Every day I see teachers coming up with creative solutions for distance learning and social distancing within the classroom. Teachers are doing what they do best. They are being innovative, flexible, and resourceful!
Should districts be providing teachers with everything they need for this trying time? Absolutely! Is that going to happen? Probably not. So teachers will keep adapting and doing all that they can to provide quality education for all students!
Today I wanted to share a resource with you that will be beneficial for teaching in a distance learning model. It will also assist you in the classroom as you look for ways to replace shared supplies with individual ones.
Individual Supplies
Despite the fact that I had flexible seating in my classroom, I always used individual supply boxes. For distance learning/social distancing I would add a few more things to the box, but I like to keep it relatively simple.
- Pencils (2-3)
- Eraser
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Crayons
Here are the things I would add on for distance learning or individual supplies during this trying time.
- Pencil sharpener – less walking around the classroom
- Small whiteboard – a piece of laminated card stock works
- Dry erase marker
- Eraser for dry erase marker – I like these
- Dice
- Paper clip
- Counters – could be Target erasers, bears, unifex cubes, or red/yellow counters. Start with 10 and go up from there as needed.
If you are doing distance learning I would have these boxes ready for the students to pick up in the office.
Instruction Cards
To add to the box, I’ve created some language arts and math instructional cards that each child can use individually. With distance learning you can also assign a task to the students and have them take pictures using these cards and send them to you on Seesaw.
Here is what’s included, along with some ideas for activities you could use with each card. Laminate all cards so that students can write on them with the dry erase marker.
Language Arts
- Alphabet Charts – morning meeting chants, circle the picture that begins with /o/, etc.
- Letters – These can be cut up and used for alphabetical order, find the letter, or make the words. You can have one sheet uncut and then cut up another sheet for them to match with. You could also do uppercase and lowercase matching.
- Short Vowel Pictures – cut them up, select one, and write the word. You can have them match the rhyming words, sort by beginning sound or sort by word family.
- Elkonin Boxes – Use the letters to make a CVC or sight word, or just write in the boxes with a dry erase marker.
- Sight Words – Like the letters, you can cut one up and have them match the words to another sheet. You can also play bingo.
- Writing Practice – These can be differentiated as needed. In the beginning, just use the card with one line to practice name writing. Later, you can move on to letter practice, writing words, and then sentences.
Math
- Number Cards – Keep together and match, or cut apart and practice letter order. Pick a number and count out that number of manipulatives.
- Ten Frames – Give the students a number and have them build it and write the number.
- Number Bonds – Practice addition with manipulatives and then move on to numbers. Finally, use these for missing addends/subtraction.
- Dice Addition – Roll the dice twice and add the numbers together.
- Number line – Practice addition and subtraction skills.
- Spinners – I added a blank one if you would like to add in your own numbers. Students spin a paper clip and find the 2 numbers they need to add or subtract.
I added a couple more cards for shape and color recognition as well.
Organization
You can hole punch these cards to keep them all organized in each student’s box. When it’s time to teach a concept you can simply say – flip to your ten frame card for example.
Two images are duplicated on each paper to help conserve printing resources.
I provided differentiation within the cards as well. You can use cards individually, providing each student with appropriately leveled cards. You can also have all students using the same card and then switch out the cards for more challenging ones as the year goes on and their skills improve.
If this is something you might feel would be useful in your classroom you can check out the resource by clicking on the link below:
Individual Supplies – Phonics and Math Instruction Cards
Looking for more distance learning resources? Check out these posts:
