Strategy instruction is all about teaching students how to learn. It can be helpful at any time and in any grade. But it’s especially important when asking students to do something new, like distance learning.

I recommend that you teach specific skills, like how to access online schoolwork, how to make a schedule, and how to stay focused. Provide students with checklists or other organizational tips to help with these areas.

Keep in mind that students who learn and think differently will need more explicit instruction and frequent check-ins to develop these strategies. (From How to Teach SEL During Distance Learning on Understood.org)

Age range: 6th-12th grade

This will look different for each student, but it's helpful to model different journaling strategies, yoga, exercise, or meditation/ mindfulness techniques. Many of these are described on the Mindfulness page of this site.

For students who can't put down their devices, there are lots of great apps that provide guided meditation or help students remember to breathe! Instead of trying to get them to put devices down, try using that device to help them feel more grounded.

Check Common Sense Media to search for apps and read reviews, sort by age range, content area, price, and also see privacy warnings.

Age range: all ages

A free resource from TeachersPay Teachers.com, "Coping Strategies Challenge," helps students practice a new coping strategy each day for 30 days.

Another resource, "100 Free Coping Strategies" from Teachers Pay Teachers. com includes a list of 100 coping strategies.

Age range: 6th-12th grade

Bring students' senses into your virtual classroom. Our students are hungry for authentic experiences, and those are difficult to create over a screen. Are there any ways that you can help make your online learning more physically immersive?

Ask students to grab something that smells good (like a lemon or candle) before class starts, take three deep breaths at the start of class, or do 5 jumping jacks.

(Concept inspired by IDEO U article "Online Learning: Designing for Engagement and Collaboration")

Age range: 6th-12th grade

This Growth Mindset fortune teller (easily made by hand or printable, for a dollar, from Teachers Pay Teachers) encourages one-on-one conversations or class discussions while promoting students' Growth Mindset. While some older high schoolers might find this a bit juvenile, I'm surprised at how often they are nostalgic and enthusiastic about things they did years ago! This fortune teller is also described on our Grit and Persistence page of this website.

Age range: 6-12th grade (some high schoolers may think they're too cool for this...you may need to "sell" it a bit)

A new challenge that distance classes face is smooth transitions into class. How might you help your students smoothly transition and be present into your online classroom, no matter what they were doing moments earlier?

This could be as simple as a moment to take three deep breaths together or have students minimize the other tabs on their computers.

This video, "Educators Say Good Morning to Students--Via Video" from Edutopia shows some creative ways to greet your class with enthusiasm, humor and love!

Consider if your students need to be more energized (ex. get up and do five jumping jacks together!) or reflective (ex. close your eyes and count backwards from ten).

(from Online Learning: Designing for Engagement and Collaboration on IDEO U).

Age range: 6th-12th grade

Clicking “unmute” in an online classroom and speaking to the entire class can be intimidating to students.

Design a low-risk moment of participation to get folks comfortable (ex. sharing their name and what they had for breakfast).

(from Online Learning: Designing for Engagement and Collaboration on IDEO U).

Age range: 6th-12th

Hook your audience from the start. Try using props or music to set a more exciting tone at the start of the session. Wearing a crazy hat or bringing a sock puppet to your online class will catch everyone's attention.

(from Online Learning: Designing for Engagement and Collaboration on IDEO U).

Age range: 6th-12th

During remote/blended learning, it is important to keep students motivated. What better way to do that than allow them to select their own project, based on their true interests?

If you have the flexibility, offer students an opportunity to select their own project. The article, "I Learned it in Homeschool: Plans for Learning During COVID-19" from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, provides an outline for creating this type of assignment.

Age range: 6th-12th

This collection of Online Games to get your Class Engaged & Connected, from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, includes a range of camera on and off activities, perfect for breaking the ice and connecting with students at the start of the semester or of a particular day's lesson.

One in particular, the "Assertive Message Game Show," is great for building self-advocacy (and is also linked on Self-advocacy page on this website).

Age range: 6th-12th

This guide on Teaching Self Care for Middle and High School: Breathing, from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, is another easy starting point for resources around self care. It focuses on introducing and teaching mindful breathing strategies. It includes links for breathing guided by imagery and sound. If you have only five free minutes in your library or classroom, the site provides audio files with guided meditations!

Age range: 6th-12th

Sown to Grow is a classroom support website that now has a new remote learning module, where students can check in each day, set goals and plan a schedule for the day. They can later evaluate how well they did in achieving those goals.

The goal is to help students structure their time, hold themselves accountable, and practice self-directed learning. Students can also reflect at the end of the week about what support they might need to do their best.

There is a cost for access to this platform, but I think librarians and teachers could adapt some of these strategies without the price tag.

Age range: 6th-12th

This lesson plan, from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, "Coming Together in Hard Times: A Virtual Gathering for Students," may help create a supportive virtual space where students can connect and support one another during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It uses a poem, "Turning to One Another," by Margaret Wheatley, to center a discussion. This poem and ensuing conversation might also bring a spirit of empathy in your (virtual) classroom community.

Age range: 6th-12th

In this lesson plan from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, "Delivering Joy in this Moment," students explore ways to creatively connect, show each other support, and display kindness amid this pandemic. Simple, effective, and also a good practice for building resilience!

Age range: 6th-12th

This article from Edutopia provides Four Tips for Productive Online Discussions, and may be helpful for librarians to share with their teaching staff.

For example, as librarians know, be sure to make time for research: "A discussion session should never start with a discussion. If we start by asking students to express their views on an unfamiliar topic, they will probably not be able to contribute much, since activating schemata depends on prior knowledge."

Age range: 6th-12th

This visual timer app, Time Timer, allows students to see how much time is left for an activity. It might be helpful in encouraging student to self-monitor, especially when they are working from home.

The Common Sense Media review is linked here, and includes some suggestions for using this app in a classroom setting.

Age range: useful for any grade level.

The Global Oneness Project offers a free online library of interdisciplinary stories which highlight universal themes. Users can search by topic, (ex. physics, architecture, environmental science), media type (ex. films, photoessays, lesson plans) or by Common Core standard.

Age range: best for grades 9-12

Expeditions is an app that allows students to participate in virtual reality (VR) field trips. These engaging virtual field trips are beautiful and include everything needed to lead expeditions right away. During remote learning this could perhaps be an optional offering to tech-savvy students who might enjoy a (virtual) escape.

Age range: grades 2-12