First Things First: Establish a Sense of Community

As we grapple with how to make the transition to distance learning meaningful to students, the first consideration should be how we can create a sense of community. Students want to see you and each other. When I explained distance learning to my son who is in kindergarten he was a bit confused and his first question was, "Will I be able to see Mrs. Kiernan?" My other son who is in 4th grade told me that he was very nervous about it. Their thoughts likely mirror those of many of our students as they work through the uncertainty.

One way that you can provide an opportunity for students to interact with you is to create a FlipGrid topic for students to post general messages to you. Ask for their thoughts or simply use it as a place for them to send you messages.

So what did my own kids have to say about learning from home? Check it out:

Jackson, Kindergarten
What is your favorite thing in class? What do you want your teacher to continue doing with distance learning?



Breck, 4th Grade
What makes you nervous about distance learning?

Need ideas? Ask you students. You may be surprised and inspired with their insight!

Want to learn more about FlipGrid:




We plan to update this blog during the duration of or distance learning to share ideas. Do you have an idea that you would like to share? Have you seen a colleague doing something awesome? Do you have a blog idea that would benefit others? Let us know: bschum@lammersvilleusd.net

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