First Week of an All Day Schedule

 We got our first full week completed using an our all-day schedule. This week we learned the following:

We completed our read aloud of Skinnybones. We are going to move to our first major reading aloud called Blood on the River. This is the story of the formation of Jamestown - the first successful English colony in America. If you don't have a copy of the book I still have a a few paper copies. If not I will be broadcasting the book on Google Meet using the Kindle Cloud reader. It's not necessary to have the book but being about to read along with helps with reading skills because students can see the text as I read just like a book on tape. It will be imporant that ALL log into our read aloud for this.

We are still learning how to turn in work using Google Classroom. Many students complete their work but forget to click on the big green "Turn In" button when finished. 

 In math students learned / reviewed the value of base-10 block then transferred that information to place-value tables. In other words, instead of using base-10 blocks, students used numbers to to understand valued in each place value. Next week we move to the importance of multiplying by 10 in our base-10 number system. This can be hard concept for some because it's not just understanding HOW to multiply by 10, but understanding how multiplying by 10 is integral to understanding base-10. I'll post a video on this concept.  

 We are learning about the different regions of the United States. Really, this is about understanding where certain states are located, their climate, and specific important land formations such as the Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, etc. These formations will pop up in our student or American history and it's important that students have at least of their land features. 

 Students are still meeting with me one-on-one (when technology works). This is the best way to get to know them as reading and find out their interests. Also, I'm getting to know them as children since we are not meeting. I am have SO much fun getting to know everyone. 

I have also created particular writing assignments to get students to write. Student have done a great job with those assignments. 

 Make sure students are completing their end of the day exit slips. Those are used to help determine attendance.

I wanted to add a couple of other notes.

• Whether we meet or not, students should log into our Google Meet and keep it open (I'm getting permission to allow for live streaming). THIS IS IMPORTANT? This allows students to either use the chat feature or ask me directly questions they may have just like we were in class. Remember, even though we are virtual, I'm available from 9:00 - 3:00 (2:00 - 2:45 is specifically planned to help students) to help children with their work or to navigate technological issues. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE THAT ALREADY, EMPHASIZE TO YOUR CHILDREN TO CONTACT ME FIRST WITH HELP. 
• You already have enough on your plate navigating work, babysitters, little ones, etc.. Let me be the one to help them navigate issues with their school work and Chromebooks. And if I can't help because of unforeseen circumstances, your child will probably feel better when I give them a break from their work and/or provide an alternative assignment.

• Have your child log into our Google Meet and leave it on all day. When not meeting they can turn off their camera and microphone.

• From 9:00 - 3:00, I want to make your life as easy as possible. I know issues with tech keep popping up. They happen to me. Contact me ASAP about these issues. I'm good about fixing these problems, and if I can't, allow me to make decisions that will ease frustrations.

• Right now the most important things to me is not necessarily the completion of work (I do know that's important). I really feel like I am more in tuned with your child's social and emotional state. These are worrisome times. We will return back to school face to face at some some time. It's more important to me that your child continues to love learning and coming to school so I want to do things that will make sure their love learning despite the virtua learning that's taking place. Do I want children to fret about a missed assignment or dk I want them to hate learning? What will affect more negatively in the long run? I have fallen in love with your children and put their social and emotional needs first before their school work. Allow me to take on some of that burden!!!

• Please don't hesitate to contact me about issues. I'm a responsive teacher and constantly trying to make adjustments that will help virtual learning. I also know I screw up when I create material such as not giving students permission to open a document. I move so quickly I forget to make adjustments. Please let me know politely and I'll make changes (I'm not saying anyone has not been polite. In fact, everyone has been great!).