Lockdown Proof Literacy: 7 Ways Teachers Can Improve Remote Learning

Lockdown Proof Literacy: 7 Ways Teachers Can Make Remote Learning Better

July 15, 2020

Approximately 1.25 million students in New South Wales children will be learning from home again. Our current situation offers a stark reminder that despite best efforts, outbreaks can emerge out of seemingly nowhere and throw a wrench in the plans of even the most well-prepared cities and countries.

This means that teachers are again left searching for effective and engaging ways to continuously provide student learning outside the four walls of the classroom. While schools are better prepared second time round, remote learning does have significant drawbacks.

Let’s look at what we learnt last time and how we can make it better.

Regardless of how much (or how little) contact with your students you’re able to have, and how much (or how little) academic instruction is happening, these ideas can help you prioritize relationships with your students and stay connected.

What are some strategies for maintaining a strong teacher-student connection online?

We asked dozens of teachers (and took a sneak peek on Instagram and Twitter) to find some clever ideas that help to drive engagement and learning.

1. Try to say “Hello!” frequently

A simple, daily hello via video lets your class know that you are thinking of them, care for them and miss them. We love this example from teacher John Thomas – it is engaging and fun.

Calling by phone (consider working through small groups at a time) may seem time-consuming. However, one Year 7 and 8 English teacher saw the impact: “The first few days, I had only a few kids logging on, but now I have almost 98 percent attendance,” she says.

2. Maintain morning meetings

Routines are part of classroom life, so try to find ways to continue these routines with home-based learning. You might host a morning meeting, record and share a daily video announcement or start with a read-aloud.

See here for some Morning Meeting Starters.

3. A variety of ways to check-in daily with your students

Keep it quick and simple: “I posted on Schoology to give me a thumbs up, thumbs sideways (meh), or thumbs down to describe their day…. I encourage them to take selfies of their thumbs,” says high school teacher via Twitter. Some teachers were using forms to check-in. We liked this check in form remote learning as a quick way for kids to tell you how they are feeling that day.

Why not ask the students to check in with each other? One teacher is promoting peer check-in by assigning the task of checking in with one classmate.

“I’m asking them to write to me and tell me how, say, Jacob is doing today. They can choose how they want to check in – email, text, Skype,” says Kate, a Year 6 teacher. She adds that setting up guidelines is important and she models the practice for her students first. The simple task can be worded as “My homework is to check on Isaac.”

4. Connect around books

Books are an opportunity to escape – we need them! Here are some great ideas from teachers and parents:

“My son’s second-grade teacher just FaceTimed him! Yesterday, she asked if it would be something my son would like, with no pressure at all. She said, ‘I would love to hear you read! Can you pick a book for when I call?’ We just got off the phone with his teacher, and it made his day!” Samantha, mum

“My husband volunteers in my classroom every Friday and listens to my students read. Now students can sign up to read to him on Zoom. They’re thrilled!” Jo

“I’m planning to continue our read-aloud we were doing before the shutdown. We are close to the end of the book and it would help re-connect with students if I did a ‘read-aloud lunch break’ video each day of me reading a chapter or two, and have students comment on Google Classroom or some other platform about what they think will happen next. Read-alouds and books have a way of bringing people together.” Charlotte

“On Seesaw, the students and I are completing a reading bingo (for example, read with sunglasses). Everyone posts their pictures or video. I am keeping the academics very light and trying to focus on the enjoyment of reading and the importance of community during these times.” Jess

5. Create virtual group tables (not friendship groups)

There will be many kids who stay in touch with their close circle of friends, however, it’s important to consider pairing kids with peers who aren’t in their immediate social group. Aim to mix up the groups weekly.

This Year 8 English teacher uses Google Classroom for this because her class is already familiar with the platform. “I will set up discussion threads with four to five students so they can discuss assignments, ask each other questions, and stay connected,” she says.

6. Don’t skimp on the communication

No one likes feeling out of the loop or in the dark, especially when it comes to their children, so keep your parent updates regular and consistent. While just knowing you’re around will give parents confidence, they’ll be eager to hear three things during this time:

Student progress
Any recurring technical issues they might need support with
Major developments and changes in the program.

7. Use existing resources…… and make sure they are open access

Our first bout with school closures saw teacher exhaustion, stress and burnout. It is unrealistic to expect that you, on your own, will produce a term’s worth of high-quality videos. You can use pre-developed resources available online and provide students with clickable links.

HINT: Using open resources helps prevent access problems for students. If any of your suggested resources are not accessible, you will receive an inbox full of student emails and eventually waste all your time troubleshooting. Spending a few extra minutes carefully searching for fully open access materials will save you a headache later.

We genuinely hope that educators all over the world find value in these suggestions that foster connection, especially with teachers and students tethered loosely together via wi-fi.

Looking for an online resource that supports your literacy program?

Literacy for Boys is an online literacy tool designed to help students improve their reading comprehension, grammar, spelling and punctuation skills in a fun way that keeps them attentive and motivated. Our program supported schools during COVID lockdowns, saving them time while providing detailed reports so teachers can track student progress using statistics, graphs, and charts.

Literacy for Boys is adaptive and simple to use, providing additional support to educators who do not feel comfortable using technology. Using an individualised approach, content is easily adapted to students’ reading levels, and is designed to fit in every culture and continent.

The program adapts to students’ individual ability levels and presents them with hundreds of skill-building exercises that suit their needs. Literacy for Boys is unique in that it caters specifically to boys, their interests and how they learn.

Parent and teacher feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with 100% of our schools renewing their subscriptions in 2021. Literacy For Boys received outstanding results from a school trial in 2018. The study showed participants’ results improve significantly. Tested age for spelling, reading & comprehension improved by up to 52 weeks in just 18 weeks using the program! See here for full results.

We are offering a FREE 2 week trial of Literacy for Boys. Try it for yourself and see how it works for your class and children (8 years to 15 years). Contact us today: info@literacyforboys.com.au