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Group work is not so easy when teaching remotely.  There are many tools that can help, like Zoom and Google Meets;  however, I prefer using Google Docs for student collaboration. It's low tech, but it works beautifully. Google Docs & Student Collaboration: My go-to strategy for online … [Read more...] about Using Google Docs for Student Collaboration

  There's no question that distance learning is a challenge for many students (and most teachers). By its very nature, it requires students to spend their days glued to a screen, something we know is not so good for them. That's why it's important that we build in action breaks and time … [Read more...] about Two Must Haves for Successful Distance Learning

Today's post is all about another issue I hear a lot about: reading workshop and classroom management. Giving kids the ability to choose their own books can be a beautiful thing. However, a lot of problems can ensue if they choose not to read them and choose to distract others instead. I've been … [Read more...] about Reading Workshop and Classroom Management

Do I have to read all of the books for reading workshop? How do I assess students if I haven’t? I get these questions a lot, and they are ones that I definitely had myself when I started reading workshop. I used to worry that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all of the books that my students … [Read more...] about Do I have to read all of the books for reading workshop?

Encouraging Your Reluctant Writers You've created the perfect lesson plan. Your kids are engaged in the writing activity... all except a handful. You know them, the ones who refuse to write no matter what you ask them to do. Encouraging reluctant writers to pick up the pen can be hard, but with … [Read more...] about Encouraging Reluctant Writers

Recently I asked my Instagram followers what they wished their students knew before distance learning began, and there was an amazing number of responses about students not being able to read directions or turn in documents properly. This generation of digital natives may not be as tech savvy as we … [Read more...] about Teaching students to be independent learners

Choice boards and distance learning are a marriage made in the crazy world of Covid. I was going to say heaven, but that word just doesn't seem to work right now, does it? So what are choice boards and how will they help you with distance learning? Like a menu, they offer students a selection of  … [Read more...] about Choice Boards and Distance Learning

So you have lessons and activities that you've purchased from my TpT store and now you are tasked with teaching from home. What can you do?  (First of all, click here to get some freebies designed for online teaching). I would love to be able to convert all of my products to digital so those of … [Read more...] about Using Room 213 Products for Distance Learning

"How do you do reading workshop with distance learning?" This was actually a question I got recently in a text from a colleague. We had just been informed that we were moving to online teaching and were discussing what's on the minds of many of us these days. How will it all work?  When I told … [Read more...] about How to do Reading Workshop with Distance Learning

It's hard enough to get some of our teens to do the work in class, and now we are expected to get them to do it from home. It seems like a gargantuan task, but is distance learning and student engagement impossible? Distance learning offers many challenges, and this may be one of the greatest … [Read more...] about Distance Learning and Student Engagement

These are crazy, trying times. I know that many of you are scrambling, trying to figure out how to deliver your curriculum to students remotely, so I’ve put together some lessons and strategies for remote learning to share with you. They aren’t specific to any particular text; instead, they are ones … [Read more...] about Lessons and Strategies for Remote Learning

Speed Dating with Books - Spark some interest! I tried something new this week, and I'm so glad I did. I was ready to launch reading workshop with my new tenth grade class, and I decided to let my students do speed dating with the books I have in the classroom. First, I had to decide how to … [Read more...] about Speed Dating with Books