Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Tips for Teaching Your Students At a Distance


If you would have ever asked me if I would be sitting in a meeting spread out 6 feet away from my co-workers listening to our state and district plan to teach our students from a distance for the next month, I never would have guessed I would be. But, that is exactly where I was yesterday at 8 A.M.

Because this is completely uncharted territory, and we are making this up as we go, I figured I would share some tips for teaching your students at a distance that I have figured out in this last 24 or so hours.  If you have any ideas to share, please feel free to in the comments below, because we are all in this together!


This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  


1. Take care of YOU!

As teachers we tend to put the needs of everyone else above our own, and I know this situation will be no different.  We will spend the next month (or more) worried about our students, (are they learning, are they safe, do they have enough to eat?).  That is just what we do.  But, as you have probably all ready been told, it is hard to fill others' buckets when our own bucket is depleted.  That is why my first tip for teaching during this challenging time is to take care of you!

1. Get plenty of rest.

2. Drink plenty of water and eat as healthy as you can during this time.

3. Take time to yourself - this is a great time to read that novel you've been putting off since you got it last Christmas! You can even get a free 30 day subscription to Kindle if you don't have enough books to read.

4. Resist the urge to be a news junkie - limit news and social media consumption right now.  I don't know about you, but I tend to freak myself out with information overload.  I have decided to limit myself to 30 minutes of news at night and Facebook posts that are only about things I love - teaching ideas, funny videos, etc.

5. Don't compare!  I have many on-line friends in other schools or districts who don't have to go in at all, or who are still in school.  There are so many considerations with this - just stay in your lane and focus on what YOU need to do for your students and your family!

2. Keep it Simple

Yes, that good ol' K.I.S.S. principle!  Restrain yourself from the urge to send all of the links, all of the copies, and all of the free resources that are bombarding you now.  You don't know what kind of situation each of your students is in during this precarious time.  Some may be home alone, others may be sent to daycare situations where they don't have access to internet.  Some have three siblings who are also vying for the internet during the day and possibly don't have more than one computer (if one at all).

My solution was to use Class Dojo to handle the majority of assignments because it is something my parents have been using all year and not a new program that they had to learn.  Keep it simple.

I shared links to my resources that I use ALL YEAR long - again trying to keep it something that the students already know how to do.

I sent my daily math review, my homework packets (I send home a daily sheet from 180 Days Reading and 180 Days math), and reading logs for the next few weeks.





That is it!  I have sent additional resources for fun, like some color by number math facts sheets, and some math games, but I have told parents to mostly worry about keeping their children safe and secure during this time.



Bonus FREEBIE

You can grab an addition and multiplication sample of my Unicorn math facts sets free here.


The full unicorn math facts sets are listed below:



If you own any of my resources, feel free to send them to parents however you need to - this is a trying time and we need to stick together!

Families can also get a FREE month of Kindle just for signing up! This might be a great way for them to keep up on their reading if they don't have enough books at home!



3. Use video.

I sent a video to my students yesterday, just to say hi and let them know that I was ok and still would be working with them distantly for the time being.  I also video recorded myself reviewing our homework so that they could check their work.

I plan on sharing mini video lessons throughout this time period.  I am sharing videos on my Class Dojo app and on a Facebook group that I set up for my classroom.  You can do the same or even send email videos.

I know many of us do not like the idea of videoing ourselves, but your students will really appreciate seeing your face as reassurance during this scary time! I am even going to be brave enough to share the video I made for them with you to help show you it's not as bad as you think!





4. Share Your Day.

Your students have been used to seeing you every weekday all school year, this sudden departure may be challenging for them, particularly since many of us didn't get to say "good-bye" before the long break. Take the time to share little bits of your day and what you are doing.

My students always comment about my lunch - how I always eat salad EVERY DAY!  I sent a picture on Class Dojo of my salad yesterday.  They loved it and some even shared their own lunch menus with me.  Just one of those little things to keep the relationship building even when we can't be with them.



I will be sharing things around my house such as my pet bearded dragon, my own boys, and my "temporary classroom/work-space".  I will also be encouraging them to share things from their day as well.

5. Manage Your Expectations

I've touched on this briefly, but, we don't know what circumstances each of our students or parents are dealing with at the moment.  They may have child care issues, employment issues, fear, etc.  We definitely DO NOT need to add to this burden with our teaching expectations.

Per our district policy, we need to make contact with each student and parent each day.  That is my ONLY solid expectation right now.  If you need a copy of this contact form, email me at kellys3ps@sbcglobal.net and I will send it to you! :)



If they get the work done I sent home - awesome! If they do above and beyond - even better! If their parent goes completely off course and does their own thing - fantastic! Maybe they need to do this to help ease their fears and stresses.  Let them!

I am not going to hold their individual circumstances against them, and neither should you!  Most states are making concessions because this is all NEW to all of us!

Those are just a few of my tips based on day 2 of this crazy experience of teaching my students remotely!  I will be sharing more tips and ideas as I have them here on the blog, on my Facebook page, and through email.  If you have any PLEASE share with me as well!

