching lifestyle we find ourselves in. It’s all about survival right now (literally and figuratively) so, here are some highlights from Twitter that summarize Q1 of the 20-21 school year for me. Happy scrolling, and thanks a MILLION to all who continue to create and share, helping us all get through this temporary insanity.
First Day of School (At Home For All)
Go-to tools (in “regular” teaching times too, but ESPECIALLY now)
THE MULTI-TASKING IS REAL.
Desmos Amazingness.
Add “TECH SUPPORT” to the 4,297 hats teachers are already wearing.
The fear of initially entering the school building myself was VERY REAL.
P.S. It’s still real. Every day.
S.E.L. is not just a three-letter acronym.
A kind word goes a long way. SUCH a long way.
Creating resources to fit the times has been a TON of work, and a TON of REWARDING and SO-WORTH-IT work, at that. Some days, I’m really proud of the activities! Other days, the activity is honestly more like a worksheet-turned-Desmos-so-I-can-see-what-everyone’s-up-to… I’m okay with that.
LOVE the idea of creating what I’d call a “Metacognitive Card Sort” in Desmos Activity Builder. I’m using these to help students on our review day before unit assessments. While they already have a “test review”, I feel like this puts perspective to our “learning targets” and encourages students to take a stand on various question types. It also helps them formulate specific questions for us to address during our review time together.
Matt used this idea for post-assessment reflections too – neat-o! Encouraging students to think about their own thinking is always a good thing!
Thanks for scrolling! In closing, if there’s anything you might need for Math 8 or Algebra 1 kiddos, please know that I’m always adding things to my posted Desmos Collections! Like, literally almost daily at this point!
Check out my Desmos Collections by scrolling up and clicking on the “Desmos Activities” image at the tippy top of all the stuff on the right side of this page —–> and help yourself to anything useful there (Kahoots and Nearpod lessons too!)
Be Well, Stay Well, and here’s to the second quarter of SY 20-21.
…And remember to find some humor in each day!
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