As I sit here preparing for the upcoming school year, I can't help but notice how much teaching has changed in the past year. Teachers have learned so much about being flexible and finding new ways to teach students. I worked so hard last year converting a lot of my teaching materials to digital, even for the in person teaching I did. Limiting the passing out of papers became easy after a while, and I think my students liked being able to access everything with the click of a mouse.
This year I still plan to use many of the digital tools and resources I created last year. For one thing, it's a time saver not having to go make copies of activity sheets for students. It's also super efficient when I don't have to waste time passing out papers.
As this fall unfolds, the uncertainty can't be ignored. Numbers in my state of positive covid tests are skyrocketing, and with the elementary students unable to get vaccinated at this point, I can't help but wonder what will be happening once we get all the kids back in classrooms over the next few weeks.
Mask mandates are now required once again in my workplace. Attendance trackers are back, and preparing for the possibility of having to return to online teaching is a reality we all face.
I spent A LOT of time over the summer updating my science products that I sell on TpT to include a digital option. I hesitated to convert hands on science activities to digital, because for one thing, they are hands on lessons. But once I got to work looking at the activities and thinking of ways to modify for digital, it became clear that science can effectively be taught at a distance. Yes, students do need science materials to really learn science concepts, but I did this last year by creating take home science kits that students picked up at the beginning of the semester. If you teach younger students, you could provide a list of materials parents could provide for each unit.
Having options for teaching delivery is the new normal for the 2021-2022 school year. Being prepared will make your school year run smoothly, even when you have to pivot back and forth, like many of us did last year. Leave a comment below to share some things you will be doing differently this year.
Here's to a successful and engaging new school year! Wishing you all the best!
Dr. Jan
