Below you will see my 2021 Tenure Project: Teaching Through the Pandemic. You will see a closer look into how COVID-19 has impacted 6th Grade Dual Language at Mineola Middle School. Sylvia and I worked on this project together, but on this page you will see my perspective of our project. The overall theme of this project highlights the key changes we made together this year to support our 6th grade learners.
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In the beginning of each school year, Sylvia and I had each done our own activities with our classes in order to get to know them better. Heading into this year, we decided to collaborate and plan activities that we could do with both of our classes in order to get to know them quickly. We worked hard to make our students feel comfortable with each of us knowing there were already so many uncertainties with this school year. Within the first week of school, our 6th grade students had created virtual lockers, because they weren't allowed to use real lockers this year, they created name plates to hang off the edge of their desk for the year, and finally they had the chance to create mask lanyards to create more comfortability around the idea of having to wear a mask all day as they sat and learned.
By working alongside Sylvia and utilizing Google Forms from the beginning of the school year, we were able to get to know our students at a deep level early on. We worked closely together to share information gained by students in each of our two classes. By gathering feedback from our students, we were able to include them in our planning as we tried new ways to make school "work" in the new set up brought on by the pandemic.
The pandemic took away a lot of simple pieces of childhood for our students. Our students missed out on birthday parties, field trips, hanging out with friends, school dances, etc. Sylvia and I worked hard to provide our students with experiences that were special despite all the pandemic had taken away. Check our some examples below!
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In addition to focusing on our classroom environment and celebrations for our students, Sylvia and I also wanted to increase our focus on social emotional learning within each of our classroom settings. This was a decision we made together. Below you will see examples of SEL activities I did within my classroom and other examples will show you different activities we did together as a whole group. Overall, by increasing SEL in our classroom, we have gotten to know our students on a deeper level and build a strong with our classroom family.
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On the last day of school after checking in quickly with our students over Webex, Sylvia and I drove to each of our 35 students homes across Mineola, Williston Park, & Albertson in order to give them a small gift and an in-person goodbye after a hard year. We loved that we were able to see our students in person to say goodbye.
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The 2020-2021 school brought along masks which prevented us from seeing our students beautiful faces! When learning about character traits, students chose a character trait that best presented themselves and we created posters of each student to hang in the classroom. Check them out below!
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Before the pandemic, we didn't have Google Classroom. Once the pandemic hit, we created a Google Classroom for both of our classes. It created a beautiful virtual community. In the beginning of the school year, we gave our students time to navigate and explore Google Classroom. We taught them how to search for assignments and posts, how to comment on the wall or leave a private comment for the teacher and how to turn in an assignment. Since having Google Classroom, we have noticed an increased sense of responsibility within our students. We have seen the students post their own questions and reminders and instead of waiting for a teacher to respond, we have seen that students are helping each other. Check out some screenshots below from Ms. Clifford's Google Classrooms to see examples of our virtual community.
With the many changes that have occurred because of the pandemic, one of the big changes is pro-longed absences for students due to different situations. Sylvia and I use Webex to meet with students who will be out for an extended period of time on their first day out. During this 5-10 minute meeting, we set clear expectations for our students and explain how school will work during their time out. From that point on, we use Google Classroom to communicate their daily assignments to them. Google Classroom allows teachers to select the students who will see each post or assignment. Because of this, we are able to personalize our posts and design them to reach the needs of our at-home learners. Check out the screenshot below of a post for a few students who were out for a prolonged period of time.
While the pandemic has negatively impacted our community, society, and world, it has positively impacted our teaching. The pandemic has pushed us teachers to think outside of the box and learn how to do things differently which has in many ways made all of us better teachers. Below are some examples of lessons I have done in my own classroom or lessons that Sylvia and I have done together across our two classes. These lessons have adaptations that were necessary due to the implications of the pandemic.
In the past, students would have been paired with a writing partner to give feedback for the first essay of the 6th grade school year. This was not possible this year due to the pandemic. Instead, each student in 118 was paired with a student in 117. Students read their partner's essay and provided glows and grows. Then, students met over Webex with their partner in a breakout room to both give feedback and receive feedback from their partner. We were very nervous as to if this would work but it actually went really well! The kids enjoyed being able to discuss their writing with a peer from the other class.
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A student centered classroom filled with constant group work was and is one of my biggest classroom philosophies. That proved difficult this school year with the need to stay 6 feet apart. From the first week of school, I tried different ways to still in include group work in my classroom. Below you will my first idea where students are communicating to others across the room using a private Google Classroom post. Thank goodness for Webex breakout rooms because that was not the best idea! Another video below shows students working together in a breakout room on Webex.
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