THREE Tips for Teaching Online

As an online elementary teacher since the beginning of the pandemic, I have learned a few tips and tricks that I wanted to share.

Teaching online effectively requires striking a fine balance between possessing expertise in your field, technical know-how, and transforming this knowledge into something that can be understood through a refined teaching skillset. 

Your biggest advantage as an educator is that no one else can teach quite like YOU can. Your personality, approach, and style are what set you apart from other people that teach your subject. Your uniqueness is your strength. 

So, you have chosen your platform and started to plan your lesson. You have considered the concept, achievable outcomes, and content.  Now let's combine these elements into an online lesson to create an experience that engages students.

ENGAGEMENT

Provide many opportunities for students to participate in the learning. Get creative in promoting student discourse through polls, chats, whiteboards, online groups, and sharing their screen. Actively interact with the students to build a healthy professional relationship and an effective learning community.

FEEDBACK

Providing continuous feedback: Provide meaningful feedback in an informative and engaging manner throughout the lesson. Regular check-ins can be short exercises, surveys, collaborative feedback, and the chance to voice their questions, thoughts, and opinions to become part of the learning conversation. 

MIXING LEARNING TOOLS

Through images, videos, animations, and text, students have many modes in which to grasp the content clearly. Cater to many  learning styles as you create and present your content – utilize media, tell engaging stories, demonstrate activities, and intertwine pictures and text.

What other tips would you provide to online teachers? 

Post a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Hey there, pumpkin! Pumpkins of every size and kind are a favourite autumnal treat. Students love analyzing and describing their pumpkins. Culminate the day by carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds.

To start the pumpkin fun, look at these EIGHT low-prep activities! Findings can be recorded in their student booklet. Use as whole class instruction or easily set up as stations, centers, or rotations.

The eight activities include:

1. Estimating the number of seeds in a pumpkin
2. Measuring mass
3. Making a pumpkin treat
4. Measuring circumference
5. Designing a jack-o'-lantern face 
6. Measuring height
7. Comparing pumpkins
8. Buoyancy

The resource, Pumpkin Stations, can be purchased from my TPT store.

Truth and Reconciliation Day

On September 30th, we honour the Indigenous children who were sent away to residential schools in Canada. It is also a day to learn more about the history of those schools. Today, it is also known as Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The “orange shirt” in Orange Shirt Day refers to the new shirt that Phyllis Webstad was given to her by her grandmother for her first day of school at a residential school in British Columbia. When Phyllis got to school, they took away her clothes, including her new shirt. It was never returned. 

The message that Phyllis wants to pass along on Orange Shirt Day — and every day — is that every child matters. Orange Shirt Day was started by Phyllis to educate people about residential schools and to fight racism and bullying.

There are many ways you can get involved! 

• Wear an orange shirt on September 30th. 
• Share Phyllis’ story.
• Trace your hand and write something on it that you can do to help others feel like they matter. 
• Read books by Indigenous authors. My favourite books are shown below!

Looking to share picture books authored by Indigenous authors? Each of the shown books are featured in my resource. There are comprehension checks, writing prompts, and response to literature activities for each of the NINE books!

Welcome to my updated blog! New look, but I will still be posting teaching ideas, activities, picture book suggestions, and freebies!

Back To School Games and Activities

Struggling to know what to do first days Back to School?! Those first days of school are so important! It is time to get to know everyone and building a classroom community.  I thought I would share some of my favourite back to school fun in my ready-to-go resource! 

Games and activities are perfect for making connections, establishing expectations, and building a community. Encourage your students to share about themselves with icebreakers, all about me and getting to know you activities. 

Click here to view the resource!

Launch Reader's Workshop with these Back To School Resources!

Prepare for Back to School with great picture books! The Launching Reading series helps students ease back into school and help kickstart your readers workshop. Each resource features a picture book and a reading skill. Teach reading skills such as fluency, vocabulary, goal setting, book discussions, self-selection of books, and comprehension. And that is not all - each resource includes not only a reading skill focus, but a presentation, discussion prompts, comprehension questions, and activities.

The bundle features all of the Launching Reading resources to help guide the beginning of your readers' workshop. Students can complete the activities digitally or in writing!

REFRESHED SCIENCE UNITS!

Needing some new ideas for teaching science? I got you!

I have refreshed my grade three science units!

Look no further for:

Plant Presentations and Activities

Structures and Materials Presentations and Activities

Magnets and Static Electricity Presentations and Activities

Soil Presentation and Activities

Perfect for distance or face-to-face learning, these interactive science resource include presentations, each with interactive activities, to help students scientific concepts. Each presentation includes information, discussion questions, and interactive activities. The presentations can be used as a whole class lessons, independent activities, stations, or small group instruction.

Poetry

Poetry is everywhere.  It is in the jingles we hear on the television, the songs playing on our AirPods, and the verses found in our favourite anthologies. 

Share the love of poetry with students. Play with words using onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, and similes. Introduce types of poems, such as haiku, couplets, limericks, and concrete poetry. 

Not sure where to start? I have you covered. My Poetry resource includes presentations and interactive activities that are engaging and fully prepped!

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is the time to wear green, read about leprechauns, and pick shamrocks. It is also a great time to introduce fantastical and magical folktales in the classroom!  I am sharing some of my favourite St. Patrick’s Day picture books to bring the magic into your classroom!

Here is a list of St. Patrick’s Day picture books that your students will enjoy. Links to the books on Amazon are included, but you may also be able to find read-aloud videos on sites like Storyline Online and YouTube!

