Well… the day is almost here. April 6. TASOK is going global. Rather than riding the bus, tackling the traffic, or walking the trails, we will be strolling to our sofas, settling ourselves at the kitchen table, and building a bureau in our bedrooms to ready ourselves for reading online resources, tuning in to video lessons, and engaging in scholarly digital discussions. While it will certainly be a shift, I know we are set for success.
As I think about the initiation of the continuous learning plan, which will officially begin on Monday, April 6, I can’t help but think that you, Scholar, have been in training all year long for a time like this. Reflecting back on our year so far, we have inquired into the following central ideas:
- Individuals approach problems in order to reach solutions.
- Movement is a change agent.
- People respond to circumstances differently with different results.
- Structures impact individuals, communities, and societies.
- Industries are impacted by creativity.
In one way or another, each of these can be contextualized in our current circumstances. Now is the time for action. How will we put our learning into practice?
As we discovered in our first unit, problems can be opportunities, and that is how I hope we can approach this learning adventure together. Surely, there will be struggle; however, we will not only survive but thrive. Structures we put in place will sustain. And, as many schools around the world have already discovered, creativity will be a key to our success.
Prior to break, we spent some time in class ensuring we were familiar with the online platforms and forums we will be using to stay connected and to curate evidence of learning.
- Google Classroom (virtual classroom)
- Seesaw (portfolio)
- A Scholastic Snapshot (blog)
Embedded in these, there are links to a number of other resources that I think you will both find valuable and enjoy. This week, you will get to use:
Note: I’m not sure they will all work the first time, but… we’re going to give it a try and problem solve as we need to. Please be patient with yourself as we try to smooth out the bumps in a road that will be both rough and rewarding.
As we prepare for learning, our desire is to maintain as much consistency as possible. Each week will include some routine-building tasks and learning experiences including:
- Daily reading
- Independent reading, read alouds, read with family members
- Weekly word work
- Vocabulary tied to units of inquiry
- Offline explorations
- Learning engagements to be completed without devices
- Online research and reinforcement
- Inquiry-related investigations and skill practice
- Seesaw
- Documentation of and reflection on learning
Scholars, you are encouraged to self-manage as much as possible. This week, we will be working together to develop a daily schedule and introduce accountability tools that you will be able to follow and manage. Portions of the daily plan will include time of unstructured play, the value of which we experienced on Global Play Day. In addition, our single-subject teachers will be providing ideas and information weekly to help us all maintain balance. (Note: Single-subject slides are included at the end of the presentation, but you can jump to them from the schedule at the beginning of the presentation).
As we prepare to embark on a new learning journey, I want to thank you for joining me. I look forward to learning with and from them. Remember:
- establish a learning space and schedule for yourself.
- set up scholarly routines and maintain BALANCE.
- take time to explore before diving in.
- Imagine your are doing a picture walk BEFORE you read the book.
- log in to YOUR Google Classroom for access.
- Note: I will not grant file access to anyone outside our tasok.net domain.
