COVID-19 may have closed area schools, but teachers are still teaching. Recently, a few local teachers were able to share some of the methods they are using to continue educational opportunities for their students.
Katie Culpepper, second grade teacher at Kosciusko Middle Elementary, utilizes the take-home packets that contain materials for a two-week period. Parents can pick up the packets, which contain reading, math and language work.
“The packets include the skills that we have hit hard all year in each subject. We also make sure to include things we know are important for them to know and understand in order to be successful in third grade, as well as the second grade standards,” said Culpepper.
Websites that Culpepper likes are iReady and Accelerated Reader, which she uses in her classroom, so students are already familiar with them. Other online resources she recommends are ReadWorks, Storyline Online, XtraMath and Mystery Doug.
But Culpepper recognizes that not all of her students may have access to the internet.
“For those who do not have internet, I have recommended that they read anything they can get their hands on, whether it be books, magazines or newspapers. I have also suggested that they keep practicing basic addition and subtraction facts,” said Culpepper.
Culpepper suggests parents try to make learning fun.
“I told them to use easy games and give them some practice tests. Their children need to keep their skills sharp and their brains moving,” Culpepper said.
Culpepper tries to stay in contact with students and their parents.
“I try to message my parents on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We are all experiencing something we have never gone through before, and the best thing we can do is stay in touch with one another,” Culpepper said.
The educator also likes using Zoom to talk to the whole class, and daily videos are posted on the Middle Elementary Facebook page.
Culpepper truly misses her classroom and her students.
“I look forward to the day when I am back on campus in that classroom teaching students face to face,” she said.
Kim Mitchell, who teaches third grade at Middle Elementary said she has maintained contact with her students with letters, phone calls, texts and birthday cards.
“It is a difficult time right now not knowing what the future holds, and I want them to know that before anything else, I love and care about them,” said Mitchell. She and other teachers have had Zoom meetings with students so that they can see their friends.
Mitchell has also utilized the printed learn-at-home packets in addition to internet sites such as Google Classroom, iReady, Moby Max, Scholastic, ReadWorks and Prodigy. The packets are intended to review the skills the students have already been taught. The online learning sites offer reinforcement of those skills.
Mitchell said she, too, realizes that not all students are on an equal playing field.
“Some may not have internet, and some may not have transportation to get to school to pick up work. I have explained to parents that they don’t need to worry about their students regressing in school. Every child is in the same boat, and they will all be okay,” said Mitchell.
Laurel Leigh Bell, fourth grade teacher at Kosciusko Upper Elementary, also uses Google Classroom, iReady and Zoom to teach her students.
“I also assign assignments from various reading websites that offer grade-level reading passages, vocabulary and writing practice,” said Bell.
She likes Google Classroom to post assignments, interactive lessons and activities and videos. “The students and I are able to post comments and videos to each other, which is a great way to communicate,” Bell said.
Assignments are mainly given to help students maintain the skills they previously learned.
Bell enjoys using Zoom with her students as well.
“Through Zoom, I can interact with my students doing lessons and activities,” said Bell.
As her fellow teachers have noted, the downside to teaching remotely, is that not all students have internet access.
“I love planning lessons for my students and miss the interaction with all of them, so it is disheartening to know that some are not able to participate,” Bell said.
Although printed materials were provided for those who do not have internet, Bell still misses seeing her students on a daily basis.
Like other teachers, Bell mentions the unknown result of this teaching and learning experience.
“This has definitely been a challenging time, but a great learning experience for everyone. Most importantly, I have great parents who are doing the best they can do to help their children,” Bell said.
Like others, Chelsea Johnson has used Google Classroom. The fifth-grade teacher and her colleagues at Greenlee Elementary School created one main class for all the fifth graders. The group posts assignments weekly.
Johnson said they sometimes use ReadWorks, which has articles with multiple choice and open-ended questions.
“It provides immediate feedback for students, and I’m able to see trends in order to know what I need to help them on,” said Johnson.
Another source for Johnson is YouTube.
“I have created YouTube videos to introduce new material, review old material, and just check in with students” Johnson said.
The hardest thing to get used to is not seeing students on a daily basis.
“I spend eight hours a day, five days a week with them, the suddenly, I don’t see them anymore,” Johnson said. “I really miss my students coming in and getting to work. If you could see their faces when they learn something new! I miss seeing that light in their eyes. That was my purpose as a teacher…to make them think and learn.”
Another fifth grade teacher, Krystal Thomas of Kosciusko Upper Elementary, also makes use of several internet sources to reach her students. Google Classroom, Zoom, Quizizz, Kahoot, Google Forms, Google Slides/Docs, Study Jams and Flocabulary are all sites that Thomas finds useful.
However, Zoom has proven to be the most successful out of all of those.
“I can share my screen with my students using Zoom. We’ve watched videos, played games and found items in scavenger hunts,” said Thomas. She even has been able to have lunch with her students using Zoom.
As for the skills being taught, Thomas has chosen to review previously taught standards. “Reviewing these skills takes away any pressure the students might have about a new skill and helps the students retain what has been taught,” Thomas said.
As for what she misses, Thomas mentioned not seeing her students on a daily basis.
“Teaching remotely only allows me to see some of my students,” said Thomas.
WHAT SCHOOL? Seventh and eighth grade Language Arts teacher Sachia Poole also likes to use online programs such as CommonLit and Achieve3000 to teach her students.
“These assignments reinforce skills that they have already learned,” said Poole. In addition, the teacher has provided paper packets for those who do not have internet access, which she said is the main hardship she sees in the remote teaching model.
“Living in a rural area without internet availability has been extremely difficult. We rely on data service on our phones and iPads to get schoolwork done. This limits the programs and virtual teaching that I can do with my students,” she said.
To maintain contact when internet service is poor, Poole uses paper packets and texts parents. “We use a program called School Status to text and communicate with parents. I send out assignments via text that students can complete without having to use the internet,” said Poole.
Because Poole teaches tested areas, she typically ensures that all necessary skills are covered first semester.
“This has been a huge blessing during this COVID-19 situation, because I know that students will have the skills necessary to be successful next year even though our classroom time was cut short,” she said.
Like other teachers, Poole misses her students and her classroom.
“I worry about them because I know some students need the safety and love of a school building and teachers,” she said.
Cassie Allen, who teaches sixth grade at Kosciusko Junior High, utilizes Google Classroom to make assignments for her students and to communicate with them. Other online resources are iReady, Vocabulary.com and Edulastic.com.
“Students also have access our online library through the school website,” said Allen.
For those who do not have internet access, paper packets were available for students to pick up.
As for the materials that she is covering, “We are mainly trying to review skills that we have covered throughout the school year,” said Allen.
Allen also misses working with her students on a daily basis.
“One of the biggest challenges is not being able to work with my students face-to-face to make sure they understand the material. Being a teacher means so much more than just teaching the curriculum. It’s about the relationships you build with your students,” Allen said.
Although their obvious focus is on educating their students, each teacher interviewed said that the health and wellbeing of their students is equally important — if not more important — than learning.
“The students’ mental health will be more important than their academic skills. How they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of these weeks are gone,” said Kim Mitchell, summing up the feelings of the teachers interviewed. “I encourage my parents to keep that in mind every single day. Arguing with their child to do work is not what parents and children need right now.”