1.  The Leprechaun's Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards - A nonfiction book offering a real account of what the holiday is all about with some pretty colourful illustrations! 
2. How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace - A hilarious story of a leprechaun’s attempt to dodge all of the traps around town!
3.  Fiona’s Luck by Teresa Bateman - A beautiful folktale about a brave girl, Fiona, with a mission to get the luck back for the people of Ireland. 
4. That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting - A funny tale about some mischievous leprechauns! 
5. The Worst Luck Book in the Whole Entire World by Joey Acker - Nameless is back at it again, stuck in the Worst Book, but this time he wonders if he can get any more unlucky. 
6. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola - Inspired by Irish Folklore, Jamie is a lazy guy who finds himself on an adventure after meeting a leprechaun.

If you need some fun activities to add to your St. Patrick’s Day plans, check out this digital/printable St. Patrick’s Day activity resource. Perfect for distance learning or face-to-face teaching, this holiday themed resource contains interactive reading, math, and writing activities to celebrate March 17th in style.  The ACTIVITIES include:

⭐ Presentation and Quiz

⭐ Scavenger Hunt 

⭐ Riddles and Jokes

⭐ Listen to a Story and Comprehension Questions

⭐ Language Activities - Plurals and Syllables 

⭐ How To Trap A Leprechaun 

⭐ Crack the Code Math Activity 

⭐ Maze

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

100th Day of School

On the 100th day of school, we shout hooray! Then we do everything the 100 way! Celebrate the first 100 days of school with math, reading, and writing activities. Let's look at 100th Day of School activities that you can use for remote instruction or in-person learning!

100 YEAR OLD STUDENTS

Prior to the 100th Day of School, invite your students to dress like they are 100 years old. Suggest articles of clothing they could wear, such as a cardigan, suspenders, pearls, newsboy hat, trousers, floral print dress, or a blouse. Choose an app that ages students and upload a picture! Alternatively, students can use the photo booth templates to age their selfie. Such fun!

COLLECTION

Prior to the 100th Day of School, ask students to bring a collection of 100 things that can fit in a lunch bag or sandwich sized Ziploc bag. Brainstorm suitable items, such as mini-marshmallows, coins, stamps, cereal, paperclips, or rubber bands. Have students showcase their collections. For older students, place items in a variety of arrays - 10 X 10, 25 X 4, 20 X 5, etc.

ALL ABOUT 100

 Learn about 100 and how we use it everyday. The presentation includes “Would You Rather" questions that are fun, as well as a thought-provoking. Choose a few students for each choice and have them explain why they picked that choice. The presentation also show words that contain centi-, such as centimetre! The presentation culminates with other fun facts about 100!

100TH DAY STORY

In the story, 100th Day Worries, Jessica is a worrier. She worries about everything, and that includes what to bring to class for 100th Day. Nothing she can think of seems right. To introduce the story, show a zoomed-in portion of a larger picture. Students guess the possible 100th Day collection based on this small glimpse. Listen to the story and then have the students complete the questions.

BEAT THE TIMER 

“Beat the Timer” is another fun counting game. Can you make it to the number 100 in 100 seconds?! First, set the timer for 100 seconds and see if the class can count to 100 before the time expires. Once they are successful, make the game more challenging by setting the timer for 90 seconds, then 80 seconds, and so on.

WHEN I’M 100 

“When I’m 100” is a fun writing prompt for the 100th Day. For extra fun, you could have the students use an aging app. Then, they could insert their 100 year old selfie onto their digital writing assignment.

Map Skills

When a map of the world showed Canada in pink, did you think it was literally a pink country? You may not now, but this is a common misconception when primary students see areas displayed this way.  

Maps are a part of our everyday lives. Maps are special pictures that give information. Maps can show us where things are. Maps can show us how to get somewhere. And maps can show us how far away a place is. But how do we first learn to read and interpret them?

Let's have students examine different representations of the Earth - satellite images, aerial images, world maps, climate maps, city maps, park maps, globes - and even, treasure maps!

Check out two of my resources that help build students' map literacy skills! Click on the image to view the resource in my store!

This resource investigates the Earth using mapping skills, geographical concepts, directions, and representations of the Earth. The presentation and activities focus on: 

•  Interpret various model representations of the Earth. 
•  Identify geographical concepts. 
•  Locate and identify the continents and oceans on a map or globe. 
•  Use rotation and revolution. 
•  Locate studied countries on a map or globe. 
•  Use compass directions to describe location. 

This resource builds map literacy skills. Students use various maps to locate and explore different countries. The presentation and activities focus on:

•  Identify geographical concepts.
•  Locate and identify the continents on a map or globe. 
•  Examine and analyze different types of maps. 
•  Describe the features of studied countries. 
•  Use compass directions to describe location.

Happy New Year!

Looking for ways to ring in the New Year with your students?

These are my favourite picture books to share with students.

Celebrate the new year with this resource. 

It is complete with information, discussion questions, interactive activities, and a flappable book to display! 2022 will begin with plenty of fun. 

ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: 

⭐ Word Search

⭐ Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Complete the Pictures 

⭐ Creating Resolutions

⭐ Documenting Memories Of The Past Year 

⭐ Thinking About What They Are Looking Forward To This Year 

⭐ Flappable Book 

 Intended for grade two, grade three, or grade four students, this resource is a perfect an introduction to the new year! Everything is prepped - you are ready to teach and go!