Reading through the survey results from you all and your students was enlightening and SO helpful. We all have different needs in this difficult situation, and I am going to do my best to adapt to what will work for your student and family. I appreciate how communicative and understanding you all have been.
Virtual Family Meeting TOMORROW at 6 pm
I will be hosting a virtual family meeting tomorrow at 6 pm for all family members of students that are able to attend. The meeting will be on GOOGLE HANGOUT and I will make the link available in tomorrow’s blog post.
I will also be sending out an agenda and notes from the meeting, and surveying you all to select a good time for me to offer the meeting to families that cannot attend this first one.
To prepare for this meeting I recommend downloading the Google Meet app on your phone if you wish to use your phone to participate.
Virtual Teacher Office Hours Each Day – STARTING TOMORROW
Each day from 3 pm to 4 pm I will be offering “office hours” where students can log on to a GOOGLE HANGOUT video chat and ask questions about content, assignment instructions, or the feedback I have given them. Student questions will be answered in the order that students log on and list themselves as “in line” in the chat.
Students need not listen in on every student’s question and can leave the Google Hangout once their question is answered.
I will provide the link to this Google Hangout each day on the day’s blog post.
Report Cards
The most recent information I have gotten is that families will receive instructions on how to access report cards online on Friday. I will update you if that changes.
This Week’s Assignments: Student-Led Independent Study
This week’s assignments in reading, science, and social studies will all be integrated into a topic of your student’s choosing. If your student filled out the study survey I posted on Google Classroom, I have already begun to collect resources and design open-ended assignments that will help them in their learning.
The independent study is designed to allow students to engage in self-motivated learning and to have personal control over how much work they are doing each day. Students could choose to work for 10 minutes each day or, if they have the time and interest, 2 hours. It is totally up to them and your family. There is also flexibility in how they learn about their topic.
Here is a breakdown of what the independent study will look like-
Assignment 1: Students will plan their independent study in a guided worksheet, selecting their topic if they haven’t already, planning the amount of learning that they will do each day, and laying out what their final project will.
Assignment 2: With my support, students will research their topic to answer the question, “How does (your student’s topic) affect people’s lives?” This is our social studies lesson for the week. If students’ topics are not applicable to this question, their assignment will look a little different.
Assignment 3: With my support, students will research their topic to answer the question, “How does (your student’s topic) work or operate?” This is our science lesson for the week. If students’ topics are not applicable to this question, their assignment will look a little different.
Assignment 4: Students will engage in experiential learning, actually interacting with their topic in whatever way possible. For example, if their topic is basketball, they could play basketball or watch clips of basketball on YouTube. Students interested in learning about the coronavirus (many of your children are!) will watch age-appropriate news stories that have come out in recent days or document how coronavirus has impacted their lives. This will look different for each topic and student, but the goal is for students to do something active or interactive with their topic.
Final Project: Students will report what they learned in some way or form and share their report with me. The report can be as in-depth as the student wants it to be and can be in whatever form they choose as long as you approve. Here are some options that students could use to present their learning:
- A poster using materials they have at home
- A speech they write and film, then email to me
- A video they create and share with me
- A paragraph or series of paragraph they type about their topic
- A play about their topic that they put on with their siblings
- A Google Slide Show
- A fictional story they write that shares all the information they have learned about their topic
- A comic strip or a few drawings they make to share everything they learned
- Other options…students and I just have to agree upon them when they complete assignment 1. I want them to feel excited about their end goal.
Math
4th: Fourth graders will be finishing up their initial exposure to the Module 4 content. Students will do lessons 15 and 16 of this unit. They will be supported by videos, the homework answers, and feedback from me on the problem set. Also, students will do these lessons on Zearn.
5th: Fifth graders will complete work on lessons 7, 8, and 9 of Module 5 this week. They will be supported by videos, the homework answers, and feedback from me on the problem set. Also, students will do these lessons on Zearn. These lessons are on the topic of solving for volume using multiplication.
ELA
PLEASE NOTE: Read aloud lessons will be on GOOGLE HANGOUT this week. Dearborn Public Schools has asked that all video chatting be done on GOOGLE HANGOUT. I will share the link tomorrow and each day we use it.
- Daily read aloud assignments, to be completed either live on GOOGLE HANGOUT at 12:30 OR by listening to the YouTube video. We will finish Holes by Louis Sachar this week!!!
- On Tuesday, students will receive an assignment for their individual reading group. It will include videos from me to support the understanding of the chapters they are about to read, and well as a worksheet they should complete by the end of the week.
- Each grade will have a writing assignment due Friday about what their lives have been like during the coronavirus. Students will use what they learned about personal narrative writing at the beginning of this year to write it.
Want to get in touch with me?
I will be available from 9 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday on the following platforms:
-Remind (link: https://www.remind.com/join/msjuntune)
-Teacher office hours for student questions from 3 pm to 4 pm each day (link to be provided tomorrow)
-Email (juntuna@dearbornschools.org)
-I can also set up a phone call with you for the following day if you need support that cannot be fully addressed over Remind or email. Since I will also be focusing on my family during this time, I cannot guarantee a same-day phone call.
