Local schools are quickly adapting to unprecedented changes in our community. We will be looking at how SB Unified has pivoted and what it means for our students.
Join us as we look at how our local schools are
Last week we looked at how SB Unified teachers are quickly adapting their lesson plans to remote learning. Core subjects like math and English may be intuitive to adapt to a remote learning platform. But what about the subjects that are a bit more difficult to teach from afar?
How do you teach music, art, or physical education or other subjects that are more hands-on?
Let’s check in with Franklin Elementary School to see how they are engaging students in elective classes.
Start Off with Orientation
Ms. Pascoe greats students to help them navigate the website. Students are encouraged to complete an activity for each subject each day. Although many of the lessons are YouTube videos, every day at 1 pm there is an optional live Zoom lesson from one of the teachers.
Let's Get Moving with Music!
You might be asking yourself, how in the world does one teach music remotely? Well, Ms. Pascoe has the answer! She has grade-appropriate and interactive lessons available on YouTube. For example, this week 2nd and 3rd graders are continuing to learn about African step dancing. They can watch an example, in this case, Step in Time from Disney’s Mary Poppins and then learn the steps of the song. Miss Pascoe even shows them how to do each step.
For 4th through 6th grade students learning an instrument, students can use SmartMusic to access assignments and submit recordings of themselves playing for review. Miss Pascoe even offers free individual lessons to her more experienced students.
Show your Artistic Side!
And now for art! Mrs. Martinez shows students step by step on how to draw a bunny and lets the students follow along. Younger students will learn how to draw a basic bunny while older students will draw a more realistic bunny with more detail and will practice skills like shading.
Students send their drawings to Mrs. Martinez to be included in the Student Gallery.
Take a Trip to the STEAM Lab!
Mr. Carroll, along with his robot friends Frank and Lin, explores the world of STEAM… Science, Technology Engineering Art, and Mathematics that is! Last week Frank went missing. Luckily he is found in a nearby cavern, which perfectly segues to a lesson about crystals. Mr. Carroll even shows students how they can grow their own salt and sugar crystals at home.
And Now to the Garden!
Just because students are safe at home, doesn’t mean that they can’t take a virtual tour of the school’s garden and see how their fruits and vegetables are progressing. Ms. Wendy takes students along with her on her weekly walk through the garden. Check out the strawberries this week!
Let's get moving with P.E.!
Typically physical education is a great way to get away from screen time. But in this case, students can use online workouts as an option to help get moving! Although safe outside activities are highly encouraged, there are many options for students including circuit training, dance and, yoga.
We know that this is a difficult and uncertain time for everyone. But it’s especially important to support our students as they continue their learning journey remotely.
Special thanks to Franklin Elementary School for sharing their educational content.