Student Work
For the first several months of the 2020/2021 school year, my district was teaching our students 100% virtually. We had zero in-person teaching, taught all of our lessons through Google Meets, and we utilized an online learning application called Seesaw. I had heard of this app before, but I had never used it for assigning or posting student work so I was eager to learn more about it! While using Seesaw to create meaningful activities that would engage students virtually, I found that it really helped my students show me their learning and thinking in a developmentally appropriate way. Below you will find a gallery of some of the work my first grade students engaged in while learning virtually.
Reading Activities
These are some activities I created on Seesaw to engage my students in Reader's Workshop while we were learning virtually. First I would teach a mini lesson over a Google Meet that focused on a skill I wanted my students to practice, then they would log off and read independently while practicing that skill, and finally they would complete the activity to show what they learned. In the activities I picked students were practicing using a storyteller voice (fluency), making predictions, and identifying things they learned in nonfiction text.
Math Activities
Making math activities on Seesaw was great because it allowed students to be "hands-on" when completing tasks without having access to the regular resources and manipulatives we have at school. Students were able to explain their thinking in a developmentally appropriate way for 6 and 7 year olds by using their microphone to verbally share. Students engaged in activities involving patterns and addition!
Phonics Activities
A huge part of First Grade is learning how to read. Students are expected to make a large amount of reading growth in first grade so we it is very important to teach the basics and mechanics of words and sounds. My students had a journal where they could complete pencil to paper phonics activities, and they also completed phonics activities on Seesaw!