Virtual Learning: Take Two

Teachers, parents, and students were all thrown into virtual/distance learning this past spring. We had to scramble and make do with the resources we had. However, we have had the summer to brainstorm and plan for what our second round of distance learning will look like. In this post, I will share my distance learning plans. My district has still not made a decision if this is our plan of action BUT we are prepared if that’s the case.

Now let me preface this with a few things; I am aware there is a TON of pressure on parents. They may be working, have multiple kids at home, or just be stressed! It is our job as teachers to serve our students in the best way we can. Yes, we are going to need parents to help us out BUT we are the ones responsible for teaching their child. We are making the best of a difficult situation. One thing I am sure of is that I will give it my all. My students are my priority and I am going to give them everything that I can.

District Requirments

My classroom is a self-contained program consisting of half and full-day 3 and 4-year old students. All of my students have an IEP. Our district will be making an IEP contingency plan for each student with an IEP. This will include virtual, hybrid, and face to face requirements, accommodations, and modifications in regards to COVID. This is to ensure all students with an IEP are meeting FAPE and IDEA requirements. Specialized instruction will follow their normal school day schedule but will take place on and offline. For example, the morning circle will be online but recess will be at home with guided instructions. We are also required to stick to our regular curriculum as it aligns with our state standards (more about that below).

Platform

This past Spring I used Google Classroom and I plan on continuing to use Google Classroom if we go the virtual route. The pretty Google Sites everyone is making are super fun but they don’t suite what we need. It also stays consistent for live instruction with Google Meet. I have organized my google classroom in a way that works for us. Here is a screenshot of how I have set ours up.

Curriculum

We will continue to use our Creative Curriculum during distance learning in combination with Second Step. This aligns with our general education preschool program. We will follow along with the studies while adapting the intentional cards and activities. Rachel, from Engaging Early Learners, and I have created a product line called Little Books for Big Thinkers. These are adapted social stories for each focus question. There is standard and symbolated text books for both print and digital use as well as boom cards. This makes materials accessible at home, in school, and online. This will be used during our large and small group instruction.

I have also created supplemental materials including interactive slides, Smart Notebooks, Focus Question/Question of the Day Slides, social stories, digital token boards, and digital morning circle. These would be used during both small and large group instruction. Click HERE to access all of my digital resources.

Schedule

We must provide three hours of instruction per district requirements. That is the amount of time my half students attend school on a regular day. My students can sit, or at least attend, for a maximum of 20 or so minutes (and that’s pushing it). That is where the offline breaks (grey). come in. Now, I am fully aware there are a TON of transitions and this will test parent’s patience but we had to get creative and work with what we have.

Full-day, AM, and PM students will ALL join the AM session. What about families that can not make it during these times? All lessons will be recorded and available post-instruction. The live instruction is followed by lunch, rest, recess, centers, and additional lessons from the Creative Curriculum’s home to the school activities list. We encourage parents to continue to work on student’s skills during lunch, rest, recess, and centers. This will be done through 1:1 parent coaching, video tutorials, and scripted directions. The remainder of the day we have office hours and availability for parent/guardian coaching. We can also schedule in 1:1 instruction with students.

Role Of Teacher Assitant

I have one awesome teacher’s assistant. Our assistants are required to help teach during virtual learning. It is up to each teacher to determine how this will look. For my classroom, my assistant will be running a craft lesson during our small group ten min rotations. Students, with the help of their parents, will follow along with the craft. Students will work on fine more and communication skills during this time. All crafts will be prepped prior to instruction. We have prepped a daily craft for six weeks. Each craft has its own labeled baggie that parents pick up.

There is also a TON of behind the scenes work that my assitant will be in charge of, especially with a new curriculm. Even during virtual lots of materials and activities need prepping so we can smoothly move through our day

Set-Up

Thankfully I do not have to teach out of my tiny apartment this time around. We are able to teach from our classroom if we go virtual. This is such a game-changer! I will have access to all of my materials and not have them take over my kitchen table. I will have a couple of different work stations set up for myself. One at my desk, one for circle time/read alouds, and one for small group using my Osmo (once it finally arrives). For more information about Osmo check out Engaging Early Learners Blog Posts on how to set it up and activities you can do with it.

Before School Starts/ Prep

Even before school starts we will be busy peeping materials, getting baseline data, and gathering student information. A week before school starts my district is doing LEAP (Learn, Evaluate, Analyze, Prepare). Students and parents will be given time to come into the classroom or virtually meet the teacher. It is also a time for teachers to collect baseline data. At my level, this may e a little tricky since I have either not built a rapport with the student yet or they haven’t been in school since March. (I will get back to you on how that goes.) During LEAP it is also a time for parents to pick up any supplemental materials they will need for virtual instruction. This includes all prepped craft supplies, thematic unit fringe. and yes/no/turn visual signs.

Typically before school starts, I send home a bunch of questionnaires and paperwork to help me get a better picture of the student. This year I will be doing that virtually with google forms. I have essentially just copied and pasted my typical forms into a Google Form. Click HERE to access both versions.

Return to Face To Face Instruction

When and how we return is always developing. What we do know is masks will be required for all students to wear unless you have a medical exception. Students will be split into cohorts of groups A and B and assigned to myself and my assistant. The classroom will also be split into two. The cohorts remain with their assigned teacher and group. They do not mix with the opposite group, teacher, or another side of the room. Cohorts will switch teachers each day but remain with the same classmates This is still a developing concept.

There is no state regulation on the number of students allowed in the class. The district is monitoring class numbers and making needed accommodations on an as-need basis. Currently, I only have five students so this will be manageable. Plexiglass has been installed (we will see when I go in on Monday) on every table and each student has an assigned seat. Hand washing is required before and after each activity. Full-day students will eat lunch in the classroom. They will not push into gen ed classes physically or attend recess with other classes. So is virtual or face to face better? I think they both are going to be equally as tough BUT we will make it either work!