How will you prepare for back to school?

Published: July 12th, 2020

What will school look like when teachers go back to the classroom?  When will it happen?  The fall?  The winter?

Stating that these questions are going through the minds of educators is an understatement.  Sadly, no one really knows the answers, but there are some things that teachers can do to prepare for when they get to see the smiling faces of students again.

Tips on how to prepare for back to school:

Routines: Routines and procedures are a big part of back to school.  Whether school starts this fall in the classroom or virtually, teachers will need to develop routines and procedures to help make learning successful.

Here are some simple guidelines to keep in mind when establishing routines:

  • Explain: Explain the routine to students.  Be sure to explain to them why it is important and the expectations of the routine.
  • Model: Model, model, and model again.  Kids need to see how the routine works.  It is also helpful to role-play and show a scenario of what it looks like if that routine was not in place.  Students then can better understand the importance of why they’re being asked to perform this routine.  Be specific.
  • Practice: Many educators like the “I do, we do, you do” process.  This is when the teacher will model the routine for the class, then a select few students will practice, and finally the whole class.
  • Implement: This is when students will practice the routine in a “real-life” situation.  For example, practice how to walk to music class in the room, and later implement the routine when students go to music or “pretend” to go to music class.
  • Review: After the routine is implemented, praise students on what went well, and review what needs to be practiced again.

Favorite classroom routines:

  • Morning Meeting: This can be one of the favorite times of the day for teachers.  Students can come in and take attendance on the interactive display and then all come together and walk through their morning routine with lessons.  Promethean has thousands of ready-made lessons and flipcharts that are available for download here.
  • Virtual morning meeting:  If schools are doing remote learning in the fall, teachers can create amazing virtual morning meetings using Promethean cloud-based lesson delivery software called Explain Everything. Within Explain Everything, you can create interactive lessons, record video tutorials and collaborate real-time with your students. It truly is an amazing way to engage students and interact with them even if everyone is remote.

Be prepared to reteach: It’s a common concern to worry about where students will be academically in the fall.  Many teachers are probably aware that they will need to teach content that they have never taught before and reach out to colleagues for materials and resources.  One way to easily assess where students are in regards to content is by using the polling feature in Explain Everything’s Advanced plan.  The polling feature allows teachers to ask students a variety of questions and they can respond using a device.  Their responses will pop up on the interactive display.

To learn more about Explain Everything, head on over to the website to see how to utilize it in the classroom and get started with a free trial.

Clean your interactive board: Germs will be on the mind of teachers for a while and many may be worried about how to properly clean their interactive board. Here are instructions on how to properly clean Promethean’s ActivPanel.

It is unclear what school will look like when teachers go back. Things will be different, but one thing teachers do best is adapt, and that is exactly what they will do.  They will make students feel safe and secure the whole time because that’s who they are.  While many may feel uncertain about what back to school might look like, please know that Promethean is here.  Reach out to your local Education Consultant and they will be happy to help you.

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