By Deirdre M. Jones, Peabody Elementary
With the outbreak of COVID-19 in the community, Shelby County Schools have announced that all schools and district offices will remain closed until further notice.
The days are long when school is canceled. We wanted to put together some suggested schedules and resources for you to help them pass more productively.
During this long break, Shelby County Schools is providing school work for your children. You can find teaching resources online: http://www.scsk12.org/instructionalresources/grades
A sample day with ideas to help fill the time
A typical school day is the result of years of collaboration between scores of education professionals. To help maintain a consistent education environment for students over this long break, we provide the following sample day schedule. Disclaimer: What follows is a pretty packed day with a lot of transitions. The purpose here is not to impose a structure but to offer ideas for how to break up the time. Think of it as a menu of options; pick and choose what works for your children and your family:
8:00 a.m. Make breakfast together
9:00 a.m. An hour of schoolwork using any of the following:
- SCS learning packet
- Scholastic 20 days of learning
- i-ready lesson: Student Login: https:/clever.com/in/scs
- Student Username: 6-Digit PowerSchool ID
- Student Password: Date of Birth (MMDDYYYY)
- Recommended Usage: Complete 45 minutes of daily instruction for both reading & math
10:00 a.m. Reading and Writing: https://www.storylineonline.net/
11:00 a.m. Exercise! Here are some indoor activities: https://family.gonoodle.com/
11:30 a.m. Science lessons at home! https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
Noon Lunch
1:00 p.m. Second session of schoolwork:
- SCS learning packet
- Scholastic 20 days of learning
- i-ready lesson: Student Login: https:/clever.com/in/scs
- Student Username: 6-Digit PowerSchool ID
- Student Password: Date of Birth (MMDDYYYY)
- Recommended Usage: Complete 45 minutes of daily instruction for both reading & math
2:00 p.m. Indoor activities, round 2: https://family.gonoodle.com/
3:00 p.m. Healthy snack
4:00 p.m. Write, rehearse, and perform a play or mock commercial, or dress up time.
5:00 p.m. Movie or TV break
6:00 p.m. Prepare, eat, and clean up dinner; everyone helps.
8:00 p.m. Board Games/showers/read aloud before bed
Scholastic learn at home
links for each grade
The education company Scholastic has created a learn at home site. This free resource provides your children with 20 days of exciting articles and stories, videos, and fun learning challenges. Children can complete them anytime, in any order. They can work on their own or together with you and your family.
The site is located at www.scholastic.com/learnathome
Their active learning journeys are available on any device and will provide your child with up to three hours’ worth of exciting learning experiences per day. They can go on virtual field trips, meet best-selling authors, or dig deep into a topic they love.
Reading and writing corner
At home reading is essential. There are several websites that provide free online books read aloud. One we like is: https://www.storylineonline.net/. We will send other links in the coming days. Please share with us ideas for sharing books in the neighborhood during this time as well.
In the meantime, here are some guided reading questions to help your student with comprehend, retain, and assimilate what they read:
Literature
What happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story?
How did the characters actions contribute to the story?
What was the problem and solution in the story with evidence from the story to support answer?
Summarize the story in your own words including the problem and how the problem was solved.
What is the story’s message or theme?
Informational Text
What is the topic?
What was the central/main Idea of the story and explain with evidence from the text to support your answer with at least three key details?
Write a 3-5 sentence or 5-7 sentence summary of the text.
Math Matters
Khan Academy has set up a link with schedules and instructions for online math lessons during this time at home. Please visit this link and read the entire newsletter for help with free online accounts and resources: https://khanacademy.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040167432-How-can-Khan-Academy-be-used-for-remote-learning-during-school-closures-
We hope that you and your children stay safe and healthy, and wish you the best of luck during this stressful time.
