Welcome to Inspired Instruction’s monthly newsletter. We share the most relevant articles, blogs, videos, and classroom resources related to all aspects of education.
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We want to hear from you!
We’ve seen a major shift in education overnight and know that these are very challenging times. Many schools will be facing difficult choices when school starts in September so, in an effort to better understand your needs, we’d love your input on this 2 minute survey.
We remain committed to our teachers and administrators!
For Administrators
We’re not the only ones thinking a lot about how to make the most of the summer to support students and minimize learning losses. EdWeek shared one innovative idea that will tap college students to do just that, providing tutoring to K-8 students. Former Governor Recruits Stuck-at-Home College Students to Combat K-12's 'COVID Slide presents Tennessee's plans to provide students with socially distanced one-on-one tutoring. To be successful, this program and others that look to provide support to students over the summer will need to ensure high-quality curricula and consistent instruction. Considering a summer program for your school? Check out these standards-aligned summer lessons to help combat the COVID slide.
At-home learning relies a lot on students’ families as guides. So, we must ask ourselves: How can we help families help their students? Teaching Tolerance has an eye-opening article on “Rethinking Family Engagement During School Closures” that helps us identify the varied needs families have and provides implementation ideas that ensure all families can help their students succeed.
Being in the education field is stressful during normal times, and now educators are under more pressure than ever. How can administrators, teachers, and students deal with stress effectively? Implementing mindfulness practices may be an answer. Harvard Graduate School of Education interviews Jerome Murphy on his ideas for engaging everyone in mindfulness in “Dancing in the Rain.” Looking for a place to start? Download our Mindfulness Cards which provide some great activities for all!
For Teachers
Teachers are affected by the isolation of at-home learning just as much as their students. Teaching Channel’s blog, “Three Ways for Educators to Practice Social Emotional Learning,” focuses on ways teachers can cope with this new challenge while also providing support to their students. Looking for other ways to implement SEL with your classes? Check out our SEL do nows and exit tickets.
Looking for a fun, relevant activity for your middle and high school students? KQED Learn (co-hosted by the National Writing Project and PBS NewsHour Student Reporting) is sponsoring The Election 2020 media challenge. The goal is to have students share their voices on civic issues like immigration and COVID-19 (just to name two) by creating audio/visual commentaries. Check out all of the details and sign up here.
One of the challenges of at-home learning is ensuring that our special populations have the tools and resources they need to be successful.¡Colorín Colorado! offers a ton of helpful tips, tricks, and resources for supporting English language learners in their article, “Distance Learning for ELLs: Planning Instruction.” Want some easy activities to implement right now? Check out our Effective Strategies for ELLs During Distance Learning Worksheet.
Could your staff benefit from virtual PD? Just email Michele.Regan@inpsiredinstruction.com to get started!
Tips and Tricks
Do you have any tips or tricks that you’ve found to be effective recently? Email them to Jaclyn Siano and you may be featured in one of our future editions.
Did You Miss Our Last Webinar?
No worries, check out Connection and Communication: SEL during Distance Learning from April 28. You can access the recording here.
Did You Miss Our Last Webinar?
We hope you can join our upcoming webinar, Making the Most of the Summer to Start September Strong, which will discuss how summer can be leveraged to minimize learning losses due to school closure.
Interested in joining us on June 3 at 2pm? Sign up here.
What’s Next?
We’d love to discuss how we might help you with your most pressing priorities. We are hoping to support schools in this changing education landscape as you look to minimize learning loss and determine the best way to provide differentiated support for students. As a strategic partner, we will work with and alongside administrators to help identify areas to leverage to maximize impact. Contact us for a free Needs Assessment. Email Jaclyn.Siano@inspiredinstruction.com to schedule yours today!
