Skip to main content

Connections Matter

 

I wanted to share a story with you all.  Last week was our first week of school and this year I'm teaching it all through zoom.  Similar to in person the first day had its glitches and didn't go fully as planned.  The rest of the week went well with our getting to know you activities and how to sessions.  I switched up technology and was ready to try something new for week 2.  As I started to let people into class yesterday one of my students asked me a question, keep in mind, that I've only known these students for 1 week.  The student messaged me in the chat "Mrs. Booth, you look sad, are you okay?"  

I may be a veteran teacher but that doesn't exclude me from technology problems, long to do list, or hoping lessons go as planned.  Through a computer screen the student could sense this before we even finished our SEL question of the day.  Her question threw me off, it made me stop worrying if the new technology was going to work or how much class time would be left after getting all my students into the correct zoom.  Her question reminded me that, me being there was just as important as the lesson I was to teach.  

I know SEL activities and lessons take up time but they are worth it. We have about 5 minutes of SEL each day, as our classes are only 30 minutes, but in those 5 minutes I've learned about their families, sports, free time, struggles, and more.   Did we finish all of the lesson yesterday? No, but my students know that I'm there if they need me.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Baby Yoda Pixel Art Template

  This template is set for 3 sets of answers.  I have the answers that are currently set, you will need to reformat them to use with your content.   Baby Yoda Pixel Art Template Be on the lookout for this activity given 2 ordered pairs and asking for slope, y-intercept, and the equation of a line.  I'm also formatting this for converting between percents, decimals, and fractions.  If you want to reformat it before I post the above activities here is how. 

Long Division in Google Docs

  I was making a long division worksheet for my students in Google Docs when I realized that it wasn't under equations. Here's how to insert it.  This does not look very pretty so I have another video on how I do it in Google Sheets which takes longer but looks nicer. 

Blooket Game

  A week ago my students kept asking to play Blooket so I looked into it.  Blooket is much like Kahoot and Gimkit but they earn money.  Blooket has several different game modes and the students LOVE IT.  Once a student has been eliminated they will keep playing to earn more gold which they can use to buy rare items.  Each week Blooket has a theme and those rare items can be bought for the week and then they are gone; the items include accessories or special characters they can play as.  My students will play for hours if we let them.  When we finish a game they are ready for another round.  Blooket has a FREE version which has been enough for my class but you can also upgrade to a paid version.  They have games that are already made or you can create a new game.   My students love the battle royale mode and the gold quest the best.  If you haven't given it a try I would highly suggest it.