Before you go - head on over to my giveaway page to enter our current giveaways for Teachers pay Teachers gift cards! I know those will come in handy right now!

Hang in there teachers!  We've got this!


64 comments:

  1. I am shocked at the disgraceful attitudes that some teachers are expressing on Facebook. I know that this odd time we are in is frustrating and confusing, but our students did not do this, neither did their parents. Fear brings out some strange emotions, but being one that cannot give grace and understanding is not the person I want to be known as. You are right! We do not know the situations at our students' homes. Kindness. Kindness is the best policy.

    Thank you for this.

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  2. Distance learning will continue in the fall where I am so I like to read this post as a reminder of how stay in check and not over extend myself or expect too much from students and families.

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  3. This was a really good read! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  4. Love this post as a reminder for starting in the fall with distance learning

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  5. As a high school teacher, number 5 is SINGING MY SONG!! So many of my "big big kids" were in charge of their siblings or home care during this time. Always necessary to remember that life gets in the way of school sometimes.

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  6. Thanks for all of the great tips, and the freebies.

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  7. Great tips. Our school district (Tucson, AZ) stated that we will be in school on August 6 but we don't know what it will look like. I think many families will keep their kids home regardless of what the governor says.

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  8. Love the one about taking care of MYSELF! Too often we forget that!

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  9. I love all of the tips and advice! Thank you!!

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  10. Thank you for all of the advice & tips!!

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  11. These are great tips. Thank you for sharing them.

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  12. Great tips! I think this was the hardest type of teaching ever in my career. I used many of the tips you discussed to make it better. One thing my students loved was playing a game together on Fun Friday! Blessings!

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  13. These are great tips. I know when we started virtual learning in March I was not prepared and I found myself scrambling for ideas. Since March, I've had time to gather many resources including this post.

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  14. Great tips! I use Class Dojo and LOVE it!

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  15. We have been told by our union to prerecord instead of synchronous teaching

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  16. Thank you for all these distance learning tips!

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  17. Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips. I look forward to receiving your contact form...I emailed you a request. Thank you to all you wonderful teachers out there who are able to hold these contests! You are amazing!

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  18. I am so excited that a found your page. :)

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  19. I am so glad I found your post! :)

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  20. I am so worried about the upcoming school year. I need to remember these tips.

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  21. I have been reading a lot this summer and I am loving it! I love the idea of pre-recording myself and posting it for my students to watch when they are able to. Thanks for the great ideas!

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  22. does not work for students with autism much

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  23. does not work for students with autism much

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  24. Thank you for the tips. They will most likely come in handy this coming school year, too.

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  25. Great tips. I just wish I knew what my school system is planning.

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  26. I used to use ClassDojo, but then I taught older kids and the little monsters were to childish for them. So, I went looking for another form of communication and found ClassTag! It is awesome! They didn't have a reward system; however, they are working on that and it should be ready to go this fall. Also, you earn items for your classroom and it's totally FREE!! Which I love! They even ship it to your for FREE!! If you want to check it out just click on this link>> https://classtag.com/l/4ss4a02l

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  27. Teaching from a distance was a struggle at first, but I have equally taken so much knowledge from it! Class Dojo was my go to!!

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  28. Great ideas! I use remind but now going to look at Class Dojo

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  29. Wonderful Tipes!

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  30. I think managing my expectations for this next school year will be critical!

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  31. I'm excited about starting back to school -- but nervous at the same time. These are great tips to remember.

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  32. The 25th of July!Thank you so much for the post you provided here! It was exactly what I needed today---

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  33. Thank you for sharing these tips. I need to remind myself to take care of me sometimes and make my stuff simple!

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  34. These are the same things we need to do now that we did then in March. Limit our news intake and take care of ourselves. We will come through this!

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  35. yes I need to use more videos with my students this year! Last year was a struggle so hoping to be more organized this year!

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  36. I need to remember these tips. Somehow I get caught up in the middle and think I have to do it all.

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  37. Online learning starting soon, I'm getting a refresher on all the online tools I'll be using.

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  38. So - Today is the day. We begin today with the majority of the kids coming face to face and a few doing virtual. It's going to be interesting to see how this works - but I'm excited.

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  39. These are all good tips and reminders. Thank you!

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  40. I think keeping it simple is a very important point! We definitely need to manage expectations during these unusual times!

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  41. I liked the math and reading logs. Great list!

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  42. I liked the math and reading logs. Great list!

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  43. These are great tips. We are entering into the hardest year so definitely take care of yourself first before you can give to others.

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  44. Great read, great tips! Thanks!

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  45. We have finished 4 weeks of online school. In the spring, we did focus on social emotional learning and not causing more anxiety. Now, we are grading and taking everything more seriously. It has been a struggle to convey this.

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  46. I've learned I have to keep it simple. If I don't I just add to my own stress.

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  47. I need to make things more simple for myself.

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